The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York • Page 12

12 THE BEOOKLYN EAStjB WBDiKESDAY, MAROH 1895. SIXTE EK1" PAGES. was none of my. business. If I tell a customer I cannot 'fill his order because my men are dlssat the longevity of the teachers precarious that cities in many case have taken tills responsibility of providing for superannuated teachers up themselves.

The cities of llertin, Hamburg, Mr, Campbell's name was honored and respected In Brooklyn for the work he had performed. During many of those years the writer, serving in the honorable relation of reporter on your lieves and teaches. And in this conclusion when we rid of our ethnic narrowness, for one. believe shall agree with him. I need only add that I have written without consulta tlon with the Swami Viekananda, and have said in his hMinir mmn thlntra ha mrtdnslv nnil 'LETTERS TO THE EAGLE.

A VARIETY OF 10 CAT TOPICS DISCUSSED MANY WRITERS. ed by some unusual commotion, or something: novel in Its character, there Is no help for the Brooklyn citizen, and he goes beneath the trolley wheels. I suggest that there should be automatic electric bell attached to each car, which should ring while the car Is movlnjr. either contin a uously or at intervals of a few seconds, so that every person should be apprised of the approach of danger by the sense of hearing as well as of sight. While we had the horse cars we were notified of the approach of each car first by Jlhe tramp of horses and second by the bell upon' the horses, whether the driver was watching the tracks or not.

Mortormen are only human! They will look at what is going on in tho streets, and they will get tired and become ill and incompetent to keep a sharp lookout while at the post of duty. The automatic bell will of course make a noise, but it can be a noise much less objectionable and more musical than the old horse car and to save life the citizen of Brooklyn should be willing; to submit to what Is slightly unpleasant. The no city that has so excellent a system. The sneering remark sometimes heard, that the Brooklyn system is but the expanded system of a great village, is, In truth, the highest possible commendation. And now it may be profitable to give a passing thought to the mayor's commission on educational affairs.

At the outset, we concede them all to be good, well moaning men, men of ability in certain directions, but It may be questioned how well they were i fitted for the task Imposed upon them. It Is no detraction to say that successful and distinguished heads of academic and collegiate schools are not necessarily specially qualified to plan a system adapted to the common schools, the schools in which the children of the common people are to be taught. It Is not the purpose of the public schools to flt children for private academic schools, nor men for the high schools that top the public school system. It is to give an education complete and practical In itself at every point in the curriculum, from the lowest primary to the highest grammar grade. It Is a matter of common knowledge that not one child In twenty ever reaches the high Therefore, the great purpose Is to educate the children In the rudiments, to be crowned wi th a higher education so far as circumstances prove favorable.

So, I say, the great educators are not In touch with the common people, and by their very eminence in their profession are poorly calculated to develop a truly American common school system. As regards the other members of his honor's commission, while they may be credited with a fair degree of business ability, no one ever ac however, with its startling resonance, would be used less, and it might prove less objectionable than the present systetin. I have given the sub ject considerable thought since the trolley system was adopted. These accidents are not due to carlessness entirely. A few days ago a child crossed at Halsey street behind a trolley car which was standing still.

She was killed by a. trolley car running in the opposite direction as she was crossing the other track. The latter car was hidden from view by the car which was stationary. She could not see the car In motion, nor could the motorman see her until she was lnsld. the death line.

If that moving car had had an automatic electric bell she would haye been apprised cf danger by her sense of hearing, and her lire might have been saved. Accidents occur to all classes, to the old, the young and the jnlddlo aged. Who will be the next victim we do not know, but under the present system it Is likely to be ourselves, or the children of some officer of the railroad company, or of the city's ruler3, or anyone else. There Is a great responsibility somewhere, for the present appliances for preventing death are. In my opinion, totally inad equate and criminally Inefficient.

J. H. K. BLAUVBI.T. Brooklyn, March 3.

1S95. INTERESTING TO MASONS. Adullam Is in Search of a Little Infor matlon. To the Editor of the Brookl5n Kagle: I remember, away back down the avenues of the years, an aged maiden aunt of mine would, among many other weird and wintry tales, incidentally tell us of that mysterious masonic sign and word, also of the terrible punishments that awaited any who should divulge one Jot or tittle. Once she whispered that the origin of masonry went so far back as the feast of the gods; held on the toy of huge Olympus, among whom the golden apple of discord was thrown, and, from this circumstance, eventually caused the destruc tion of ancient Troy, the colonization of theq I avinian coasts and the lofty walls of imperial Rome.

Ever afterward, at all the solemn 'conclaves of the immortal gods, only those were admitted who could give a sign and password. Even tho disgruntled Juno (after the decision of Paris) had to submit, as a guarantee of goocl faith, never to reveal and always conceal what occurred in this secret society of the immortals. In addition, the old lady as often declared that it was all moonshine about corned beef and cabbage (of the old ballad) being the veritable masonic word. Be this as it may, whether It originated with the mythological deities or'Hlram, or Solomon, or whether the first chapter was held at Joppa or Mecca, or elsewhere. If the venerable order had ever any respect for itself it has Badly degenerated.

Judging from the utterances of one of its worthy brethren, who is vouched for as a "free, and accepted" In good standing. At least, one would, naturally conclude so, to hear, him, with open mouth, voicing to the world, where his warrant was when the third was worked, and with it all his travels history around some sandy desert and having been bitten by fiery serpents, all this time being neither barefooted nor shod, his principal boast is that the arms of the order reach around the world and has the entree Into all society, can and does obtain the most secret Information concerning skeletons in families, which can be retailed at small cost or suppressed by payment of blackmail. This Is the Inference he wished to be conveyed. Now the object of this letter Is to find out from some other brother of the mystic tie if this be one of the benefits arising from being a craftsman. If this be so, no wonder that these great "cities, are overrun with pantatas, blackmailers and other vicious and criminal classes.

Did the Bradstreets and Plnkertons spring from" and are they supported by this society? I would be sorry if the foregoing was the case, as the little sweet delusions cherished In my early youth are. vanishing one by one by such Iconoclasts. On the. other, jside of the big pond we, the boys, looked forward to St. John's day as an imposing holiday, and would spend it in delightfully viewing the panoramic parade of the men of sashes, swords and other insignia of the secret art, together with the cute little aprons, like so many moral pocket handkerchiefs, reminding one of the yalst cloths worn by Africans and other savages.

But other days and other fortunes came. All the pomp and circumstances of this hoary ancient and honorable craft seem to have changed places like tho rapidity of a dream. For good brethren we have peeping Toms, for honorable men we have insinuating serpents, fixing their poisoned fangs in and dragging forth family secrets, for years burlfjWt. oblivion or hearsed in death, to the light oiyfc. mcmng irom others their good name, whictot enriches them, but makes the victims poorn deed.

Now is this all the world has galneiy thee, thou great pillar of eminence, frome lidled ho would laugh at me if I expected him to 1 Walt for that reason. Private enterprise and public affairs an unite different. The railroads, both steam and local, are the business arteries of the country. Your odlLorial may please a few stockholders, but not the thinking readers of your paper. Conditions are changing every day, our civilisation grows more complex and individual rights merge mre into public welfare.

1. S. New York. March 2, 3895. THE VANDERBILT AVENUE LINE.

W. W. Hallock Ht.s More to Say About Its Management. Tc the Kditor of the Brooklyn Engle: I don't often try to be funny, but the truth is that the management of the Vanderbilt avenue line Is such as to provoke all sorts of emotions; mingled with tears of rage, and ridicule mixed with stem denunciation. Happy indeed are those who can look upon this state of things unjov only the humor of the situation without being obliged to share in the annoyances.

The condition of things remain unchanged. The few cars running upon this extraordinarily mismanaged road are generally at the lower end of the line In the morning when people want to go to New York and those who wish to return in tho evening will find them all at the other end. The cars do not rim singly and at regular intervals, but they run in let us say schools or blocks of five and very Irregularly. A person may sometimes wait twenty minutes without seeing a car. This is no exaggeration but the simple truth.

It Is not an unusual thing to see two and even three cars start one immediately following another from the depot up town, because there is no one at that point to stnrt them regularly. Apparently there Is no set time and no system whatever. They go when the motormen get ready to leave, and return from the ferry when the motormen get ready to return. If a great many people did not have to depend upon this Vanderbilt avenue line to get to and from their homes, the company might run its cars as it pleased without interfering with the rights of any one, but the irregularity and unsystematic manner in which the line is conducted becomes a very serious question to those who cannot conveniently use any other means of transit. There is nothing funny to them about the rickety cars or their irregular running.

It is a very serious matter to wait Indefinitely on the street corner for a car when time is precious. It Is a notorious fact that the stret railway companies treat the traveling public with very small consideration, "if not with utter contempt. They handle pasengers very much as an ordinarily humane man mihgt handle cattle, only I think the latter would be very much less annoyed and on the whole treated with more consideration as far as welfare and comfort goes than the people who have to hang upon dirty straps for support and be jostled and yanked and Jolted in a crowded, foul smelling car. There Is one considerable agitation just now upon the subject of placing the entire traction business in the hands of the municipal government. It is the only way in the world by which the people can ever hope to secure anything like the service thuy require and that which they are justly entitled to.

When for instance a Philadelphia corporation owns street railroads in half a dozen of the principal cities of the country, it is evident that there Is money in the business, and it is also certain that the corporation in question Is after every cent It can drag out of it, consequently will do nothing more in the way of accommodation than it is absolutely forced to do, the moral of which should teach us that the government of every large city should absolutely control its street car lines as well as Its streets. The only really first class means of transit that the people In the cities of New York and Brooklyn have to day Is the railroad over the bridge. This system, while working under innumerable difficulties because of lack of space, Is as near perfection as can be possible under the conditions. No grinding monopoly has control of that structure. Its railroad is the only one In the United States which is run for tho comfort and convenience of the people as much as for the revenue derived.

All street railroads should be run upon the same principle and not as a means of enriching private corporations who care not one iota for the publto except so far as It may be made to contribute to Its wealth, and who care nothing for municipal law, as has been demonstrated over and over again, except so far as it may be made Instru mental to their own selfish ends. The present management of the Vanderbilt avenue line of cars Is but an example of what the management of every line in Brooklyn would be if the railroad companies considered it to their interest to dis regard the interests of the people in the same manner and to' the same extent. W. W. HATA.OCK.

319 Garfield place, March 2, NEWTOWN Opinion of the Secretary of the State Board of Health. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: On Wednesday. February 27, Dr. J. F.

Barnes, secretary of the state board of health, went he fore the assembly ways and means committee in behalf of the bill to construct a canal from Newtown creek to Flushing creek, in Queens county. The secretary said the state board of health conducted an Investigation of Newtown creek last summer and found the most shameful nuisance In the state. He advised the passage of the bill upon sanitary grounds and read extracts from the report of Engineer Bogart, made In 1R92. Mr. Bugart.

at that time, advised the construction of the canal as the only means of relief, and De Witt Clinton recommended the same thing years ago, long before the creek had become such a notorious nuisance. Dr. Barnes further says that the state ought to bear the burden of expense and says the precedent has long been established and Is now maintained by the legislature by Its liberal appropriations in the rural districts and refers to an appropriation made in 1SS7 to open a canal, three miles long, reaching from Watkins to Havana, in Schuyler county. The canal was constructed with a swing bridge and at an enor mouse expense to tho state. In this case the pub tic health was not Involved and the canal has no commercial significance.

The secretary further said that Newtown creek is a seething pool of corruption. That 200,000 people are suffering from the nuisance and that they are entitled to some consideration at the hands of the legislature. ROBERT GRIFFITHS. Brooklyn, March 4, 15. EDUCATION' AL REFORM.

Criticism of the Report of the Mayorys Commission. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: For more than a score of years past a peren nial theme for Brooklyn's pseudo reformers have been the reform of the educational systerrj In other words, the reconstruction of the board of education. Not that the existing board did not devote time and Intelligent thought and consideration to the interests of the not tha! the schools were not well managed and the pu pils well Instructed, but chiefly it would seem because that in the wished for overturning. some cheap notoriety might accrue to the afore said reformers, and possibly som consolatory crumbs in the way of positions or patronage might fall to the lot of the disinterested patriots. The less these schemers know ab uit the actual working of the schools, the more zealous and confident were they that something ought to be done.

It was not the patrons of the schools that clamored, for change, but usually persons who hud never even visited them, and whose knowledge of their real condition and actual needs was altogether apocryphal. The first chapter In the contemplated reform, has always been to reduce the number of members of the board. The reason, assigned has ever been the same too unwieldy. It has not been discovered that In actual practice the size of this body forty five members has interfered with the proper transaction of business. An active member of the board, one who does his duty, has no sine cure.

The position is a place of honor, hut It demands much time, and thought and responsi bility. Some few of the tinkers who know any thing of schools outside of Brooklyn, pointed to the beard of education in New Yi.rk city. which, consists of but twenty three members, The unwisdom of this comparison is obvious when ii is considered that the New York board legislates only In a general way for tho schools as a wht.de, while the local affairs are managed by ward trustees. So that our forty five mem bers really perform the functions there distributed amwng hundreds. And even the duplex svs tern of New York Is disturbed by more or less frbnion between the board of education and the locul trustees.

With up, a large amount of the work is transacted by committees, composed in some degree of men having special fitness for the particular work assigned them. The standing committee on law, embrace the lawyers of the board that of health, the physicians on the finance committee are men of financial experience anil ability; on the building committee, men whose calling gives them special iltness for the duties assigned them: the teachers committee has men of more tchohirly qualifications. There being about one hundred schools and three members on each local committee, it follows that in an equitable assignment each member Is chairman of at least two schools, and n. member of not less I than seven school committees. In this way the personal interest of the members is secured to the great advantage of the several schools.

So far as I know and I have some little acquaint i ance with the schools this country there is 'rankfort, Stettin and Dantidc provide retiring allowances from the city Mese lie vol III). Hwlhinrt, ever watchful and anx luiis tu an Elcient permanent leaching body, like Prusslu similar diflicul ti's; mutual ttrtmlmtl'in jc.cleiy teachers and supervisors, ever complimentary, yet dronelike work: talented travl.ers "ivaklng the rank. the poorest unes always left. A very liberal pension Hyatum nasi changed all this. Other countries learned from the experience of Germany and 11'; land.

Dr nmarl; wai the noxt country to establish peiihi' Ti system for teachers. Swednn and Xorway followed in succession. Even France has at last appreciated the necessity, not only of a nominal public su Ktl system, on paper, but one possessing the vitalizing energy of live teachers and live teaching, and a pension system is In course of formation. Last, not least. New York city has fallen lnts line.

Will Brooklyn be the next? The Intel llgeitt care oestowed by the thoughtful anutng her citizens and public authorities upon the Brooklyn schools encourage th expectation of this consummation. FHlJUKP ICK GR17BE, Brooklyn, 4, 1S35. Hoy a' High School. TKOLLET ACCIDENTS." Improved Brake Appliances Are Absolutely Necessary. To the Editor of the Itrook'yn I noticed in your Issue of February 1U a communication relative to brakes and fenders for trolley cars.

AS a resident of Brooklyn who takes a gr at Interest in the welfare of the city ur.d Us citizens 1 have dvoted considerable time In investigating the fender question and from statistics I have been able to gather and from the opinion of prominent engineers with whom I have conversed upon the subject it seems to be a decided fact that up to the present time there has been no fender available that meets the actual requirements, I. the saving of life without Injury to the victim. Service tests of nearly every fender that has been Invented have been made and it is the universal opinion that they are defective in various ways. It is true that the authorities of some cities have compelled the electric railway companies thereof to adopt a certain fender, but they have done so believing that the particular one they have ordered to be the best although at the same time realizing Its defects. It was a necessity, public opinion demanded It.

and like the drowning man, they caught at a straw. The city of Washington, D. is without doubt the best city for testing fenders. The streets are paved from curb to curb with concrete paving, and the railway rails being of the groove pattern are laid so that the tops of the rails are flush with the paving, therefore a fender on the front of a street car In that city should do its work with the greatest ease. The commissioners of the District of Columbia took up the subject of fenders and made service tests.

I am informed, of seventy of the best; their decision was that they did not meet with the requirements. If this be the case In the city of Washington, how much more difficult will it be to obtain a fender meeting the actual requirements in a city like Brooklyn where the paving Is so uneven? Our railway companies claim they have fenders and have cited instances where they have saved life. Admitting all they have done, what is the com parteon in numbers between those whose life has been saved and those whom the fender has passed over and permitted to be crushed luneath the car? Other companies have tested fenders and some of the inventors claim the indorsement of the otlicials of the railways who have made the test. If these fenders meet the requirements, 1. the saving of life without Injury to the victim, why have the said companies not adopted and equipped their cars with thm? From' a business standpoint It can be readily seen why the railway companies do not adopt fenders.

It is expensive business. There is not a day passes that more or less of the cars do not run into some obstruction In the way of teams, either heavy or light, or that a heavy team does not turn into the railway track ahead of a rapidly moving car, and the consequence Is the fender is destroyed, and. as Is often the case, the dasher Is destroyed. This means a new fender each time one of the collisions occur. Therefore, it is expensive business to railway companies to maintain fenders, even if it Is the cheap grid Iron now in use on some of the railways.

From a scientific and practical standpoint the railway companies realize that a fender is not what is required, but an efficient car wheel brake that will stop a car almost instantaneously, is neces sarv. It Is not reasonable to suppose that It can ever made a safe proceeding for a street car. running at five to ten miles per hour, to scoop up a person standing or lying on tho track, no matter how Ingenious a scoop may be devised, nor how softly It may be padded. The fender can at Its vers best but reduce the danger to pedestrians. "While accidents of this class do form a large proportion of the fatalities It must be remembered thut almost daily carriages and wagons are run into by electric cars, and not infrequently with the result of killing or maiming the occupants.

Furthermore collisions between different cars and runaways on steep grades are becoming seriously frequent, and for the prevention of accidents we must look solely to Improvements in the braking system. This fact needs to be emphasised. It Is doubUess not generally realized that the brake is a far more Important factor on street railways than on steam railways. A motorman applies the brake a score of times for every one that the locomotive engineer applies his. In fact, on a cits street an electric car is constantly starting and stopping.

Again, the locomotive engineer has as a rule a clear track, and when a stop is to be made has plenty of time to npe rate hit crake. An emergency stop in passenger service is a rare incident, but in an electee railway not a half hour passes but what one or more close shaves occur. A team turns across the street unexpectedly, a child runs on the track Just in front, another car suddenly come. in sight as a corner is rounded or at a street crossing any one of a hundred frequent occurrences may make it necessary for the motorman to throw al! his muscle on the brake in the effort to stop before collision takes place. It is when one of these emergency stops is made with the hand brake now In use that Its inadequacy is realized.

For the ordinary stop, made generally from a moderate speed. It must be admitted that the hand brake applied by a competent man does excellent work. No better graduation can be asked for than that which the discriminating touch of human muscle can give, and the foreo required to be exerted by the motorman is not great. But when the necessity comes foV a stop in the shortest possible time the Inadequacy of the present hand brake is apparent. The prec ious second required to wind in the slack of th chain is alone sufficient had it been utilized In retarding the car to have saved many lives.

The very short distance in which a car may be stopped by a properly constructed brake applied instantly with the full force which can be used, in practice without sliding the wheels is not generally realized. At a speed of six miles per hour, which we may take as a limit at which a car should run in a crowded city street like Brooklyn, a stop should be possible inside of dght feet. It is almost needless to say that a modern electric car cannot be stopped within the short distance above given by the common hand brake now in use. Of course, it Is theoretlcaljy posyible to increase the leverage of the hand brake to any extent, but with this Increase leverage comes a greater motion required to take up the slack, and It must not be forgotten that tho time consumed in taking up slack is an objection to the hand brake now in use as great or greater than its efficiency in power. It is prub able that if the records were sifted it would he found that as many people are killed by electric cars at low speeds at four to eight miles per hour a at speeds from twelve to twenty miles per hour.

Crowded city streets offer the greatest opportunities for accidents and require the most frequent emerKcney stops. What Is most needed is a brake which as the very Instant the motorman sees danger can be made to apply brake shoes to every wheel up to the limit of its power. Tliis communication would be incomplete were no allusion to be made t. the fact that there Is nothing Inherently impossible, as far as now can be seen, in the design of a brake operated by purely mechanical means. It will be remembered tha: a considerable measure of success was attained In the design of buffer brakes and chain brakes for freight cars whe the question power brake should be used on freight trains was still an open one.

Thut was a field In which tho development of a mechanical brake wus attended with enormous difficulties. In the I application of brakes to street cars, however, it I is by no means certain that the maximum of I simplicity, chdii pness and effectiveness combined may yet be secured by some form of brake which will use neither electricity nor fluid transmission In doing ft. L. BOWLES. Brooklyn, March 3.

1S95. MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP. A Correspondent Who Thinks It Would 3e a Panacea. To the Kditor of the Brooklyn Eagle: I am urprlsc at the weak and narrow minded slur at municipal ownership of railroads in just evening's editorials. Why should business men Bit for days behind their counters waiting fur I customers who could not reach them? Why should 3 be compelled to walk a dozen blocks out of rny I way every day because the trolley magnates qvarreleU with their employ tut over wages.

Thut staff, knew Mr. Campbell well, and, like every one in any degree asquainted with him, was cog nizant of his bravery in peril, his unswerving vigilance and his swift and comprehensive dis patch. Brooklyn, will not forget, either, that under Patrick Campbell amid all changes of government that have taken place in his many years of police superintendence she has enjoyed the dis tinction of being the most wholesome city, morally, in the United States. If not In the world. How Mr.

Campbell preserved her so Is well known to every newspaper man. Many, also, will recall, as I do. how. when left to himself. or under such competent and congenial leadership as that of General James Jourdan, Superintendent Campbell and the Brooklyn police made short work of such formidable disturbances as the longshoremen's strike and the strike of the employes of the sugar refineries.

It is possible. Indeed, that these things occurred before Mr. Schleren's attention was brought to bear on public affairs. It may, therefore, not be out of place to inform him that they are events comparatively recent. "Whether or not Superintendent Campbell's years have reached the limit that would make his retirement expedient.

In his own and the public Interest, I cannot say. I met him six weeks ago, and, if his intellectual powers have suffered no impairment since, it is safe to say he Is himself a quite competent judge in that matter. I should think, also, that his decades of police experience, in which he has stood, irrespective of party considerations, for the Interests of Brooklyn, have given him a knowledge of police affairs that must be fully equal to that of the amiable commissioner, his superior, whose high character and qualifications as a hide and leather merchant, it Is pleasant to observe, are generally conceded. Excuse this communictlon from one no longer a resident of your city, and attribute it to the friendship and admiration inspired by ita subject. Wore I in Brooklyn I would be one of his army of friends, who should unite at this time In some such public honor to Patrick Campbell as would make the appreciation of him by the Brooklyn public forever henceforth unmistakable.

S. GIF FAR NELSON. Mount Holly, N. March 2, 1S95. SWAIO VIVE KAN AND A Defended by the Brooklyn Ethical Association's President.

To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: The excellent ladles of the Ramabai circle are laboring under an unfortunate misapprehension. Swami Vivekananda did not at the Pouch mansion or elsewhere In Brooklyn or at any other place deny that widows of high caste Hindoos undergo suffering. He has not, publicly or privately, as far as I am aware, in any way reprobated wise efforts for the education and elevation of Hindoo women. His only allusion in his public addresses in Brooklyn to Hindoo widows was in his lecture on "Ideals of Womanhood, Hindoo, Mohammedan and Christian," delivered at tho Pouch mansion, not a fortnight ago, but on Sunday evening. January 20, five weeks ago.

In this lecture he did not even allude to the Fundi ta RornabaJ or her work, and made no such statement as that alleged in your issue of today. His allusion to Hindoo widows was and wholly Incidental to the main topic of his discourse, and referred exclusively to the property rights of high caste widows under the Hindoo law. These, he asserted, were superior to those guaranteed to widows In this country, giving them absolute possession and control of their inheritance in their husbands and patrimonial estates. Unless this statement can be disproved Swami Vlvekananda's only assertion in Brooklyn with respect to high caste Hindoo widow3 goes unchallenged. The lecture on "Ideals of Womanhood" was introduced with the explanation that the purpose of the speaker was solely to present the ideal side, the broad, general tendency of the respective civilizations with reference to social purity and the position of woman.

There was a nether side, an aspect of degradation, he admitted, In India as well as in countries called Christian, but of this side he did not propose to speak. It would be as unjust to judge India by the nether side as to judge America by the revelations of the Parkhurst investigation and the Lexow committee. Of child marriage and the social disabilities of Hindoo widows, therefore, he said nothing. As a patriotic Hindoo he presented the type of womanhood on its best and ideal side as developed under the influences of the religion and civilization prevailing in his country. That ideal was the Ideal of motherhood.

No nobler conception of the mother function as the highest development of the ever womanly nature has ever been presented in my hearing. No more exigent morality, alike obligatory on man and woman, has ever been preached In any pulpit in this City of Churches. The object of this communication, however, Is not merely that' of the correction or denial of the misapprehensions expressed and implied In the interview entitled "Ramabai Circle Aroused," but to endeavor to throw some light upon the real attitude of our guest toward tlie philanthropic movement in which the good ladies of the Ramabai circle are so deeply interested. The Brooklyn Ethical association numbers among its honorary corresponding members In India, a gentleman whose devoted labors In behalf of the education and elevation of high caste Hindoo widows long ante dated the work of Ramabai. This gentleman Is Babu Saslpada Tianergie of Baranagar, a suburb of Calcutta, himself a.

Hindoo, who. In defiance of current prejudices, more than thirty years ago embarked on this work of reform, which, with his own good wife as a helper, he has since prosecuted with untiring assiduity and devotion. He has won the respect and indorsement of many of the best citizens of his own faith, as well as of Christians who are sufficiently large hearted and liberal to be capable of seeing that good may sometimes come out of Nazareth. Swami Vivekananda is his friend and believes In hisV work. I have this as surance from his own lips.

The work of Babu Saslpada Banergie has been conducted quietly and without ostentation, but It has been fruitful of good results. It Is not the object aimed at by the Pundita Ramabai that Swami Vivekananda criticises, but the methods adopted for collect ing money, and the impossibility, as lift believes. of accomplishing large results in the way proposed. The fact that the Pundita Ramabai Is herself a Christian convert is sufficient to repel a great majority even of the liberally Inclined high caste Hindoos from encouraging It, as the printed reports of the Ramabai circles are them selves insufficient to demonstrate. Nor will the lofty and not altogether reprehensible pride of the Brahmin permit him to be the recipient of favors rendered possible by the solicitation of money in distant countries from those of an alien faith.

To do this would be contrary to a deep seated religious and social prejudice, which, whether we reprobate it or not, is an unquestionable fact. The wise helper of his fellow human be ings will never waste his strength in kicking against facts. As the reports of Ramabai' work also show. It has been impossible to meet with even a small measure of success save by the as surance that her school was absolutely non Christian and that no efforts toward proselyting would therein be tolerated. A breath of suspicion that this rule was in danger of being violated, some time since, caused a considerable secessl on of pupils from her school, and the res' igimUon of oil the members of a board of ad visors consisting of high caste Hindoo gentlemen of great liberality and the highest social standing.

That the practice of the Swami Vivekananda. while In this country, has been consistent with this high conception of duty, I have had occasion to know. Though has at heart a noble enterprise for the education of the religious loachers of his own faith In sociology, economics and the better things In our Western civilization, he has made absolutely no effort to solicit subscriptions for this purpose. Nor will he accept one penny for his work as a teacher; nor even for this larger work, save as a voluntary, free will offering from people of calm Judgment, intellectually convinced of the importance of the work. In Brooklyn he has absolutely declined to hold classes where an admission fee is charged, even for the purpose of paying the expenses of the room and advertising.

For himself he accepts from public lectures only' what is necessary for traveling expenses and his food, clothing and lodging, from week to week. I personally know of one Instance where he returned to an enthusiastic admirer a check for $500, freely given, declining to receive ft because he did not need it, and feared the donor was carried away with undue enthusiasm. Those who know the Swami Vivekananda best write In testimony to his nobility of character, and the purity and elevation of his dally life. I have made diligent Inquiry In Chicago, where he has many devoted friends; in Cambridge, where his lectures and classes were attended by people of the highest culture. Including students of the university, and elsewhere, and have heard but one reply.

In the town hall of Calcutta, on September 5 last, a large meeting of his own people was held, which in terms of unqualified eulogy indorsed his character and work. This meeting was reported In the Indian Mirror of the day following, together with a sketch of his life and experiences, from one acquainted with his entire career. The New York Sun of September 2, contained an account of a similar meeting held In Madras Prom Professor Rhys Davids we have the assurance that the gentlemen participating in these meetings are of the highest standing in the community. We are Justified, therefore. In regarding the word of the Swami Vivekananda as above reproach, and we know him to be in full sympathy with all wise movements for the elevation and improvement of the people, both here and in his own country.

That India has something to teach us, that our obligations ore reciprocal, he unquestionably be position as a religious teacher would doubtless prevent him from saying for himself. LEWIS G. JAKES, President Brooklyn Ethical Association. Brooklyn. March 1S95.

STATE SOCIAUSM. A Theory for the Government Control oi Business. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: Your editorials satisfy me that you honestly desire what is best for the people, according to your experience, education and information, and that you will not oppose progress If it is for the good of the masses of our people. I will be excused It I try to follow the same line of action. Of course each should act according to their best judgment and information.

Permit me then, to suggest that it Js not necessary in my opinion for the government, national or state, to go Into all kinds of business, but it Is best for the masses, for it to control and carry on certain branches of business. Also that he line between those it should carry on and those it should not carry on or control can be very sharply and clearly drawn, to the great benefit and protection. democratically, of the masses. I deem it best for the masses that business affairs In our nation, or any nation, should be divided into two divisions governmental and individual. Let all business requiring government or public powers or franchises and exemptions, be carried, on and controlled by the government, 'national or state.

Grant no such public powers, property, franchises and exemptions to any Individuals. Will not equality of Individual citizens then be established so far as we can be equal and free? Second, let all business requiring no such public pow ers, exemptions and franchises be carried on only by Individuals with individual liability. Can this 'people secure an equality and freedom in business affairs In any other, way? Do you wish to object to these ideas that the former would make too many political office holders and too much political corruption. This Is Hhe usual objection. Cannot all that be avoided, and our liberty and freedom better established, guarded and protected than now? Do not let us shut our eyes to what may be learned with every prospect of success; do not let us bo so madly blind that we will refuse to learn.

Let us try to take all government patronage and stare patronage or appointments out of the hands of office holders, who are elected. What then? Let the government employ commissioners of oillcea, educated at West Point academy, to select by civil service examination all appointees or employes under the government, and such appointees to hold their places during good conduct or the special term, if any, while that position or employment is continued. What men are more faithful to the people than graduates of West Point? Do you know of any de tected In dishonesty? What could political office holders do with them? If they could. It would or should, when known, turn them out in disgrace, and would! The army ofllcer's pay Is moderate. That of employing under the government would be moderate and desirable, because of its certainty and steady employment.

Could not this experiment be tried by the government buying In the Union Pacific railroad? If it does not, the people will be cheated out of the government claims millions of dollars. Is it not worth the trial? Men who do not try do not succeed. Xel ther do nations. "Well!" you ask, "what about state ownership and control if such business as properly should be under their control?" Well, I would establish a state school, similar to West Point, graduates of such school to stand on the same or similar conditions to those of West Point, in relation to all state business, civil or military. Our militia then, too, would have educated officers, in touch with the people, who would make a noble record as they became during life more and more protectors of a democratic people, and In no wise second fiddlers to any political party or bosses.

There may be many details such changes thac must be studied and perfected as we approach such a grand result. But I mention one, that. Is the system of accounting under such changes. The United States commissioners, or the state commissioners, could obey such laws as congress or state legislatures made, and make their returns to the United States treasurer, or the state treasurers, and secure from the congress or state legislatures such appropriations fcr other than ordinary expenditures or expenses as congress or the state legislatures approved, each acting for Its own board of commissioners. I do not expect such changes can be made without much honest thinking and discussion, cud against the ignorance and inclinations to selfichness of many persons powerful now, through oppression of the masses by means of public powers and exemptions obtained by them.

Let us be honest as we can, and protect the Interests of all our people. S. B. STURGES. Brooklyn, March 3, 1S35.

TEE EUBOPEAU BUGABOO. This Man Is Frightened by the Sale of Bonds to Foreigners. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: If you can spare enough of your valuable soace to insert this communication, the writer woulo1 like to say to the independent readers of the independent Eagle that it is about time for all lovers of republican and democratic institutions in this country to unite in a diplomatic policy of self defense. The Rothschild Belmont Morgan syndicate is more destructive than a foreign war could possibly be to us. They claim to want gold.

That Is Just what they don't want. If our government should put only half as many men In the mines to dig gold as she could put In the field to fight foreign foe, this foreign syndicate would drop dead. They don't want gold, but only a gold policy that will enable them to get our bonds. The absurdity of the United States, with her cotton, sugar, lumber, cattle and her manufactures exceeding any two of the richest countries in Europe, needing credit. Is too puerile to contemplate.

The late bond deal Is only another turn of the thumbscrew that has been worked periodically by the money squeezers of Europe since the close of our civil war. when they had positive proof that this was a great country to pluck, and they have been working our treasury department ever since. London Is full of paupers and the same policy is filling all the cities of our glorious country with the same useless material. This country Is carrying about two million of men today in idleness. What a loss! How easily this mass of men could be turned into capital and profit.

Imagine the wealtJl that could be created by 2,000,000 men. working eight hours a day. for the next four years tho term of a President. Imagine the profit to tho promoters at 1 per leaving 99 per cent, to the whole people. The amount of the public debt would drop into Insignificance in comparison.

The project Is a simple one of common sense. Let our leading citizens begin the Vork now. 2. Y. X.

Brooklyn. March 2. 1S9S. THE EAGLE AND THE ALMANAC. Each Is the Best of Its Kind That Is Published.

To the Editor of the Br'ook'yn Eagle: I have on my desk, in constant reference, your valuable Almanac, There are copies of the three years preceding and each one I find to be more valuable than its predecessor. It is to me of growing interest because I am more convinced than ever that the struggle for the maintenance of Brooklyn is one for the preservation of municipal freedom. Your Almanac Is an arsenal of facts that should be a steadfast Inducement to resist consolidation. It is full of value, too, for its general data. I see as a practiced Journalist and writer the skillful editorship and know that the annual Is made under trained direction.

More power to you for good work. I don't agree with you In a hundred ways and if you hold to your present views in some directions I hope I never may. But then, like the Sun, that shines so brazenly across the river, you do one the honor of making those who disagree with your opinions feel that at least you pay your opponents a large amount of Intellectual respect by putting brains Into your arguments. In that way at least you also win respect. The Eagle Is not a bargain counter affair.

It gives the news and It has opinions. It don't fake a rape one day, a murder another, plutocratic support in this issue and demagogic radicalism In another and call Itself the Universe all the time. I don't like all you say by a good deal, but I like the Eagle as a whole, as a newspaper. Its almanac for 1S35 is simply "bully." RICHARD J. HINTON.

Bay Bldge. March 5. 1S95. TBOILEY PROBLEMS. A Letter to the Mayor on the Subject.

The following letter on trolley problems has been received by Mayor Schleren: Dear sir As a Resident of Brooklyn I wish to moke one suggestion relative to preventing trolley accidents, in addition to those proposed by the commissioners. In view of the fact that yesterday three persons were killed and five Injured by that system. The trolley runs so quietly that every man In Brooklyn, whose mind is occupied with business, is in danger when he crosses Its tracks. Down town particularly the trolley car cannot be heard until it Is within the danger line. If tueo.

the molenaan'B attention is uUruci Suggestions for Improving the Coney Island Concourse Lands The Bridge Crowds Teachers' Pensions A Tariff Talk ewto'sra Creek Matters. Trolley Accidents and the Necessity of Improved Brake Appliances Municipal Ownershij) of the Surface Roads Vanderbilt Avenue Z.ine Educational Reform Praise for the ex Superintendent The Hindu Monk Defended State Socialism. Interesting to Masons Captain Murphy and His Men. Tflo the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: Therr: is more Interest being taken in the matter of the new park sites thun many a casual observer would discern. It is not so much evidenced by the attendance upon the hearings be fore the committee, when the meeting' room was ore with a serious and expectant assem blage 'notwithstanding the fact that the fact that the meetings were held at night in the city liall and that many people came from Canarsle, Iatlunds.

Shcepshead Bay. Coney Islund and Utrecht, both as claimants and interested spectators), but more truly shown by the fact that on every hand men, women and children se to find it a favorite topic and await with Impatience the decision of tho authorities. "Woe unto those who deceive or defraud the nger eft lcens in this matter. An intelligent and sensible lcttr appeared In the Eagle on January 2, IMS, from J. McKInley of triieopshead and it is J.yparen!y written In that spirit jf patriotism nr.d ir.yalty whleA shuns oven the suspicion of jnbborj or device.

Mr. McKInlcy states what is undeniably true, that the public attention should bo directed to the fact that this county ov. iis a tract of land in the Thirty first Ward, on either side of the Ocean parkway at its southern extremity on Coney Island, which land was acquired solelv for park purposes; that William A. Enjcnian sold it to tho county for a small consideration, and later on Mr. Engeman and his irlends defeated a scheme on tho part of some of the board of supervisors to obtain control of it in order that they might use it for real estate purposes: that since then the park authorities nave spent considerable money in bringing the lots up to grade with sand and earth tilling, but of late years tho property has been left severely alone, and makes other timely comments thereupon.

This beautiful spot comprises all the land bounded north by the electric car tracks, oaat by the Ocean hotel, west by Vanderveer's aved south by the Atlantic ocean. The spot at present, is uncultivated and unadorned, but by a moderate and judicious outlay upon simple and artistic Improv ir.ents might be made the most healthy, practical and picturesque pleasure ground in the East, and this without, goir.j to the great cost of buying up the holdings of prejudiced and mercenary land speculators, but simply by using what has been purchased and preserved for us by the philanthropy. Integrity and fearlessness of those who best deserve the name of citizens and patriots. All along the cry has been for a seaside park, and many marine sites have been proposed, all of which have been chiefly distinguished by their unhealthiness, inaccessibility or fubulous cost. Chief among: them are the Dyker swamp, the Ullss property at Hay Hldge and parcels of Bensonhurst, Mark well the advantages of the public land above mentioned between Brighton and West Brighton, with its noble view uf the grand Atlantic, Its salutary sea breezes fresh from th ever pure end ocean, its vast stretches of beach and ehore its hurrying throngs of humanity pouring onward from sea and land, and then contrast with the claims of Dyker swamp.

Ben sonhurst and the liliss property, and note if these last do not more and more impress you that they are respectively, to put It mildly, but an unhealthy meadow, a mere ccmer in the gallery of natural beauties by the sounding sea, and a rich man's hobby now grown dull and in size and location wholly inadequate and circumscribed, so that at last we now have that for which our hearts have yearned and for which the gold has many a time ere now been ready to burst our confining jsurse's calculating bound. And for what? Vhat sacrifices of money, cf labor, of time, of trouble must we make to possess this last, choicest and best of all our peaside blessings? Xothlng! What? Impossible: But surely, surely what must the cost of improving It amount to? Xext to nothing! Astonishing! so easily attained our dtslres for a pa the coast without any outlay worth mentt we are led to consider in what way the st sums that would have been spent upon such places as the Dyker, Bi T.hiirst and Bllsa property (the excuse for consideration of which would now teem an end) may be applied. After a careful review of the evidence and claims on behalf ot the other yits presented to the commissioner, I convinced, and It is the opinion of many of rr.y felloe citizens and taxpayers, that the following three pieces will benefit the largest number of people and be generally approved by tho public: Fl at The Shore road parkway, which, by stretching itselt into other drives and will make continuous park about the county. Second Tho Coney Island tract above mentioned, now owned by Kings county and lying vacant on the shore of the Atlantic ocean, between Brighton and Wet Brighton. Third As large, accessible and convenient a parcel of land as may lie in the center of our new country wards, our dd city wards being already fairly well supplied with parks, while our new country wards are entirely without public pleasure grounds.

As regards this last site the tract at Mayleton. as I rernembr its prospectus, seems the largest, mast central and most practical, as it comprises rome two hundred and sixty acres, lying between Sixtieth and Seventy fifth streets and Eighteenth avenue and the Bay parkway (Twenty second avenue't, and is stated to be rising land, and almost the center of the spot where met the three old county towns of Oravesend, Fl' ttush and New Utrecht, It Is said to be in grass and to have many shade trees, and in now in reality a natural needing very few Improvements. There were other places offered in numerous places, but I do not consider thim. near so advantageous, viewed in any sensl IjId or economical light. However, if the above suggestions strike any of your readers adversely I would consider it a favor to have my error poiud out, and I promise very gracefully to stand crreted if I have made a mistake In any mat trial matter.

1 hope that the commissioners may come to a decision soon, but I trust that they will not make it until they have carefully considered what Is most to the honor and glory of Brooklyn, and truest to her sons and her JOHN" D. BYRNE, 'ni Clinton street. March '2. PENSIOITCNG TEACHEBS. Sesuits of the Practice Under Paternal Governments.

To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: The efficiency of public service is closely bound up with a well devised pension system. At the root of the teachers' pension idea Is economy, economy pure and simple. Too much attenticn cannot be drawn to this aspect of the case. Those countries whtca grant teachers pensions axe not at all accounted to be liberal pay masters, yat In spite of and perhaps better by mean of the greatest economy. The state of Prussia lias secured by long odds the best public echool administration of any country in the world, with a teaching profession of about 100,000 members, holding In its rank the foremost talent of the country Tt is not the brilliant pay that draws and keeps this galaxy.

There was a lime when talented men and women shunned the eduetitl proteKsion there, as many do here now. when vhat wus left of It was in the hands of dullards, machinists and mechanical school crammers, whose highest ambition was manifested in high per cent, examinations as ultimate tests of Poor salary. Insecurity of tenure of of lice, the dreary prospect1 of an impecunious old aye well nigh made the public echool vocation in that country pitiful, and the profession bntiamc the butt of the fun for the facetious in the cities. That vitalizing spark of Imponderable soul energy sending life from teacher to pupil with reflex action; that elevated, call it if yuu like ethereal, enthusiasm to an otherwise monotonous and routine business cannot be maintained on poor emolu ments and dally worrinient? unless that great and Berlous, ghastly and ghastly specter of old age. poverty and dependence, be abolished.

Therefore, upon mature advice to secure efficiency combined with national economy, most states of Germany came to the conclusion to secure teachers a retiring allowance for well established physical and mental disability after meritorious service; for twenty years, one hair last pay; for thirty years, two thirds last pay; for forty years, full pay. Forty years' service entitles to retirement and full pay, disability or no disability. Ii practice the amount to be disbursed for pensions is comparatively the sura total small, cused them of being very familiar with the various systems of school organisation and management and their comparative merits, nor do I think they ever claimed to possess any such spe cial knowledge. In short, the composition of the committee was a surprise, not only on account of the material of its makeup, but from the ut ter ignoring of the kind of men who knew something of school systems, organization and man agement. Of ihe outcome of their labors, it may, with truth, be said: "Parcurlunt montes nasci tur, ridlculus mus." I do not claim that this language is original, but that it is singularly ap propriate.

Their bantling seems to be patterned after no recognized system in the United States, so we must conclude that they made It out of their own heads. They are clearly entitled to all the credit for concocting this heterogeneous thing of shreds and patches. It so clothes certain superior officers with autocratic powers that all em ployes and subordinates, and teachers even, are absolutely at the mercy of their overlings. For a system designed to create fear. Insecurity of place, distrust, sycophancy and evils untold, this proposed composite system bears the palm.

It is unquestionably original, for, so far as I know. there never was anything exactly like It. The proposal to reduce the membership of the board to fifteen was too much for even the mayor to swal low, so he raises It to twenty seven In his amend ed bill; but how much this is bettor than forty five members is not made clear. But when we come to the commissioner of education and the superintendent, little tin gods on wheels are nowhere in comparison with them. The more one studies the proposal to endow them with absolute authority overall matters pertaining to our school system, the more one must be amazed at the de Tee in which the members of this commission lost their heads.

That this is true begins to be seen in the fact that some of them have already confessed that they knew not what they did and have repudiated their nondescript bantling. The superintending force nominally so called, but really the examining force appointed by the superintendent, is In creased, and the already too much examined pu pils are to hear the burden of the added incubus. School janitors are made Independent of school principals to whom they should be de rectly responsible. The mode of appointment of teachers reminds one of the peasant "who tried to please everybody, pleased nobody, and lost his ass In the bargain." And now what is the aim and purpose of this proposed overturn? Is it to increase the efficiency of the schools? If so, in what respect? There is no royal road to learning. Stupid boys and dull girls cannot be hoisted' into erudite scholarship by any scientific processes.

Teaching Is a labor, "line upon line, precept upon precent, here a little and there a Scientific methods are good things to talk about teachers' conventions, but the daily routine of teaching Is to bo varied according to the material to be wrought upon. Are the Brooklyn schools Inferior to those of New York. Philadelphia and Chicago? In what respect are they inferior to those of Boston, Baltimore. Cincinnati. Cleveland and St.

Louis? After careful reading of what his honor's commission reported I find no answer to this fundamental question. Did they compare the pupils, age for age. in attainments from the lowest primary grade to this graduation from the high schools? Had they done so, and found Brooklyn inferior or wanting, then It would have been in order to suggest a remedy. The first thought would have been to amend and improve the existing system. By Inference, however, the present is so bad as to be Incapable of amendment.

By inference there is nothing good in it. And yet he results speak for themselves. No school system Is perfect. The very best system may fall In some respects by the fallibility of those to whom fall the duty of its administration. Safeguards are needed, and that system which affords the best adjustment of balances of duty, power, rights and privileges Is not to be lightly thrown aside In deference to the dangerous doctrine of "one man responsibility." Under the proposed method a good man, true and capable, could do well by the schools, but a bad man, unreliable, tricky and self seeking, or the tool of a ring, would soon bring confusion worse con founded upon the department of education.

For proof of this let our reformers studv the' history of the schools in Albany and Troy, for the past five years. "Better endure the ills we have than fly to those we know not of," or, as In the Vul gate, "Don't jump out of the frying pan into the fire. My only apology for this rather long communication is the vital importance of this city. A. W.

ADSTO. Brooklyn, March 3, 1RD5. THE CROWDED BRIDGE. Suggestions for Relieving the Pressure at Night. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: To any one who for a number of 3'ears past has lcen forced to cross the East river bridge every day it must have been painfully noticeable that the management of the transportation department has not kept pace with the demands upon it, however well the superintendence of the bridge may have maintained it In efficient repair, etc.

During the rush hours at present the crowd is so frightful that none but the strongest has any chance of transit by the cars without damage to clothing, loss of parcels, crushing oi corns and a general experience of the old horrors of the 'tween decks In slave traders, while if anything happens to precipitate an extra crowd upon the bridge, such as interruption to the ferry service, the weak and crippled men or deMcate women are In actual danger of their lives by attempting to cross. We all know this and yet there seems no more sign of relief from the bridge management than there has been of any attempt to cure that continual dropping of grease and water at the entrances to the promenade, which has been a constant source of annoyance aru damage to tho hats and clothes of pedestrians. I suppose there is no use complaining, however, unless one can suggest a remedy and therefore I submit 'one or two ideas: It seems to me that if there were more than the one side entrance with sliding doors it would very greatly facilitate the filling and emptying of the cars. In fact the end platforms and doors are only nuisances under the circumstances and call for much unneecesary care and strength on the part of the guards and police. Why not carry the sides of the cars to the extreme end of the platforms and have a large sliding door to open at each end there as well as the one in the center instead of those dangerous platforms and awkward gates? The guard or brake man cou Id be partitioned off In a small space In thp center of the end and thus keep him from being annoved by the passengers.

Then again, why not transfer each train right across from one side to the other of the stations on a rolling carriage truck, the same as is done In some of the trolley car stations, instead of the present system of shunting with locomotives? This would save time and terminal space and obviate much dirt and labor, beside which there Is no apparent mechanical objection to it. It does seem to me that if such ideas were practically applied as well as others that might suggest themselves to a more able mechanical brain than mine the facilities for handling passengers on the bridge would be immensely Increased and much cause for complaint would.be removed, beside reducing the expense and trouble Of work in a material degree. Brooklyn. March 1, 1895. DAWSON.

PRAISE FOR MR, CAMPBEDD. An Appreciative Revie of His Services as Superintendent of Police. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: I am very sorry, indeed, that his honor the mayor of Brooklyn should have attempted to discredit the reputation for efficiency of Police Superintendent Patrick Campbell, but especially that he should have done so without a word in recognition of past services that very properly endear Mr. Campbell to the people of your great city. With all respect for Mr.

Schleren, the sentiment cannot be avoided that one who Is himself a political accident ought to deal more justly with a public servant whom merit alone, and not expediency, has befriended. Lung years before Mr, Schlereu was Ituowu to your people iuij ul wnicn years iook aown upon usf ttN not let my childish delusions. I pray you, be ever uurieu in the dust. Tell to the world and tell them, too. that my informant is an arrant knave, and is no friend of the glorious order of my early past, and ope your ponderous gates to cast out such vipers which feed on the food themselves do make.

ADTJLLAM, Brooklyn, March 3. 1895. VIGOROTJSIiY DEFENDED. Captain Murphy and the Police of His Precinct. To the Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle: In your issues of the 9th and 22d you pub Hshed letters signed "Gownnus" making unwarranted attacks on Police Captain Thomas Murphy and his men of the Eighth precinct.

In the first letter "Gowanue" refers to the men as "a set of uniformed Molly Maguires," etc. and charges them with allowing the laws to be violated In various ways. He also asks Superintendent Campbell to "break up this gang, transfer them, shoot or drown them." All persons Hying within the limits of the Eighth precinct who have had any dealing with Captain Murphy know full well that there is no better commanding officer in the Brooklyn police department; also that if any citizen calls his attention to an officer who does not do his duty It is immediately attended to. As for his sergeants, roundsmen and privates I doubt if you can find a better and more attentive set of men in this or any other city. As to the violence, outrageous assault and maiming persons for life it is a well known fact that there were but two cases of assau't In the precinct during the strike and In neither of these coses were the parties hurt compelled to remain at the hospital more than a short time.

All of this goes to show that "Gowanus" does not know as much as he thinks he does about the situation. if he was as old a resident cf this section as ho claims he Is. In regard to the police being controlled by a scurvy lot of politicians the people of the Eighth precinct know that all the politicians in Brooklyn could not stand in the way of Captain Murphy or his men when it comes to their doing their duty. "Gowanus" claims that to understand this section you would need be a resident of many years, as he is, and know the worthies they have on the police. I claim to know all the olficers and have yet to hear of one low abiding citizen who has one fault to find or complaint to make of them.

If "Gqwanus" had taken the trouble to look at the list of arrests made during the strike, which was published in last week's Eagle, he would have found the Eighth precinct heading the list and mentioned of tener than any of the others, which is as good proof as anything that our policemen did their duty. Inthesecond letter.after finding that the well known house of Maxwell Co. had in part replied to his untrue statements, he tried In part to get out of the mud by referring to what is now regarded as ancient history, In other words, the strike on Richardson's road six years ago. As to the pulling down the wires, "Gowanus" being such an old resident should know that with the men at Captain Murphy's disposal he could not guard ail the cars, the several railroad depots and cover every foot of ground in the five or more miles of railroad tracks in his precinct, and I think "Gowanus" missed the chance of his life to distinguish himself by his not enlisting as a special policeman in order to show the regulars the proper way to prevent the laws from being violated. I should judge from the letters of "Gowanus" sion been In the clutches of the police for vlolati lng the law.

and not being allowed to go free thought th? had now come fcr abusing through the public press. If "Go.vantis' not a coward, couin verify his sta lemeit: knew his atones try tuo Ilia he the moral cov. aga co sign his name in better still ha Bos such kind Captain Murphy as he claims why did hi his attention to the men who were not duty before writing any letters. Inste if;.