Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-07

-
1T is startling to read from the state
ment OF the Public Service commission"
says the Brooklyn Eagle, that the assets
OF the traction companies Of Manhattan
ana the Bronx, which at the time of the
merger with the marlborough, were
claimed to be $780, ,Oco, are now fixed
under the receivers, at S19,5S4.O7s. The
history Of corporation life and administra-
tion Will be hunted in vain for a parallel.
The rails are yet in existence; the same
routes are operated; the same. II not bet
ter cars and more of them. are run: all
the franchise and other rights are pre-
served under the conditions, and yet it is
discovered that OF the boosted assets over
four-fifths were purely imaginative. with
out other value than the raw nerve OF the
promoters gave them.
while these assets are now placed st
the value Of $19,5S4.O7 s, the acknowledged
liabilities are fixed at $1s.6 6l. O59, making a
deficit of z 1891. The whole system Is
bankrupt. Only the Third avenue line
shows an excess OF assets over liabilities.
having a surplus on paper of lob S5.
Why delay over foreclosure and reorganiza-
ton? Some one ought to go to Jail under
this disclosure. The great bulk of the
securities issued by the Metropolitan pro-
motors were as fraudulent as the issues of
counterfeiters."
Free medical examination of policy
holders every five years as a means of
prolonging human life was suggested to the
Association of Life Insurance Presidents
In New York by DR.. Burnside Foster,
editor of the st. Paul Medical Journal.
Such examinations. he declared, would re-
veal the iicipient stages OF unsuspected dis
eases that could be cured or at least re-
tarded, and the result, he thought. would
add from five to ten years to the average
life of the policyholders, thus saving many
millions annually to the companies.
The insurance officers present did not
receive the suggestion with much favor.
1t was not practical, they said, maInly
on account OF the expense involved and
partly because of the suspicion with
which the ordinary policyholder would
view any attempt to examine him again.
Just as a taxicab was passing down
Broadway near the post office the other
afternoon, a man OF distracted mein step
ped from the curb directly in front of the
approaching car, Several onlookers ut
tered cries Of warning, but they were not
ataAo ny ~ dOoEiA-HIlHutu llQlNluudls
The chauffeur did not move. nor did he
sound his horn. When withhln a few feet
OF the man he reduced speed a bit, and
leaning over the dashboard, reached out
his arm and gave the deftest sort Of a
shove. The man reeled out of the way
while the chauffeur settled back in his
seat and sped on down town with a grim
smile.
Ingenuity of a shopkeeper on upper
Broadway enabled him one day to turn
what most OF his kind would have regarded
as a disaster into profitable advertis-
ing. Across the street. workmen were busy
on the skeleton of a huge steel structure.
One OF the %riveters' hammers went wrong
and the bolt which was being
into place went whizzing across Broadway
with all the force OF a compressed air
drill behind IL. There was a crash and the
shopkeeper's plate glass window resem-
bled a spiders web, with a large hole in
the center. A few moments later. crowds
on the sidewalk were gazing in amaze
ment at this sign, displayed behind the
broken glass:
Il am the victim OF an riveter.
1t is not safe to place my goods in this
window: II is not safe for you to be stand
ing there. Come inside and have a look
at our line Of collars, cuffs, and other
wearing apparel for men"
Some years ago the Brooklyn street cars
killed so many children that public out
cry forced a reform Of the speed sched-
ules. Now the ehild-kiling has evidently
been resumed by the automobiles. as three
children have been run down and fatally
injured by speeding motor cars within a
week. Evidently drastic measures are re-
quired IL the speeder is not
to remain a constent menace to the safety
OF the public
PERSONAL NOTES