The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-01-14

| LONDON. ENGLAND, October H.
Down the strand. past Trafalgar Square
to Waterloo Bridge, walked to secure
good view of FatIcr Thames. 1t was
the week of the Harvard Cambridge boat
| race, and l Joined in the general suppl
cation that weather and water should be
fine.
| In my gudebook the Thames gldes
past the towers of the Houses of Par'Ia-
ment a stream of liquid amber. But the
thing 1 actually saw was a swirl of
! greasy. bracklsll water that looked like
Broadway when the clay, and oil of tho
hills floats down to enrich the Easements
south OF First Street.
DO you think the river will clear by
| Saturday." I asked a laced, helmcted
! policeman. who was lending his moral
support to the south buttress Of the
| bridge
His head moved from side to side
| with an easy swinging motion like the
| pendulum OF a clock.
| 'yrhen there isn't much chance that the
race will be rowed on blue water
| persisted.
! My reward was an introduction to The
| cockney smile. Hive lived In Lunnen
for forty year an Hive only seen blue
water in the guidcbukes an tn pos cards
| gon' to America
Thus one of my idols was rudely shat
| tered,
| Sitting in the Office OF the secretary Of
the London Municipal Society attempt
| ed to reply to q neatly turned compli-
ment on the progress of American cities
by remarking that: England leads US in
! many features Of municipal government.
! understand that in the cities of Great
| Britain there Is no politics and no graft"
! Came the West END smile that rises
| In the hair roots and sinks from view
mi how hot
assertion in some of your ofr-color maya
| zines and in books published for Ameri-
| can consumption, but never in our own
| papers. / believe that your investigation
| VIII convince you that politics is the rule
and graft hardly the exception"
/ Another idol had toppled from It's
pedestal.
Worse Than American.
| 1t was not necessary to probe very
deeply to discover that the graft mlcrobe
wakes even fatter under the Union Jack
than beneath the Stars and Stripes. In
England 1t has richer food and fewer
| enemies.
Not only are the municipal traders
thoroughly organized in the big cities
along the lines laid down by Croker and
Murphy for the guidance of the faithful
in New York; they are cemented in
general association promoted for the COM
NUN ueltISe ana mutual welfare.
The twenty-eight boroughs OF Greater
London are apparently honeycombed by
every species of graft in the argot Of
municipal socialism. Some of the mem
bers of the Crooks Keir-H arde ring of
/ labor union ngitators have gone to the
extreme OF reaching. boldly into the NUM-
cipal purse and extracting gold by the
l1andfus. But these are the bunglers,
the amateurs. / shall deal with them
later. Here are few examples OF the
work of the professionals:
A year ago the County Council OF Great
err London decided to widen portion
of tho Strand. Some Of the property
OF the Gaiety Theatre was TAKEN the
company receiving an exceedingly gen.
erous allowance for the land and i'm
provements confiscafed. The Gaiety The
i atre is in good standing with the Social
ist-Labor Union party of London. Its
| restaurant is one Of tho resorts Of the
agitators.
Six months ago two Conservative mem
bers of the Council scented bill for
extras that the finance committee was
trying to disinfect Investigation brought
to light the fact that the agitators were
about to make substantial present"
to the Gaiety Theatre. The extra bill
amounted to $4,000.
When the two West End Counclmen
protested. the agitators produced an
agreement pledgins the Council to bear
the expense of certain extra finishing
on the south entrance. They said that
the style of building planned by tho
Gaiety people did not meet with their
approval, and that they were paying the
extra $4,000 to carry out the art scheme
for the Strand Improvement. And de-
spite all further protests, the bill was
paid.
Eminent London solicitors pronounced
the payment illegal, but there has been
no attempt at recovery. London called 1t
a "blunder," and there was no inyestiga-
ton.
A. p. Brown held lease standing in
! the way of a street widening that forms
a part of the proposed Strand improves
/ ment The Council bought the lease.
! paying big premium. and the building
was to be demolished.
Three weeks ago Brown filed with the
Council an application for a renewal
of his lease When the astounded Con-
servatives protested no pointed to clause
In the contract giving to him the option
of an eight-year renewal
II this house Is permitted to stand It
blocks an Improvement on which the
Council has already expended the great
sum OF 4e1.000Oo0, Brown offered to COM
promise for G100000 and the finance com
mittee virtually agreed to present him
this bonus. Crooks and his agtators
have passed the word down the limo that
Brown shall get it. But an unexpected