February 25, 1888
The Record and Guide.
237
Conoerninq Hen and Things.
Owners of real estate in New York will not be overpleased to learn from
a local geologist that in the course of time this city will be underwater.
It is an undeniable fact tbat tbe ocean is encroaching upon the shore here¬
abouts, and that there has been a steady subsidence of the land of this
island, as well as the surrounding country, extending back through a long
series of years. In ages past New York waa a high, rocky promontory,
and a river ran from New England whose outlet was a hundred miles to
the south and east of our harbor. Mar.y elderly New Yorkers will remem¬
ber that their fathers told them that in tbeir boyhood's days they could
wade across theButtermilk Channel between Governor's and Long Islands.
The Indians had a tradition that their fathers could croaa from the West¬
chester to the Long Island shores by jumping from rock to rock. How¬
ever, New York is likely to last soma time yet. A thousand years will
probably make some difference in relation to t'le land and the surrounding
waters, but iu the meantime ths rapid transit and improved system of
docks, the Harlem Canal, and the deepening of the channel in the outer
harbors, as well as the tunnels and bridges which will connect it with the .
main land, will make this city the foremost one in the world, despite its
final destiny to sink under the waves.
***
The proposition to force the patent medicine owners to submit their for¬
mula to the Board of Health, and have the drugs and their proportions
printed on the labels of the bottles, is a good one and ought to be adopted.
The public should not be at the mercy of quacks who put up poisonous pre¬
scriptions, or worthless ones, to injure the health or deplete the pockets of
the community. The medical profession ought to insist upon something of
this kind being done. It is known tbat many popular patent medicines
are really dangerous, aud that some of the soothing syrups for infanta havo
for their basis opium and other poisons even more injurious. But the
patent medicine people have plenty of money to bribe the lobby, and then
the newspapers in view of their large advertising patronage will very gen¬
erally oppose this attempt to discredit tbe more worthless patent medicines.
** *
Some members of the House of Representativts woke up to the fact that
the people of the United States have been giving a subsidy of millions of
dollars annually to the publishers of cheap literature by sending their works
through the mail at newspaper rates. Tbe average citizen is forced to pay
2c, an ounce for the transportation of his letters, which pays a very hand¬
some proflt, but the dime novel people bave been getting their trash
through the mail for a cent a pound, upon which there is a heavy loss. The
annual Post-office deficit comes from transporting newspapers and cheap
pohJications at about one-fourth the cost to the government. The news¬
paper proprietors profit to tbe extent of some eight to ten million annually,
which is paid them by the people of tbe United States, thia being about the
difference between what they give the government for carrying their
issues and what it costs tho Post-office to do so. The newspapers will aay
nothing about Ihe further robbery of the public Treasury by the issues of
cheap publications as it would attract attention to this big steal of
their own.
***
At least a certain portion of tbe traveling public will notice with
pleasure that the Pullman Company have at last abolished the absurd
phrateology by which they have hitherto desiguated their cars. Ouly tbe
word " Pullman" will henceforth be painted on the board over the win¬
dows instead of the old conglomerate title "'Pullman Palace Drawing-
Room Sleeping Car," or some equally ridiculous straining after the superla¬
tive. The bad example of the Pullman's in this matter has borne grotesque
results nhich we see in the new " Palace Cattle Cars."
***
The Spencer collection of paintings now on exhibition at Ortgies', ad-
joiniug the Stewart naansion, is one of the best private collections of the
worka of foreign artists which has beeu placed upon the market. There
are sixty-eight pictures in all, and they possess, on the whole, a high order
of excellence. Several of them are familiar to the public, having been
seen in the Morgan and Stewart coUectiona. Some of those worth noting
are Julei Breton's "Ls Soir," Meissonier's "Standard Bearer" and "A
Musician," Jerome's "Serpent Charmer," Frrmentin's "Arab Falconer,"
Corot's "Morning," Rouaaeau's "Sunset in a Wood;" " Above the Clouds,"
by Diaz, a fine study of the nude, showing grace, dignity and power; and
" A Clearing in the Porest of Fon tai neb lean," by the same artist, remark¬
able for its light-cioud effect on the sombre foreground. The pictures are
best seen to advantage by the gaslight, aud lovers of good paintings who
may visit the exhibition should do ho in tbe evening. There is also a flrst-
class collection of etchings in the aute-room. The exhibit is well worth
seeing.
***
Some very good art publications are quietly making their way by sub¬
scription. Amongst tbese are Turnure'a Art Age and Kelly's Art Review.
The former issues a fine etching with this month's number, entitled " Nar-
cissa," Amongst its other recent publications is au etching of "The Click of
the Latch," after F. D. Millet. The Review publishes monthly several good
pictures, copies of the masters, which are, on the whole, admirable works
of art.
* * *
The Mayor has presented to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund tbe
reaolution of the Architectural League of New York, condemning the
arrangements adopted by the Commissioners of tha Sinking Fund ts obtain
plans for the new municipal building in City Hall Park, A committee of
five presented the resolutions to tbe Mayor, who, it is said, seemed to regard
the action of the architects as an impertinent interference. Whether any¬
thing will be done io the matter i,t is inipoasible to say, The dale for receiv¬
ing plans has been extended from March lat to April 2fl, but this is proba¬
bly due, to the fact that few, if any, plans have been received. It is
certain that few archjtecti cf repute will haye anything to do >vith a com¬
petition of tbe kind arranged by the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund.
IC this had been the end in view, things coukl not have been better planned.
The profession b^s washed its hands of the whole Jiiitter andawaita the
result. We shall no doubt have another beautiful exompls of the pas sibili-
ties of municipal architecture, as in the Court House, and that ideal study
iu terra cotta—Jefferson Market.
The New York and Harlem Raiiroad Co, have petitioned thtj Board of
Aldermen for permisaion to use electricity <n their street care on 4th
avenue instead of horsea. They propose using the Julieu motor, a car fitted
with which having been employed on theroad experimentally during the
past year. That tbe company are ready to adopt it is proof that electricity
is at least as economical as horses, and tbere can be no doubt of its greater
cleanliness ani freedom from noise. In Brussels, Brighton, Portsmouth,
and many cities iu this country electricity has been in successful use for
years. It is no longer a matter of experiment, an far as practicability is
concerned. With the Julien motor the electricity is carried in storage
batteri* s withiu the car, which are charged when necessary at the terminal
stations. The cars are said to luu smoother than is ordinary on cable
roads, and the only objection made is that if one car breaks down from any
cause, aa happened on Monday last on Madison avenue, tbe line is blocked
for a considerable time, for the cars weigh tons and are no*; easily moved.
Care and experience will no doubt do away with this, which is said to be
only a rare occurrence.
Too Much Law, Not Enougli Justice.
Editor Recoud and Guide:
You have frequently called attention to the breakdown of our courts in
administering justice. Judge Lynch still on our frontier holda perpetual
session because tbe law will not or cannot punish the guilty. It is not long
since when the people arose in their wrath and burnt the so called " Hall of
Justice" in Cincinnati because the courts had been so "fixed" that the
murderer and the robber were never punished. Notice how all our courts aro
behind the times. It takes incredible pains and expenae to puuish murderers
in this State, or to bring malefactors to justice. The following dispatch,
published in the papers a few days ago, tells its own story:
Brazil. Ind., Feb. 33.—More than a year haa passed since the Wliite
Caps originated in Crawford county^ on the Ohio River. Their avowed
object was the correction of evil doers whom tbe law seemed slow to reach.
The beat citizens nominally engaged in it. Warnings were given, and no
doubt some merited switching were administered. Tlie order became rapidly
known throughout the State, and communities in a score or more other
counties bave adopted the methods. Innocent men have been whipped and
shamefully abused, and in some cases beaten to death, either by "White Caps
or by masked men iu their name. All efforts to bring them to justice have
failed. Meanwhile the spirit of thoorderseemsgaininggrouud. Onlyashort
time ago White Caps captured the Home newspaper at Clay City, twenty
miles south of Brazil, and published their warnings to derelict citizens.
The most recent outrage was perpetrated a night or two ago at Bloomfieid,
capital of the adjoining county of Greeuo. Their victims were Noah and
Fannie Good, husband and wife, and Sam Pierce, who made his home
with them. The men wore flogged on the bare backs with hickory switches
tbat brought the blood at each lick. In the woman's case the shingle was
used with effect. The three persons were then ordered to skip. They are
represented as immoral, but the method of correction was brutal and
cowardly as well as criminal. As usual, the best citizsns of tbe town were
engaged in it, or at least the affair meets with general approval to the
extent that no attempt at finding out the guilty psraons has beeu made.
Of course, this is a biassed account. But would the White Caps ever be
heard of if the courts of Indiana were at all efficient? We muat expect
these voluntary organizations—vigilance committees and the like—to
come into existence when tbe machinery of our courts fails to punish
crime. But our legal Bourbon.s neither learn anythiug nor forget any¬
thing. Judge Lynch has been holding hia court for a generation, and the
lesson to our Legislatures should have been such amendments to tbe law
as to insure prompt and sure punishment of crime. But, uo ; our justice
has not only been deaf, dumb and blind, but stupid. Is not the worst to
be feared if this goes on ? Alarm,
I
The Reading Road and the Strilie-
Editor Record and Guide :
As you have repeatedly predicted, Austin Corbin has got the beat of the
striking miuers. The latter have beeu beaten at every point, but have tba
means uaed been quite fair? The Times, of this city, is bitterly prejudiced
against all strikers, and invariably takes tbe side of the employers; but it ia
forced to aay in its issue of February 23 that—
The Reading Company canuot afford to give ground for any charge of
bad faith by the miners or their representatives. It was quit3 proper for
the company to refuse to re-employ men who had been guilty of unlawful
violence during the strike, but it is not according to tbe spirit of the agree¬
ment that it should take this oppjrtuniDy to " weed " its working torce. Its
duty and its interest alike, with regard to miuers ag linst whom it has any
proof of unlawful behavior, are to hand them over to the law.
The fact of the matter seems to be that the leaders of the strikers were
bought off, and that they made re present ation a to the meu promising better
treatmenton tbe part of the company, which Mr, Corbin had no notion of
making good. The Congresaional investigation is bringing some very ugly
facts to the public attention, showing that much of the past management
of the Reading was an infamjui swindle, as witness the following
testimony r
Charles E, Smith said that he had bean PreudenC of tha Reading Rail¬
road from 1S6I to 1869 and a director until 1876. He resigned his director¬
ship because he discovered in 1876 after an investigation t>iat the company
was publishing false reports and cooking up its accounts in tbe interest of
stock gambling. In the reports the trutu was suppressed, the llo.ititig debt
not reported, and while the road was not earning any m mey, it was paying
dividends on its stock, which was accomplished by barrowiug monov.
Someof thedirectors were gambling ia the stock and other inlluencea in
the management were impelled to pay these unearned {lividends through
vanity. The object of the gambling directors was plunder. The company
had borrowed $15,(J00,O0J to pay dividends which bad not been earned. He
specified one account of $1,28<),000 in the report of l87-{, whioh he said was
false and misleading, 'When asked, " Wbo suffered by this?" he anfiwered,