The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-30
FAMOUS NEW YORK
 LANDMARK DOOMED Tearing Down Old Assay
 Office on Wall Street MANY PEACE GAMES
Various Peace" Societies Should Stop Scrapping Among Themselves. Much Money Spent by Golf
 Players and Enthusiasts

New York, January 29.-(Speclal )-An- other famous old New York landmark is doomed. Since 1923. and that's long time for New York, the United States Assay office has stood in Wall street just below Nassau The amount of gold and silver which has passed through this building in the almost % years of It's existence is past the comprehension of tho finite mind. It runs away up Into the billions.
 The Assay office is a beautifully de- signed old structure. and the govern ment received numerous protests against It's demolition. Engineers made an ex- animation to see if it could not be re- stored and it's classic facade preserved. They found that even the front of the sides, was so far out of plumb as 10 make its preservation impossible. Ac- eordingly, just as soon as temporary quarters for the Assay office force can be prepared fin the new sky-scraper an- mex, which has been built in the rear, the old building will be vacated.
 The government has been criticised sometimes for operating a refinery in the heart of Wall street, but it Is most that it be located next to the sub treasury. A few years ago the build
 ing began 10 give way at the seams, and tho whole side opposite the sub
 treasury bulged outward as though un- able to hold the wealth pressing against it. This gave rise to sensational news
 paper story to the effect that millions of dollars were likely at any moment to
 pour into the little alley-way separating
 the two government buildings, and a gaping crowd stood for hours watching
 workmen brace the wall up with tenn porary snoring. So badly had the entire structure sagged that it was necessary to tie on the chimney with cables
 The refinery was tranferred to the new brick annex last September. and the offices will shortly follow, 10 remain there until new Assay office Is erected The | refinery has a tall stack surmounting | its roof, which carries off any fumes, fully r stories above the street. AS a | 'i"tt'i Di idils HliiIe llle OHlCe mas re- | fused to accept ore having a large per- centage of arsenic In It's composition there have been no objectionable gases to cause complaint on the part of office occupants.
 To preserve the historical associations of the old building. the architects have been asked to make the new office as much like it in appearance as the | broader needs of the service will per- init. The congressional appropriation was only intended to provide for a three | story building and the lines of the | present facade will be preserved so far | as possible. Private real estate interests | could hardly afford to erect low building on one of the most valuable | pieces of real estate In the world. but happily the government is above such 
 A task which might we'll be under taken by the managers of Mir. Carnegie's | peace fund, as a preliminary to its work | of getting the nations of the world to- gether, would be a settling of the differ | enees and a consolidation of the various |
 'tRA1NiN' spend the half million year Mr. Car 1egie has so generously provided for the | advancement of peace on earth. There | are at least 50 of such organizations in |
 he United States, many of them with | and each with the only simon | pure recipe for chaining up permanently | he dogs of war, if only they had the necessary financial assistance Peace | las never known such popularity as 1t | enjoys today. While statesmen and col ege presidents and experts on interna-
 ional law are harping on peace treaties. any number of men have come to the | fore with saleable peace ideas which |
 hey hope will catch MT. Carnegie's | fancy. Hundreds. of peace games have been invented. What is peace game? It may be one of number of simple games. already familiar since childhood | put the peace part of it consists in the | fact that the pieces it is played with are | designed to look like doves and angels Gabrial with his trumpet behind the | favorite.
 Every penny of 100000 year is now | spent on the game of golf in the metro | oolitan district alone, against few hun fred thousand about decade ago when | along with yachting. it was dubbed 'the | rich mans sport'' By the metropolitan | district Is meant territory within 55 | miles of New York city hall, except | that the whole of Long Island is in- l cluded If organization such as the | New Haven Country club, long clamor- | Ing for admission, were taken In the | estimate would have 10 be raised appre- | ,iabIy.
 About four years ago it was deduced | figures showed that there were in round | 100000 golfers in and tributary | to New York city Since then the num- | Der has been increased % per cent
 The expansion is merely one mani | festation of the irresistible sweep tow | ard outdoor life that resulted from the | increase in city congestion and has been | aided by the Saturday half holiday, now prevailing in New York mer- cantile circles. and the extension of the | subway to Van Cortlandt park The | too has been d dominant | factor in the growth of Westchester | county and nearby Jersey clubs Indeed | 1t may be said that the growth of nearly | all the clubs within 30 miles of Greater New York is limited only by improve ments in transportation.
 Dog Pots" successor has arrived at | the. city hall. She has been ohristened Sister Mary and is already a favorite | Sister Mary is only a few weeks old | but she is evincing the curiosity natural | to her sex, waddling up to stranger and friend alike, asking in her young dog way what kind of a world this is, any way. She Is to be introduced to Mayor | Gaynor soon.