LATEST AMERICAN GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6578, 16 December 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

LATEST AMERICAN GOSSIP.

[FROM OCR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. J San Fhancisco, November la. THE BOURIJOX VICTORY. " The King is dead. Long live the King." This is the cry at present, loud and long reiterated through the length and breadth of the Golden City. Never for tvventy years haa there been such an exciting election. Never was there known such a defeat or such a victory iu the annals of politics. I The United States have gone Democratic at last, after years of lighting and disappointment. For twenty years the Republican party has held its own, p-ipnitig supreme, with a sparse sprinkling of the Democracy here and there to give it a flavour. And no-.v, in this State at any rate, the entire party has been igiiomir.ously defeated and cleared out to a man. Yen, there is not even one stray Republican left to add to the consolidated mass of I.Mitch and Irish who will henceforth rule the. lnnd. The Republicans have themselves to blame lor the I overthrow of hossism and monopoly, and, although one does not cire for the element which will henceforth Iμ- in power, yet it is a good tiling for the State that the vile rings are broken up, for, trulv, the Republicans had it all their own way too long. They were masters of the situation, and did as they pleased, with little respect to law and order. And now it r.-inains to be seen what kind of hand the Democrats will play. Xo doubt they will sweep very clean for some time to come, but should they remain in power for any lengthened period the same game will be enacted over again ; for it takes time to endow a body witli strength and render them corrupt, as the men who I are now wiped out. It has been a mar- | vellous victory, inasmuch as all the States have taken the same lint- of action. And why '.' you will ask. Well, the Sunday Law plank in the Republican plank has had everything to do with it. Two-thirds of our population are (Jcrman and Irish. The I!erm.iii9 hold Siinlay to lie a day of pleasure, and have all along been deail against the Sunday Law. The Irish also, being a Catholic body, have their own ideas abnut having what amusement tiny can on Sunday after church. Tims the rwiilt. IVomincnt liquor merchant.', whose word is law to the retail ilealorii, sent round cards, saving. " Vote the Democratic ticket straight " and their mandates were obeyed to the letter. It is not. therefore, a question of the hi st men to rule, but the men who will not listen to prohibition. In fact, the Democrats owe their victory to a tidal wave of beer—not a

very honourable mode of getting in. or one which redounds to their VJut so it is, and even the Republicans themselves have gone over to the Democracy, in order to litt the burden oil the .shoulders of the people. So. for some little time we may say adieu to ring politics and bossism. THE HEAD OF THK DEMOCRACY. A man named Chris. Buckley, of whom I have often written, a blind saloon-keeper, is now the man who wiel.ls the most powerful baton in this city. He is at the head of the Democratic partv. and will do with it pretty much as he chooses, since he has been mainly instrumental in bringing his "lambs" into ofliee. His bar-tender is to be Clerk of the Supreme Court. Think of it. Tlie man who has been filling live-cent glasses of beer and doling whisky at ten cents per glass over the bar-counter for years and years is suddenly to be transplanted to the higher regions of society, whrre be will mix with lawyers and other members of the learned profession, and take his place among them as a "man and a brother." All the senm of tlie city will now act into clli:-e. Meanwhile, the' Kepublie.-ws" are the most miserable-looking crowd you ever saw. goini; about with their hats crushed down over their eyes and their hands in their pockets. The scenes have been very amusing. One assessor, who is a favourite, and has been in two terms, was very bombastic over the situation. He is a tine, portly man, by name Alexander Badlam. At the primaries he was heard to say that it would be a " cold day when he got left." In fact, no one ever dreamed that either he or Mayor P.lake would be beaten, but even th'ese two favoured favourites were ousted with the rest of the candidates, and Alec's cold day dawned. The wat'.s of the Democratic party aptly illustrated this fact !>y leaving on his door-stop and plentifully strewed before his dwelling a ton of ice, which was found in the grey light of the following inorninc ; but others, who did not desire that the popular Alec should altogether freeze to death, sent him a ton of coal and a pair of blankets the day after. There was much merriment over his defeat, which I thus illustrated by a little verse-oav-pentering : — OUT IN TKK COLD. The sat in his e 'nir, Whicii hcM .sit in. you <■<-. lor nunv a yoar. Anil lie l.iuah-il ar'l talkei! for Ik- imiln't a c.ire I'i h:* jolly >.:; heart : jier I::i,l Ik- :i fc.ir lor he- knew tli-it his rJk-n li.ui K-en just M-.d r.ure. The lan- decreed that a tic-w election .Should put to the test tin- i .jo].l-'s niTcrtion. And Alec ho swor- it would !.e a " cMd .lay," Wlic-n he frum his i«on» slio-.il.\ lie driven awav. liliiff and hearty lie wvnt Minn-. Always so jelly, whistling :: s..n~. And All-:-,"Jloor feil'ow. i- niiw'tn' a tr.v.' A w-lii-l-i ton nf ire r>!: hi* .-,!•. j, i!i-y liis'ilay. Which s!li»u-s t'--.t for Al,-e th. r,- .l:iw:>« :l "c ,M .lay." •Twas rruM to place it there, all "ill declaim To kick .lown .in enemy is not .jiiitu f-.ir. Hut fr-eiuls gathered rouuJ him, to sliiuhl from t!io Wlv. ?..-nt lii:« rr.mc blankets t". kwp himx-lr ram. And .i whole ton of c-n.il «-..- saw ibiv,- up tli.it way, So ->lec wont frt! tlm 'tis ai l. a " c- Id day," Tli» IU-:iK.vr:its s lnry in K-ii x ii'iits kind, " And remember the frie: <!s «lw aiv so far lieliiud. LADIES AND POLITICS. The interest manifested by the ladies has been something extraordinary. There arc so many women out of employment, and heretofore there has been such diliieulty in f_'etti:jg positions from the autocrat Repub-lic-ins'that they have gone to work with a will electioneering for their favourites, (j.illantry on the men's part has been made evident by Kepnblicans voting wholesale for the enemy, and so securing their election. I did a good deal in this way mvseli, and so secured a comfortnl.le position for a lady who shall be iiiunclcis. The Aniencm men are always oprn to tlie blandishments of a "smart"'woman. Tliu majorities arctjii'tc unprecedented. Stoneman, tin: new Co-

vernor, was £0,000 votes ahead of Kstco, and in almost all other cases the Democrats were 7000 ami ahead of their rivals. Tin; i;rcr.t cry of anti-monopoly, which has, together with tha .Sunday ],a\v Republican plank, been inHtnimrnt.il in bringing about this new condition of thing?, may not bo thoroughly carried cue as is anticipated. Thfty say that Stonnman in the hands of the railroad is as wax, and th'il tiio kmcr'J can mould him at will. How far this is true, will apper.r in the future. One tiling in certain, which looks ominous : .Stonciiian has ljeeen riding with Stanford, tho railway kinjj, in hia new private c.r about the country—the car th:it cost 25,000 dollars, and is only used on state occapior.;; by the millionaire—and I have no doubt in the world that the trip was made uncommonly comfortable for the Governor elect. For my part, I do not hel ; evo that any body of men, however powerful, will get away with the railroad iniquity, or do anything towards reducing the rates and fares, .is they arc all, as politicians, so corrupt that a little soft soap and a good deal r.f attention from the magnates in power will win them over to almost anything, especially the cla-s of i::en who v/ill be now in power. THE ELECTION PEACEFUL. I never saw so peaceful an election day r.s that which happened on the 7th of November. Scarcely a disorderly person was to bo seen in all the vast crowds who turned out at sunrise to vote. The secret ballot is a very good institution, .since it creates no jealousy or hard feeling, and the number of polling-places are so multitudinous and so widely scattered over the city that there is no opportunity for lingering in larce bodies, and, the saloons being closed, there is no drink to be had. Altogether, commend me to San Francisco on public days, and the consequent gathered multitudes, as being the most orderly and peaceable I ever saw anywhere. YOUTHFUL SCOUXDttELLSM. The Industrial School is intended to be a reformatory for boys, the ages of whom range from six to twenty years, after which period they are turned over to the House of Correction, which is an adjacent building, both being far removed from the preciuts of the city—in fact, some miles away. The desperate character of the youthful aspirants to prison honours is a well-established fact, and yet there is no grading of the offenders. They are all herded together, irrespective of a o - e or offence, which I know from having written up the establishment some time ago. The fact of desperadoes of 20 years of age having for companions little boys of tender

I years, shows, on the face of it, a culpable ■want of common scnpo on the part of the guardians—a fact which shonld be patent to any one. List week a terrible discovery was ' made. A little hoy. about ton yerira old, ' became almost an idiot. -An investigation I was made, which resulted in a discovery by I the merlicos that he had been tampered with by six of tlin elder boys. The poor little J fellow was in a pitiable condition, And the ! six brutes wore incarcerated in six iron ; tanks, or cells, which, however, were not I strong enough for the desperate gang. One ! of them in some way procurer! a lever, and . forced the padlock. He then released another boy, and proceeded to the carnenter's shop, where, finding all the tools they required, I the. remain in:; cells were opened and the six < set free. They tlion tried to open a window in the U,n\i corridor, but in this they were frustrated by the night watchman, who blew his alarm. The enraged boys, catching hold of the heavy benches and dashing them through the "sashes—of which there are six —l)ei;iir surrounded, they were speedily lodged in other prison quarters, by incnn.s of a loaded revolver pointed at each head, j These cells happened to be of v.ood. tvith strong iron doors, and, after demanding to be released—a ro'niest not complied with— I the young scamps tore down the laths and I plaster walls, and, ;ill getting into one com- ] partnient, they piled the heds and bedclothes in a heap, and, with the tnliles tied to a piece of lath, one boy mounted the pyramid, and soon bored a hole in the ceiling, through which lie crept, but before the party could escape they were again caught. All mode of imprisoning them being at an end, the miscreants were severally h-indeiilTod to the pillars in the dormitory, and a guard placed over them, who they reviled and cursed throughout the night in a blood-curdling manner. Tin: next morning the youthful desperadoes were transferred to the adjoining House of Correction, and this is how matters stand in the school proudly called the Reformatory, where good and bad are allowed to associate with each other, nnd where the rulu is so lax that there are escapes going on perpetually. The school is a handsome building, and comfortable enough in many respects, where the boys are taught trade?, ami where quite a number of them are gno-i nmyieians, and have an excellent band r,f th'-ir own : but the whole

effect of good training, by the fiet of there being no grading, is Irsf. It is to be Imped after this last revolt;:".' horror something wii! be done. It. is th<- same in the women's ward in the prisons, where good and bad are huddled in together without any discrimination. This is a free country, and there is wonderful freedom dealt out to those who transgress its laws. A CURIOUS FIRE necured yesterday in one of the millionaire's houses, which, though very handsome, was run up in somewhat gingerbread fashion. For instance, (hough a noble structure, the walls were merely lath and plaster, not filled up between. For many days a dense smoke had at times pufl'ed up throughout the mansion, which, strange to say, was left to pnll', instead of being looked to. Yesterday niorniiK- the Chinaman —thin whom no human being is smarter—felt the wall of the laundry exceedingly hot. He instantly broke in the wall, and there discovered a heap of living coals. He hosed the spot for an hour, by which time it was discovered that, from cellar to kitchen, the walls were red hot. though no flames could escape. Thev pottered away with the garden hose, until a bri'jht thought entered some bright brain, which was that there was an efiieient lire brigade in the city, and, after demoliiOiiiifz walls anil ruining much furniture, they actually turned in an alarm, but too late. The whole of the magnificent furniture,

pictures, nnd art collections gathered in years were destroyed, whereas a timely help frr.ni the. Fire Deparmcnt would have prevented all the damage. The loss was 'JOO.OOOdnIs., covered completely by insurance. The owner is the leading lawyer of the city. StLVEit Pes-.