Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-31

CHAS. MERE IN HIS
lie interest waned, certain careful investi-
gators proved that the statue was of mod
manufacture and Its makers con-
fessed.
Discredited, proved a fraud and shorn
Of it's attractive mystery, the Cardiff giant
no longer draw 50 cents pieces
from the pockets of the curious and dis
appeared from the center of the stage,
One Of the men who had bought it as an
investment. believing implicitly in its au-
thenticity, was Alfred Higgins, who is
still connected with the American Express
company in Syracuse. At the time OF the
Panamerican exposition in Buffalo Mr..
Higgins was asked to allow the giant to
be placed, at his direction, In a warehouse
at F%itchburg, Mass. After one more brief
period of popularity at the fair It was re-
moved again to Fitchburg, where 1t is
now in storage.
Dewey's FlaEship.
Then there is the cruiser Olympia,
,Dewey's flagship on a certain important
day little more thar eleven years ago,
when an empire was wrested from Spain.
For the time no vessel on the seas was
better known. 1t was reproduced by the
pastry artists at the corner bakery, 1t
floated into view on colored screens, In
Autographs, on postcards; 1t furnished
first names for the mothers OF the next
generation, for miscellaneous craft, for
cigars and collars, that final test of popu-
larity. The country rang with It.
The Olympia was built in 1892 and was
copied, strangely enough, after a vessel
in the Spanish navy, the Reina Regente.
It was one Of the speediest warships in
its class afloat. e Those who saw It at the
head OF the Dewey naval parade after
1t brought the admiral back to New York
will remember what a gallant craft It
was.
Subsequently it was in service in the
Atlantic. In 1907 1t was placed in reserve
at Annapolis. The cadets of the Naval
academy now use It as a training vessel.
stu stanch, still fast, little less efficient
than It was in 1895, It has been hopelessly
Outclassed by more recent additions to
the fleet, so that 1t no longer plays a
part In the calculations of naval experts.
Once It was hailed as. immortal. Now,
for the rest of its days, 1t is to play at
operations It once performed gloriously
and In grim earnest.
Castle Garden.
Castle Garden for ~three-quarters of a
century vas as familiar to New Workers
and visitors as Broadway itself. Some
100000 Of American citizens first set foot
upon the shores of the United States
through its portals, and It is inseparably
linked with the political. social and his
torical traditions Of the city.
1t was built in 1SU to defend the port.
and the preliminary rumblings of the Sec
ond war with Great Britain were the
omens that attended it's construction.
In 1923 1t was coded to the city by the
federal government, and II was ratified
as a theater, or garden" For thirty
years It was the chief amusement center
OF New York, and the musical triumphs
Of the time took place within its walls.
Jenny Lind, thu Swedish nightingale
who won away mems hearts and souls
with her marvellous voice, held her first
concert at Castle Garden in 1851. The
receipts were 81, SOo, and the singer gave
her share, 10000. to charities. At this
period 1t was the home OF Italian opera.
and Malibran, Sontag. Mario and Grisi
sang beneath its roof.
Given over to the emigrant service shortly
before the civil war, It remained unit 1880
as New York's gateway to the country.
AT this period 1t was surrounded by tenn
porary structures and lost all semblance
OF It's former warlike appearance. In 1896
II was remodelled once more as the home
or the Aquarium. The %disfiguring sheds
were then removed and the grim old struo-
ture wa allowed to show itself once more
In all its strong simplicity. h Aquarium
1t Is now and the Aquarium II win be to
the new generation. Castle Garden has
become a relic Of the past.
Other Famous Ghosts.
In 1900 William X. Vanderbilt, jr., pur.
chased and brought to this country his
famous White Ghost. a Mercedes, which
was regarded as a marvel OF automobile
manufacture. 1t was a marvel In its way
for Mr.. Vanderbilt drove It some $500,
miles without spending a cent upon 1t IL
repairs.
In spite OF its extraordinary qualities
the White Ghost was never a lucky ma.
ehine and Was involved In many accidents
In 1901 Mr.. Vanderbilt sold It to Edward
r. Thomas. Mr.. Thomas also had poo
fortune with II and a year later ne sold 4
- . MAs NaluCEDllL DOukn
Il for 5000 and parted with il for 5000
Mr.. Drake paid 5000 to become it's owner
The we'll known turfman used 1t for severa
years.
The name General slocum must Away.
have a sad and terrible significance t
New Workers, standing as It does for on,
OF the most pitiable and fatal disasters ii
history.
After public attention had been draw
aside from its fate It was raised. what wa
left OF II. The hull was pronounced lit 10
use, and a year later It was Converted int
a barge. This was named the MARYLAND
and became the property OF sayre 4
Fisher Of sayreviIle. n. j., who used
for bricks.
But even this emnan OF the vessel coul
not shake off the evil destiny that had fol
lowed the General Slocum. Last March
while lying at a dock at the mouth OF IN
Raritan river, the Marvland sank wit
10000 bricks on board-New York Herald
BuildinE Permits.
Charles Prugel. SS6 South Seventeenth
street, frame dwelling. 1850; o. c. Age
AO3. GeU and Ek1I Pratt atraaf fhrsa Frau,