Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-02-28
NEW YORK LETTER.
Gotham Losing Its tnina town-Pick-
pockets P1eptifui---A Porter war.
-Gothasa Gossip.


| New York. Feb y-Chinatown OF Now
York IS to be wiped out of existence and
It's places given to a public park. The fat
| mas gone forth and in the near future
| Pell and Mott Streets. the home of chop
| Suey and Veto main, and oriental brio
a-braC, made in Connecticut, will become
| things Of the past. "Wiping out a plague
spot" is one Of those adjustable. resound-
ing. car filling phrases, that frequently
! drown the sound, Of the small voice Of
| common sense. If the ALTERATION of
! Chinatown has been classcd as a trnmph
| of civic publication we are not told
what is to follow. Every student Of hui
| man nature knows that the scattering
and isolation of individual Chinese would
be impracticablc, even If desired. They
| are a. peculiar class of clannsh people
and In every town. or city. whore they
| have squattcd their is a Chinatown.
! Whorcvcr the Cantonese are gathered to-
| Gothcr there will be gambling, opium
| smoking and. an occasional murder by
! order of the tongs, and the question
| naturally arises whore will be the site
| for these performances, as we'll as for
! the establishment Of their shops. res
| taurants and Joss houses when the pre-
| sent Chinatown is no more. In that part
! of the city will the squattng take place
when the great exodus commences? In
| what other section Of the city can they
| found the now Chinatown where so
little harm will be done by their vices
| and unhygenic habits as Is done IN the
city off the Bowery? Tho projectors of
this useless park never thought of this
but the people of New York have n right
TO know.
| Pickpockets have got so numerous i'm
! this city that the police. and several Of
I tho magistrates. now strongly favor the
| bill killed twice at Albany, and intro
! ducod again this year which empowers
magistrates to treat convicted pickpock-
cts as Migrants and lock them mp for six
months when they are found in crowds,
! or in public conveyances. Inspector Nc
LauEhlin states that there are no less
| than 120n pick pockets and crooks of all
sorts at large IN this city, and. though
the police make from 90 to en- arrests a
! day OF men known to he light fingered.
and To he practicing their trade they are
mostly in all cases turned loose from the
police courts When the prigs are arrest
ed and caught with the goods" they set
ing bounded by the police, and strange
to say people are tender hearted enough
to believe them. There is no doubt but IL
criminal has the slightest intention OF
reforming the police do all in their power
to assist him. but so garing is the
conduct of certain magistrates in des-
charging or tenders. against whom there
is clear proof. that the police are now
| Incoming or p-i-h no
result that the public is suffering to an
extent never known in the history OF
the city. The police say that schools are
maintained in the east side of the city
for the training Of pickpockets and this
must be true. for in the daily line up OF
suspects at police headquarters numbers
of BOYS from II to Is years take their
stand side by side with hardened ex-con-
VCts.
A sorrowful man to-day is Van Hise,
the official hangman OF the State Of New
Jersey for after the first OF March. like
Athello, his occupation will be gone. Van
| lise who was sent to every Sheriff in
the State to relieve them of the task OF
/ hanging murdercrs doesn't at all like
the new law substituting electricity for
the rope, as he really took pride in his
work and like "the gentleman of Paris
often dilated on the beauty and symme-
try OF a neat polishing off, OF Gull
prit He has his own gallows and 1t Is
stated, that he notches it every time he
sends soul into eternity. Ike a due
list hicks his pistol when he lands
fresh victim. We are told that Van Hise
has 80 notches on his gallows frame and
hoped to make It hundred. as John D.
Rockefeller longs to round up his age to
par. only give him condemned murder
ers enough and Van Hise will realize his
ambition, for nobody in New Jersey
envies him his sef-appointed mission OF
life.
Figures appalling IN their significance,
Nave just been published by the board
OF flealth giving the infant mortality in
this city for one month as 1888 or l24S
over the total of deaths Of children In the
rest of the State with an almost equal
population. These figures give startling
emphasis TO the demand for the pas
Irritation of the city's milk depots as
there is no dispute of the fact What the
chief handicap OF the city infant in its
fight for life is impure milk. Much has
been done in the way Of improved tene-
ments thorough sanitary inspection,
systematic education of mothers the
ulIleful Noik pl Nls.lUs nurses anu
physicians and philanthropic and health
department efforts OF various kinds 10
improve the condition OF children, but the
one fundamental peril of the child. the
milk supply, has remained unimproved.
The milk wagon daily disseminates
bacteria by the billions and the babies
die. while with an equally pure milk
supply, the city bahys chance for life
would be better than that of the country
child but infected milk throws the bal
ance the other way and rolls up the
death rate. 1t is to be hoped that these
alarming figures will spur on the Inn
pending reform. hurry the opening Of in
FAINT milk depots. and compel the pas
turization OF milk so as to give the lit
tie ones a fair change to live.
In the country districts and IN cities
throughout this State no one attempts
to move a load I'm icy weather with
smoOth-shod horses hut in little old New
York no horses are sharpshod and many
are compelled to work shoes worn as
smooth and shiny as pair OF skates. The
question that Is daily suggesting itself
to every lover of animals as he sees
horses falling Is, If something cannot be
done to prevent It barbarous abuse 10
the most faithful servant we have, whose
painful efforts at present to do their
work have excited the Ditv and iudirDn-