Life — June 8, 1911 — page 8: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“ While there is Life there's Hope.” VOL. LVIL TUNE 8, 1911 No, 1493 Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY LA. Mrronnnt, Pret, AL MILLER, Sec'y and Treas, 7 West Thirty-first Street, New York, T is the shift- ing time of year in these parts. People have been get- ting into thin clothes and moving to the country; belts and straw hats have come to be details of the average man’s attire; the women and girls on Fifth Avenue have been a daily wonder-show in their late spring gear; shades are down in whole rows of houses, and at week ends the automobiles stream out of town by bridge, ferry and north road. But June is a good month, even in New York. Some of the local achievements in government in the closing days of May are worth notice. Mr, Cohalan was confirmed as a seventcen-thousand- dollar judge to succeed Judge O'Gor- man, gone to the Senate. We all know Mr. Cohalan as the leading adviser of Charles Murphy. His business for some years has been that of counsellor and strategist for Tammany Hall, to win for the Hall when he could, and doubtless to share the ensuing profits. He was Murphy's right hand at Roch- ester last fall, and is said to have been highly eficient in preventing the nomination of Mr. Shepard for Gov- ernor. Cohalan is a temperate, able, industrious person, reputable in his de- portment, and of character as good as Tammany Hall produces. It takes a fairly robust political and moral ecuip- ment to do the work and share the profits of that organization, but that seems to be all there is against Coha- lan. Strong objection was made to his confirmation as Judge, partly on the ground that there was a bargain between Murphy and Dix, providing that the Legislature should confirm Cohalan for Murphy and Van Tuyl (as superintendent of banks) for Dix. tle PAE.» There ought not to be bargains in these matters, The Legislature ought to act conscientiously, and with noth- ing in view but the good of the’ State, on each appointment. We hope there was no bargain, Who can say? But it is to congratulate Mr. Cohalan on climbing out of the Tammany «rough and onto the bench. Wipe your feet, sir, and be a good judge! They say you have the making of a good judge in you. Mr. Van Tuyi, the new superinten- dent of banks, is spoken of as well qualified for that office. For the highly important place of Superintendent of State Prisons, the Governor has mer- cifully named Col. Joseph I’. Scott, an expert of the highest quality, and the Legislature has confirmed him. The New York Democrats are not smear- ing themselves over very thick with glorious deeds, but their administra- tion is not all bad. There are some very good men at work in it, and a good many bad jobs have met with opposition and been quietly dropped. At this writing our Legislature has not yet passed the federal-income tax bill. Brother Bryan has been to Al- bany to see about it. He exhorted our legislators to the effect that last fall's platform called for indorsement of the federal-income tax and that it was a violation of the fundamental doctrines of government for Democratic legisla- tors not to vote for it. Brother Bryan lives in Nebraska, a State whose chief interest in the income tax is to sec that it is paid in New York, It may be doubted whether his feelings about it weigh deeply with our lawgivers at Albany, but still, on the whole, we hope they will pass the bill. The Fed- eral government ought to have an un- questioned right to tax incomes, and the objections to the form of the con- stitutional amendment now offered do not seem to us so serious that it should be defeated. It is likely to pass, however, whether New York accepts it or not. UR new public library is open. It is a splendid, spacious building, with wonderful books in it, and, as it happens, a considerable number of pic- tures, some of them good, others amusing. The reading rooms are am- ple, comfortable, well ventilated and well lighted. Here is another great place of public resort, easy of access from every part of the town, restful and edifying, a splendid feature of the ity that makes New York better worth living in. Our town grows constantly more in- teresting by new constructions, The big cathedral of St. John is going to help it. That will be another great public resort, admirably situated and with huge populations on three sides of it. Think of the other great works that are lately done or still doing, the two big railroad stations, the Queens- borough Lridge, the Metropolitan Museum, the Natural History Mu- seum and the Hispanic Museum, the Historical Society's building some- where or other, and the beautiful Zoo. What a town it is already, and what a marvelous town it is going to be! And the finest show in the whole place, the most interesting, the most vari- ous, the most instructive, stimulating, thought-promoting, perpetually aston- ishing with new wonders, are the girls and women on Fifth Avenue and the clothes they wear. The spacious ap- proaches to the new library are very becoming to our ladies. The thing was worth building, if only for a back- ground for the all-day-long procession of marvels that passes it. “When opening a new public li- brary,” says the Boston Transcript, “avoid the high-nosed manner.” Justly said. The library authorities invited 590 people to come and see the library opened. That was all right. They asked all whom they had room for and chose them well. But they went on and asked 15,000 people to come there and wait behind rop herded by the police and see the 500 come out, and then go in when permit- ted. That was all wrong. That was the high-nosed manner, well intended. no doubt, but not justified in results. Very few Americans feel complimented to be asked to the second table. They are perfectly willing to be left out, but not at all appreciative of classification. Some historian should relate to those library trustees the tragical story of the Club’s dinner to Prince Henry,