The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1916-12-15
Owners Take To Walking or
Travel In Subways
GROOMING OF WHITMAN
New York Governor May Be
Put Forward For President;
Gotham Gossip
Especial to rhe Free Press.l
From MnSoays DsIIv.

From Mondays Daily.
New York, December 11-Showing
that stagnation and practical paraly-
sis OF all traffic movement through
the center of this city will result be-
fore spring if the new automobile
routes are not Immediately opened
up, the police and highway heads de-
clared today that the crowded con-
dltlonS of the streets here were now
the worst in the whole world. Pas
sage over the pavements from end
to end of this little island is now
reckoned by chauffeurs in the rush
hours as quick and lucky at the rate
of two miles an hour, while many
auto owners have abandoned the use
of their cars and have taken to walk
ing or subway travel between offices
and homes. Unless many miles of
motor highways are speedily set out
all about the congested centers of
Manhattan Island it is admitted that
the traffic tide will soon be seriously
damned up.
The Presidential Program.
With Whitman setting all sail for
the White House at Washington four
years from next March, republican
leaders of this town are today secret
ly admitting that the governor will
be a hard man to head off from the
presidential nomination if his past
luck continues to hold good. With
three terms in the gubernatorial
chair at Albany to get good grip on
the party machine, any man can make
hi Io1, 20,
the highest honors in the national
field, it is admitted, while unusual
opportunities to prOpitiate the pro-
gressives are preserted. Now that
the governor has linked up George
w. Perkins with his powerful per-
sonal following, no one here believes
he will fail to exert every effort to
play Colossus, supported by both reg
ular republicans and independents.
Changing the Chargers.
That gasolene motors, pumps and
engines will within another year en-
tirely replace the picturesque, old
fire horses and steam engines over
every block of this city, is predicted
by the fire department heads, who
have just completed plans to do away
with the ancient equipment that al
ways thrilled the crowd in action.
Where seven hundred dollars worth
of hay and oats is consumed by each
of the old fire chargers every year,
only thirty dollars worth of gasolene
will speed a modern motor engine to
fires all through the same period, it
is demonstrated, while the old
fashioned Steamers cost two hun
dred dollars to keep at the work that
twelve dollars worth of motor pump
ing has been proved to do nowadays.
it is claimed that ten mil
lion dollars month can be saved by
abolishing the fire horse system,
many New Workers will miss the
million dollar spectacle that its
fiashy run used to provide every day
Dick Croker's Criticism.
Recalling the days when the Tam
many tribe held all Gotham under
the sway of their tomohawks, grizzl-
ed old Dick Croker is just revisiting
this town to survey what many poll
ticians believe may be the remains
of the powerful organization that he
once led repeatedly to victory. To
the loss of the strong support OF the
fighting Irishmen who no longer pre-
dominate in the Tammany ranks, this
veteran boss attributes the recent
loss of his old political clan, which
he declares must strive to interest
and enlist the masses of Italian and
Jewish voters who have largely sup
planted the Hibernian population
No man ever knew this
city better than Dick Croker, whose
words are being pondered deeply by
every Tammany brave at the start OF
their desperate battle to regain con-
troll of the town.
Slow is Shopping.
In spite of the usual campaigning
for early Christmas shopping, New
Workers are still staying away from
the stores here for the final drive
that has always made a horror of the
few days and nights before Christmas
Eve. Though everyone processes
pity for the shop slaves and resolves
to heed this advance call, no expert
enced merchant expects any change
in the belated gift-buying crush this
year. With the health and welfare
of thousands of workers at stake,
every effort is still being made to
relieve the rush that the careless
Christmas shoppers here have always