THE SHAME OF THE CITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 179, 29 July 1909, Page 4

THE SHAME OF THE CITIES.

When aVIr. Xriueoln Steßens chose thfl title for jiis celebrated articles op the corruption and rnisgovernment • of Ameri-. tnaa cj-ties, .he was freely accused of libelling his •country end traducing his fellow-citizens. But .there i= only too much reason to believe that the evidence compiled by the American publicist in his depressing pages is literally and! specifically true; and certainly the intelligence supplied by our cable messages today suggests thai it would be practically impossible to libel Chicago. Wβ read pf contributions paid regularly by prostitutes to detectives and police inspectors, who accept "the wages off shame" and guarantee their "cli.en.ts", immunity from arrest; and of huge sums distributed by keepers of opium "joints" and gambling dens to -the police to secure their nefarious -traffic against interference. There is, of course, nothing ; h.ere> ■that was not known twenty years ago, even before Mr. W. T. Stead shftcked the tfotld with "If Christ Came to Chicago" and "Satan's Invisible World; ■Revealed," and there is nothing in this report quite so revolting as the revelations of systematic municipal .investment in vtee «that -were brought out duripg,' the recent Sehmitz-Ruef trials at ;6an.' Francisco. But there is enough to gal--vanise into life the dormant moral sense: of any civilised community, and it ;is ;to; be hoped that the recital of these horrible facts will hasten for America the long-delayed era of social Jind political, regeneration. Reviewing the records of Kew York and San Francisco, -Philadelphia\and StLouis, Pittsburg and Minneapolis, it would be difficult to decide which *hp great American .cities hns attainedVpreeininenee in political and social corruption. But if we are to accept as lite'fjtlly accurate the account that the of Chicago have/been giving of themselvesduring the past two or three years, -.in aiewspapers and magazines, the " metropolis of the Lukes " may fairly nlaim ihe •.palm. Two years ago what the local journals unanimously described as " a wave of crime" passed over Chicago. For months, us a public prosecutor said in open court, human life was the chea,p- ---' est thing in the city. The papers constantly published warnings to householders how to secure their houses against; burglars, and how to defend themselves if attacked, and the " don't shop after dark" notice to women was a permanent feature of the public Press. Mr. Mackenzie Cleland, n well-known lawyer a-t ; this time, calculated that the city's crinil inal record -was a burglary <e\-ery threp hours, a "hold-up" or robbery with violence every six hours., and a suicide and a -murder every day. One of the municipal ofiicia's took some credit to himself for contesting these figures, and endeavouring to show that the murder average wajs only one in two days for the first four months of the year. But the difference! is immaterial, and on.one.significant point everybody was agreed that the police were useless because they were openly in league with the criminal classes. In "McCJure : s Magazine" at the time there were published a long -series oi extracts ■ from tlie ..Chicago papers .containing ample proof of the constant recurrence of -atrocious crimes, and of the protection of vice through the deliberate connivance of the police. The Chicago Press, according to the editor of '"McOlure's," is able, clean,and, generally speaking, non-sensational, und from the local papers alone ample' evidence was procured to justify theworst charges brought against the municipal authorities for complicity in this carnival of crime. The "Chronicle" in particular published a startling article on "The Vice Trust." showing that owners of houses of ill-fame were compelled by the police to sell out to them under threat of being closed up, and that the houses were then re-let by the police to other occupants for the same evil purposes; and the rest of -the evidence was -in tkeeping -vdth *his loathsome sample. The Secret erf all .this infamy is, of .course, as "MeClurei" points out,' that "tihe- tward and -not -the iaa ;heen able to .dictate -fch*

adrmmstlratio_.;of the law"; and so long as munficipal affairs are controlled by the "nim'd_fo-r_iigjrT and professional politicians |i_-_crnerica, so long will these -outrage|s. ugbh;..<;iirilisatioji' continue to stain thie records of the Great Republic.

The Following js the Itev. D. C. Bates' weathe r forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. his days:.--"From between north and w ss £ and south-west strong winds to gale; rain probable-; glass rise slowly soon; weather squally, unsettled, and pror bably' much colder." The Supreme- Court Civil Sessions open next Mondaj week." The last day for filing actions is the sth proximo. The Crimii la ,l Sessions, will begin a -week later. TJie Criminal Calendar again pro r •raises t ope a heavy one. To date there are 3 J case* set dpvvn. The annual show of ttte Auejsland Kenn ,j ejubj j s to be opened tpmorri w afternoon by his Excellency the Gove rnpr, a* 2.30 p"m., in -the- Portman Boon is, yiatoria-sfcreet, W* promises to fee tl: c most successful show of its kjnd ever held in the province. A record nuanj er of .entries has .already been receivei I Over 270 dogs from every part of th > Dominion will be -exhibited, ineludin a>-nearly every class-, from carriage pets i ,o St. Berna-rils. Ttete is. said to be an exceptionally -nne-.sliejK of; spaniels, bulldogs and terriers. A-. Stew Plymouth fancie r exhibits btaie poftß c.ocker spftniels and 1 [lack pugs. There -WSJ also be a pood show of Australian tertiere, imgs' and 3 ?oi»eraniaus, YorJssMr,e and black and t oi tfjfters «nd French poodles. A large :numter valuable. prizes are offered. Jjxdging commences at 9.30 a.m, sharp to-m-orr-ow morning. Som where -in the -Newmarket Borough Couijfcil's offices are a number of dusty old Jtojaaes, ..miscalled a ttbr.ary. It is some time since the Council decided tba-t it had no use for them, and a comm.i.ttee. that they be handed we* to : the fire brigade. "The Council, ;h.avbe\rer, were of a njind tla&t the books eufih as would n.ot be a,ocepta.b.le toy the .fjre briga.de, nor to any one else nxy Ne.wmar.ket for that matter. Last night it w.as decided to send thejn along to the gaol for the benefit of the prisoners, -who, it may be presumed, are most in need of improving literature. The Mayor pointed out that there were many .SSRSJMe men .in ga«L to whom such .boojss as scientific works, Chambers' Wscellany and Encyclopaedia might be interesting- Tie fire brigade is evidently not .made up of men of that sort, and the .Council are therefore losing noth-J ing, the Fire Brigade is losing nothing,; and th« grea-t up-to-date cause of -prison. .r.Qfo,rflj may be assisted perhaps.. The fact that the Ashburton loan of £1500 at 4J per ceat has not found favour on the London market is somewhat surprising in view of the fact that .mo.ney is abundant. The manager of the Xfnion Bank of Australia received a cablegram from the 1/Ondon office stating-.. "■X.oan unsuitable on London market at present time." He is a£raid the difficulty arises owning to the loan being so small, and to the- fact that Ashburton being so little knowji in London, a buyer o.f the debentures there might have difficulty in realising, again should he desire io dp sq. The new side school at Avondale South, which has just 'been completed, will be opened on Saturday a-fternooa at 2.30. Addresses will .'be de.Uve.red by 3J.r. C J. Parr (chairman of the Board of Education), his Worship the Mayor pi Auckland (Mr. C. D. Grey), Mr. J. 'Bollard, M.P. (,who is chairman of the A.yondale School Committee), and 3dr. J. Hogwood Gieadmaster of the Avondale Public Arhoql). The speeches wjll be interspersed with a number of musical items, i and the ladies of the neighbourhood will provide afternoon tea. Should fine weather prevail, a very -pleasant gatheripg may be .anticipated. The tenancy of an Auckland Harbour .Board section near the pumping atatioA, on the west side of the entrance to the .Hobson-street wharf,-was sold by auction β-t the Board's .buildings this mo.rning by Mr. Ward Baker. The section has a frontage of 00ft, with a depth ot 75ft, Tunning -to a point, and contains 3500 square feet of ground, And the sale wag •for a β-months , tenancy -from August' Ist, 1009, with termination after that date hy three months' .notice .by either «id<?. The "bidding started at £20 per annum, an offer o.f £I}o immediately ip.Uowing, and the price ran up quickly to £So in fives. Bidding was continued in olTers of single pounds till it reached £59 p<"r «nnum, «t which figure the tenancy was knocked down to Messrs. Carder Bros, and Co. There will be a sitting of the Magistrate's Court at Waihi on Wednesday, in addition to the usual sitting on Tuesday, on account of the large amount of crimUnal iusiness having been set down for There are no less than ten.; Viquor cases already booked for this sitting. ' •The new pipe organ built -by Mr. GeV r " e Croft, of Auckland, for St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church is com-, plettfd, and wi]i be opened at a $e.rvit:e t and \recital to be held in the churoh. to-morrow evening. An attractive programme will be presented, as announced elsewhere, composed of popular orgae pieced by Mr. W. T. Sharp, an anthem, and the "Hallelujah Qhorus" by the com-' bined j .choirs of St. .Stephen's and St.' Andrew's Presbyterian Churches, and vocal j solos by Mr. 'VV. C. Prime anfl Mr. Q. E. Farrow. There will be no charge- for admission, but a colleotion taken/ up. This attractive programme draw p. crowded audience. Ne\Vs was received at Sydney, by the Dutch mail steamer Lc Maire, on arrival from-Java, that extraordinary weather has been' experienced throughout the Dutcy 'Islands. Heavy rain has .destroyed crops; and blocked the export of sugar. At Deli, Sumatra, the tobacco industry suffered severely. It is estimated that the loss for the season amounted to three million pounds sterling. The sugar •export has been -hampered, and when the te Maire left :t-here-were 11 steamers Twaifcmg -to load. These vessels were on time charter, some. ,to Joad for the Continent and others for Japan. The cause for the alterations in -seasons was attributed locally .to .the s.eismic disturbances in EuropeA meeting of stock-owners -and farmers interested in the conduct of sales at the Paparoa yarSs was. says our Dar.gavjlle correspondent, held on the 21st, IS the Drill Hall, Paparoa, to endeavour to get the Auckland Farmers' Union, Ltd, find th-a New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.. Ltd., to arrange to hold their sales on the same dates and ; in the same yards, and thus suve the farmers and stock-owners a considerable amount of time and trouble' in .attending more than one sale per month. A resolution, .and .strxng jeco.inmendati.Qn o i Jthis kind' 1 i is to Jbe forwarded to the directors pf the Farmers Union Qo. For your *oy. _A line -of <jnly 25 tunici suits offering at 8/11. We also have the' famous Conway in all sizes and prices i Geoi i

In regard to article appearing in a_,othet-"column, dealing •wltji. the _opelessly neglected; state of the Sj-monds-s tr.ee fc it is wotth while npj/ipg the provisions of the. Act passed in 190.8, whi.eh. provides for the regulation of certain burials in, arid the ujtima-te closing of, the Symo_d3--street cemeteries. The preamble; of the i Act sets forth that, in the interests of the public health it is desirable to close the whole of the cemeteries situated at Symonds-street, and to prevent the same being used for any further burials after December, 31st, 1909, with certain specified' exceptions. The exemption clause, provides thai the body of s&y widow or widower, who has at**A*p the age of 50 years, may be bT*S&.d. ir* the cemetery if the body of the husband or wife (as the ease may be) his previously been, interred therein. The cemetery, after December 31st, J909, is to be vested in the Auckland City Council, "to be maintained in good order as a public reserve." Part of the ceijje-tery. facing Karangaiia.p.eroad, is set for the erection ' of public baths, and a storage reservoir for water. The Drainage Board had before it last night the question of the size and capacity of the sewer which is to run down the Arch Bill Gully and the one which will drain the One-tree Hill district. The principle adopted by the Board on the recommendation of the engineer" in fixing the size of drains and sewers in connection with the scheme is to ntake provision for six times the dry weather flow. To this some of the outside bodies take exception,, and think the sewers should be big enough to take off storm water as well. With regard to t;he Arch 'Hill :Gull.y the local. bodies want the open drain closed up altogether, but the Board proposes to provide a drain that -will take only the sewerage. . The engineer assured the deputation at the meeting of the Board last night that there would be nothing flowing into the gully that would be a menace to endanger the public health, and that the size of the sewer had been calculated on -the requirements of the area affected when fully built on, which might not be for 5.0 years to .coxne. Four new siearners have been ordered for the Royal Dutch Packet Line. Two are to be fitted for coal consumption, and are intended for the Australian trade. The reason of ,the change from oil to coa.l is the bg&yy .duty imp.Qsed by the Australian Government. The remaining two will burn oilj ftnd will not visit Australian .waiters. There was some argument and a good deal of talking at cross purposes at -the meeting of the Newmarket Borough Council last night, the -topic being a reeommeMa.ki.on of -the Finance Committee, the object of -which w_s to secure economy in the purchase of -supplies. _t -was -stated that certain articles needed by She Waterworks Department have been purcßased -from a certain firm without regard (to. -the question whether .or not -that firm's prices are the lowest quotations. The Finance Committee brought down, a recommendation which -would have had the effect of preventing this again occurring, and it was on this recommendation that -the animated discussion arose. Mr Kinder it was who made -most active objections, asseverating with some heat that the Finance Committee was arrogating to itself powers which, .the -Council had never delegated. The members of the Finance Committee stuck to .their guns, saying that if they discovered among the accounts they were asked to pass,, anything which indicated that-money was being lost' for the ratepayers, it-was tlfeir duty to bFing it before the Council. The. majority of the Council held the same, opinion, «nd the contentious clause was passed.;. ...

A curious sequel to the Penguin disaster was brought up in a case mentioned to His Honor Mr. Justice Copper by Mr. P. J. .O'Eegan, in .banco at Wellington yesterday- Margaret Rafferty, of Newry, Ireland, is the mother of a-seaman who was drowned in the wreck of the Penguin. For -some time previously she had been dependent on his assistance for a- livelihood. The law debars her from claiming under the Workers' Compensation Act, 1908, the provisions of which restrict the right of F claiming compensation to persons domiciled or resident in the Dominion. She intends, however, to claim damages from' the shipping company concerned under the Deaths by Accident Compensation Act. Mr- CRegan, who put the facts of -the case before his Honor, explained that the defendant company had informed him that if they were satisfied that a person domiciled outside •New Zealand could maintain an action., under the latter, ,a settlement would -be achieved without .further dispute. The. present proceedings were taken -under the Declaratory Judgments Act. Negotiations were in -train -whioh might obviate the .neeossHy of bringing -the .case to •Court. rConsetmently "his Honor made no fixture. The total output of gold in Victoria since the first discovery -in '185T; to -the end of 10D8, is 70;677,6680z. .gross, or 66,464,13202. fine gold, .valued at £262,----_21,433. Dividends last year amounted to 56319(293, or .-a slight ,increase over • the disbursement on 19Q.7. Xhey were paid by 71 companies, on a total, of £ 2;032,359 worth of gold -.won. Some of *the many "howlers " that are attributed to the young idea that is being taught to shoot in the estimable insituations provided by the State rfor the education of young New. Zealand bear the marks of having been evolved from the brain of children of a larger growth; but twp or three genuine instances of the amusing manner in which the child mind works occurred quite recently in a -public schpol within a hundred miles of Queen-street. The class was being initiated into the beauties of " The Lady of the Lake," and had been -asked to paraphrase that sounding line: "Now, yield thee, or by Him who made the earth, thy. Jife-blood dyes .my blade!". A small boy, who had. been thoroughly imbued with the spirit: of the Wizard of the North, even if not witji.his -diction, electrified tberieacher by the following apt but most unexpected answer: .'" Now, .give in, or, by trod, I'll kill you!" The second instance occurred, while these lines from a well-known poem were under review: "He stayed not for brake and he-stopped not for stone. He swam the Est river, -where ford there was none." " What," asked the teacher, "is the •meaning of ' He stopped not for brake?' " "He didn't wait for the 'bus" was the prompt reply of the young Dominionite. On another occasion the children were having a lesson in punctuation. The droughts in Australia were under consideration, and a pupil who was asked to punctuate a paragraph which included a graphic .recital of how the hollow-eyed squatter " watches the rivers and dams with anxiety," had evidently gathered ;his .ideas of the conversation of-the Cornstalks from a certain publication which is : noted -for its vivid cover ,and vivid Jan-" guage, for he insisted in, inserting a comma .after " riven."