HARD TIMES IN NEW YORK. EFFECT ON WEALTHY CLASS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 08, 10 January 1908, Page 4

HARD TIMES IN NEW YORK. EFFECT ON WEALTHY CLASS.

blackx&r'e at the opera. J Tho New York correspondent of the London Daily Express cabled as follows to his paper 6xx 19th November: — A visitor to this country who attended, as I did, tho inauguration of the opeiatic season at the Metropolitan Opera Houselast night, or the brilliant < assemblage of plutocrats at the annual Horse Show in Madison-squaie Garden this afternoon, could not fail to be impressed by the contrast presented! between the opulenco displayed at these social functions and ■fclae loud -wailing and lamentation which reverberate daily throughout the financial and industrial communities. Tho celebrated "hoTse-shoe" of boxes at the opera was filled with beautifullydressed ladles, resplendent with jewels. All the bast-known figures of society honoured the occasion with their pTesence. No matter in which direction the eye roamed, it was met at every turn by the figures of men and women whose names are synonymous wjth wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. , But if one listened between the acts to the conversation of the spectators one quickly became «ilivc to the circumstance that one topic only discussed — the financial stringency. Constantly eyes were cast at the only empty box in the house, that occupied' last season by Mr. Barney, tin* Knickerbocker Trust president, tfho recently committed suicide. The same preoccupation was noticeable at the Criterion Theatre, which I visited for one act in ordor to witness the first performance under Mr. Charles Frohman's management of "Tho Morals of Marcus," with Mr. Aubrey Smith and' Miss Marie Daro in the chief parts. The play was enthusiastically applauded, and the perfomiers, who included Miss Forbes "Robertson, were repeatedly called before (,hfe" curtain. But in the interval the auditorium buzzed with remarks on the money situation. "So-and-so is trying to sell his £3QOC motoi-cur for £800, and con't get a bid." •'If you want to, get, a motor-car cheap, ; ndw is (he time. There are scores of them to be picked up for a mere song." "Have you heard that So-and-so is froing into bankruptcy?" "When is it all going to end?" "Not for two years at least." The scraps of conversation which I overheard in the course of five minutes all.ielated to the one dominating subject. At the- horse show, which is the great inaugural society function of the year, the depression was no le,<s noticeable. The boxes, which in former years, 1 am iiifpnncd, have been leased for an aggregate sum of £10,000, this year realised ouly£2ooo. Everywhere grim jokes about chastened wealth and millionaires discarding motor-cais for the humble tram-way-ear ara the ardor of the day. Even the speakers at, the opening luncheon could not fight clear of the univei&al topic. Thoy intcvlaided eulogies of the noble sport and science of horscbrceding with anathemas on Mr. Roosevelt. '"Yes," exclaimed Mr. Fcllowes, chief orator of the occasion, "it is true that tho President has turned on tho light, but in so doing he has allowed an enormous quantity of explosive gas to escape." Society, indeed, shares to the full the resentment of Wall-street against Mr. Roosevelt. But, as I cabled last week, I doubt if the country as a whole will accept the view that he is respon&ible for the depression. The liberation of the country from the thraldom of Wall-street is now a widely echoed war-cry, ajid Wall-street will probably have to make up its mind to submit in futuie to stringent supervision of j its operations. ! Meanwhile, as this great divorgenro ot national feeling becomes moie %mc!pBDreadi th.ere is no sijja that .the measures

adopted by the' Administration will exercise any immediate effect in relieving tho tension. I made a "ound to-day of .more than a dozen large shops, and the tal6 everywhere was the same. Diamond pins, ladies' clothincf, and articles of every description' aro -being offeicd for sale at bargain prices. The flow of emigrants back to Europe also continues in increasing volume. The great liners are unablo to embark half the etcerago passengers demanding transport to their homes. Kach one of these passengers has saved by his labours in this country sums ranging from £100 to £200. Their departure, while relieving the industrial situation, means that further immenso sums of money will bo withdrawn from circulation.