The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-09-15
NEW YORK LETTER.
Stray Topics From Little Old New
York Gathered From Near and Far
For the Dedication OF the Reader.


New York, Sept 13-After Coney
Island had been running wide open
all summer. with crime, immortality
and gambling in full swing and, APP
parsntly under the protection of the
police, the acting Mayor of New York,
being in control of city affairs during
the absence of Mayor Gaynor, dis
covered" the appalling state of affairs
at that famous beach resort and ord
cred the lid clamped down good and
hard. In view of the fact that this
order came when the season at Coney
is practically closed, it has caused
some amusement among the citizens.
Conditions in Coney Island have al
ways been fairly bad, considerably
more so than at other beach resorts
along the Atlantic coast. but if the
statements of numerous investigators
and large number of victims can be
credited, the state of things during
the summer just ended, was worse
than ever before. There were more
dives. more crooks and thugs and more
lewd women in Coney this summer
than ever before and it SENS that all
of them did thriving business. All
through the summer complaints from
victims who had been robbed at
Coney came pouring In at police head
quarters, hut nothing was done in
abatement Not until after the season
was closed did the authorities high
er up" discover that the lid was wide
open and that it was necessary to put
a stop to the activity of the criminal
element in that popular resort Act
ing Mayor Mitchell did not order the
police to make an investigation. but
sent out a number of city employees
for that purpose. The result was a
thorough shake-up in the police de-
partment which is responsible for the
lawlessness at Coney
Milk Dep0ts Closed.
The closing of TIE depots establish
ed by Nathan Straus in this city, for
the sale and distribution of pasteur-
lied milk for the use of infants is a
great blow to thousands of poor fam
lilies in the overcrowded tenement
districts of Manhattan and Brooklyn
When these milk depots were estab-
lished few years ago, Mr.. Straus was
acclaimed as benefactor of the
poor, especially OF the babies of the
poor. The milk was sold at a nominal
price and was given away to those
who had not the means to pay for it.
The milk trust--and all assertions 10
the contrary Notwithstanding, there is
really such a trust-did not approve
of Mr. Strauss charity, because it en-
abled the poor to obtain good milk for
little or nothing instead of being COM
PEELED to pay an exorbitant price for
poor milk TO the trust. BY peculiar
coincidence a few doctors made the
discovery that pasteurized milk was
Injurious to infants-at least they
said that such is the case. Backed by
the trust an agitation against pas
teurized milk was started which be-
came SO strong, that Mr. Straus de-
cided to close his milk depots. 1t Is
expected that this step will lead to a
tremendous increase in the mortality
OF infants in the tenement districts,
but that will not worry the milk trust
in the least SO long as it can squeeze
a few more dollars out of the consum-
ers.
A Doubtful Joke.
The other day the first morning mail
brought a letter to one of the daily
Some persons have rather peculiar
notions of what constitutes a joke.
newspapers, in which the writer, the
Raad the Central Varmout Excur-