Smyrna times., 1940-10-17
SIDE LIGHTS OF
NEW YORK CITY
Told By L. L. Stevenson in
His Own Immical Way
of DOings in City
INTERESTING SKETCHES

Though repeal is six years old,
vivid memories of prohibition days
have been revived within the last
few weeks in this vicinity. While
no armed boats speed up and down
the Hudson looking for law violators,
there is much activity along the riv-
er front. The watch is not kept for
rum runners, however In this in
| stance. cigarette runners are the
prey. Because the state and city
impose taxes totaling three cents
on each package of gaspers sold in
the city, there is a difference Of
| about 80 cents a carton in the New
York and New Jersey price. So
the city department of finance has
Is agents and six detectives on the
lookout at tunnel and bridge termi-
nails and at ferry landings. Also
the city is reported to have snoop-
ers over on the New Jersey side
who keep vigilant lookout for pur-
chasers Of large quantities and trail
Lllelll dCIOSS LIlG IlNeT.
Culprits are taken into custody on
the ground that possession of Gig
arettes without the local tax stamps
is law violation. In the begin
| ming, only those who brought over
cigarettes in the hope Of turning a
more or less honest penny were TAX
en- into custody, fined and placed un-
der bail for trial under the state
law. Then the city's tax-free pro-
hibition forces cracked down on any
one they happened to catch with
cartons. There were those who ar
gued that such Interpretation
wouldn't pass higher court. They
maintained that under it the New
Jersey resident who forgot to dump
his smokes when he reached the
middle Of the Hudson, or the mo-
torist who in all innocence had
bought a couple Of packs when he
| had run out, would be malefactors.
But those arrested preferred to pay
fines and go on their way rather
than hire lawyers and stand trial.
Stopped. along with many others,
to look in that hole in the ground
at Broadway and Forty-third street
/ where for many years had stood the
old Fitzgerald building. AS / was
watching men load bricks and other
l debris into a motor truck. who
should stroll along but ruddy-faced
! George M. Cohan. smiling and nod
ding to friends and full of life and
i vigor. Then / recalled that the van
ished Fitzgerald building had housed
the George M. Cohan theater. Thus,
/ a man who has actually outlived
\ playhouse named for him.
4 Wandering on over to Sixth ave-
nue., / took a peek down into the
depths, through convenient open
ing, at workers engaged in bringing
to completion the new Sixth avenue
subway. For long time now, these
toilers have been laboring far down
beneath the street in a region of
semidarkness, which seems TO be
filed with scaffolding, ladders. pipes
and wires. Thus another free show
for New Workers who are supposed
to be eternally in hurry-and most
of them act as if they were-but
who always seem to have time to
linger and watch men at work.
Blasting down under Sixth ave-
nue. seems to have come to an end.
for which many persons are thank
full. But the blasts caused little
trouble. Because New York is built
4 on rock, most of the digging is
done with dynamite. Experts are
in charge of the job Of course and
they can so limit the explosions that
they are just about under complete
control On rare occasions. howev-
er, one does get away and causes
damage, generally slight. That is
not the fault of those in charge.
however, but is due to some fault
in the rock formation.
Construction work on the Eighth
avenue subway gave the dynamite
experts plenty of chances to exer-
else all their skin. A part of the
line runs through the financial Sec
ton. some stretches passing within
a few feet of the walls of vaults IN
which were stored gold and other
treasures amounting to kings ran
som. A mishap would have been
costly indeed. But while lot OF
high explosives we're touched of,
nothing happened except finishing
the job. And now the Independent
subway system carries 1.o67, ,00 pas
sengers every week day and 52O,0 600
each Sunday.