Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-12-16
NO TIME TO REPAIR TRAMps
Pressure of Orders Overwhelms
Ship Building Yards.
TO Take Tingerprints Of Reckless
Auto DEMONSTRATING Of Famous
BuFalo-Huge Profits Of Deal
ers in Narcotics.
Gongacre's New York lottery

~Longacre's New York !etter.)
%Shipbuilding and ship repair yards in
New York harbor are working under
such a pressure that orders for new
harbor equipment, including tugs. bar
gcs and lighters which some Of the
railroad companies are seeking to place
are going begging. Contracts for the
delivery OF steel tugs and carfoats are
also being refused unless delivery is
not required before the close OF 1916.
So heavy is the pressure on loca! re-
pair ship yards that they are also de-
clining orders for early and badly need
ed repairs on many ocean tramp steam
ers, which have been working so in
cessantly during recent months as to
cause serious complaints Of leakage BY
receivers of import freight. The situa-
ton as regards ocean freight is aggre-
waited by tho fact hat the great ship
repair yards in England and other for
eign countries are so busy on naval re-
pair work that It is only possible to
nave the necessary ~overhauling done in
American ship yards. One reason given
for the declining Of orders for harbor
equipment for early delivery Is the
growing fear that the yards will be I'M
dDIe W SeCuIe III utCeSSdIy bupplleS u
steel and other metals. An indication
OF conditions in this trade is furnished
by the fact that when the government
called for bids on two new dreadnoughts
during the past week. the bids received
were so high as to cause their rejection
by the navy department.
The number of eaths resulting from
the reckless driving Of automobiles has
reached such alarming proportions that
stringent measures are 10 be adopted
in the future for the handling OF this
class of offenders. In the boroughs of
Manhattan and Brooklyn III children
were killed during the II months from
December 1, 1914 to October 81 of the
present year. The total deaths for the
entire city. due to reckless driving,
amounted to All. 1t is claimed that the
existing laws governing operation OF au-
tomobiles contain serious defects, which
first of all must be remedied before eff
fective measures can be pursued in deal
ing with reckless drivers. At the pres
ent time there Is an absence OF legal
requirement providing that the owner of
an automobile shall procure a license 10
drive it. Most of the prosecutions for
speeding are OF owners, and 1t Is not
possible to control them by the ~cancell-
ing of a drivers license, the most effec-
tive method of handling similar cases
of hired chauffeurs The present method
of recording previous convictions for
speeding Is faulty, and it has been sug-
gested that the finger prints OF all of.
tenders be taken in order that previous
convictions for reckless driving may be
automatically disclosed. 1t Is also rec
commended that the most effective method
Of controlling the situation Is to give to
the city of New York the entire power
over licensing all those who run motor
vehicles. which at the present time is
vested in the State.
Black Diamond who for over % years
has been the leader Of the buffalo herd ir
the Bronx Park Zoo. as we'll as the IA.
Their of most Of them, and OF many others
that have been sold or exchanged, was
put to death during the past week.
Black Diamond had reached an age
when he was nab to endure the colo
of the winter months. His sufferings
were such during the winter months Of
last year that 1t was decided to spare
him the tortures of another siege. Las
August he was placed on the auction
block and knocked down to a butcher
for $500, Permission was given to keeT
him at the Zoo until the coming Of COO
weather, and that having arrived, h
was brought forth to his doom. Blacl
Diamond was the largest bison in cap
tivity, and his likeness was known al
over the country. for he was the mode
of the buffalo on the United States treas
ury ten dollar bills, and more recent,
on the new buffalo nickels." Durin!
tie past few weeks many offers wer'
made to prevent the killing OF Blacl
Diamond. One offer was to take him I,
a ranch in southern Colorado. but it wa
decided hat the old leader could neve
stand the trip. Many offered to buy hin
from the butcher and give him back t.
the Zoo. but this was impossible In view
Of the fact that it would only meal
another winter OF suffering for him.
Drug users throughout the city ar
beginning to feel the effects of the rigi,
measures which have been taken by tn
police department in suppressing the II
licft sale of drugs, During the past weel
twenty-eight victims presented them
" a. ga oC u III
because OF their inability to secure sup
plies Of heroin, cocaine or morphine I
which they had been addicted. Owe
one hundred men and women engaged 4
the Illegal drug trade have been arreste
during the past six weeks. The chic
difficulty encountered by tho police 4
stamping out the sale of these drug
is the enormous profit made by the ped
lers. to gain which they Will take
chance OF getting caught and OF receiv
ING a prison sentence. One ounce O
heroln, cocaine or morphine contain
, ABOUT l60 decks, as the littlc packet
which the pedlers distribute are called
Herein costs 1880 an ounce, cocaine s
| and morphine SS,75. In the theatr!ca
district a deck of heroin has bee,
selling for IS. which would mean n pro
mt OF over $500 on an Investment OF sos
In the poorer districts OF the city. adul
! terated drugs are peddled for 81 to s
a deck, and It is said that the pedler
3 often get thirty decks out of a drar
. OF drug, or 2o decks to an ounce.
3 The mobilization of New York's arm,
of $1,000 snow shovelers in preparation
! for the coming campaign against snoy
= storms this winter has been ordered b
5 the street cleaning department. On
{ hundred and three registration station
, where prospective laborers may leav
their names and addresses so they ma
1 be summoned at the first attack Of win