ABOUT NEW YORK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1091, 1 April 1911, Page 13

ABOUT NEW YORK.

t AN AUSTRALIAN'S UNFLATTERING IMPRESSIONS. i [ i GRAFT, LAWLESSNESS, AND DEBT, p ■ ° Writing to Mr. Percy M. Haines, of s Mitehelltown, Wellington, Mr. Harry n Bromley, a correspondent in America i- of several Australian papers, who is - interesting himself in tho introduction 0 of Australian football into tho United _ States, gives a graphic description of j the conditions of lifo in New York. "New York City" ho states, "though r great m progress, is also greater in its , drawback!, and deficiencies. In its 1 headlong rushing blind fury to bo tho t iiist city in tho world, it has casilv s secured the unenviable position of first - place, in debt, waste, and extravagance, s and is becoming rottenly honeycombed by a destroying microbe named 'graft,' which, is to be found in everything associated with New York. In the past ten years tho debt of the' City of New lone has been increased from 11,707,545 dollars to 32,178,760 dollars, and the interest on tho latter sum costs every f citizen 6.75 dollars (£1 75.) per year— ) this is only ono item. It was stated 3 recently that the total bonded debt of [ the City of New York is 100,000,000 r dollars greater than tho interest-beariiw ! national debt. It is larger than tho j l'reneh war indemnity to Germany. : Iho citizens are forced to bear a burden i ot municipal extravagance proportionate i to a kingdom rather than a city. It is » claimed tp, bo. far in excess of tho Imperial debt of the whole German Empire. Jlns burden affects particularly landlords and tenement dwellers, and falls heavily on tho wage-earner. "Life was safer in Deadwood in its rougher days than it is in New York! wty. Statistics prove that the deaths . from violence in New York City aver-! ' ?i??ft SIX pcr day throughout tho year ' lylO, an increase of just 50 per cent, i on tho previous year. Here one is never i safe from a knife thrust or a revolver i shot.m tramcars, sub-way trains, in tho • street, m fact anywhere. One niay bo ' near when an altercation starts, n few angry words, a knife or revolver pulled, and you, although' an accidental spectator, stand an Al chance of catching ' a stray thrust or bullet. It is little wonder such things are constantly occurring. The scum of the Latin and other alien races arc swarming in- hero, and swamping tho city. Only* a very small percentage migrate to tho other buues; tho result is that aliens swarm about tho city like rats. They accept work at little better, than starvation "' a Ses. They are not only monopolising all the labour work of tho streets, subways, excavations, etc., but also ousting tho native-born American from many trades and professions. It will bo interesting to see what will become of tho American race by 1950, if this alien influx continues, more so as race suicido is a prominent feature- of tho present Americans. Australia and New Zealand may bo slow in peopling their great land tracts, but they are adopting the safe and sano policy of getting the- right class of whilo English people. God , help them if thov have ever to rely on the "riffraff" of all nations to populate and build up their splendid countries—that is, if the result of New York is to bo taken as a criterion. "I have lived here now for nearly eight months, and, boing a keen observer, I havo had ample opportunity to mingle with all classes, and it has been solidly impressed on mo that tho Now York citizen is about the coldest, hardest, and most unfeeling person in the whole world. Hero folks havo li'tlc.^r,no tiinp to exchange tho.ordinary, 'everyday civilities, sociability during business hours is entirely out of'the . question, It is a city where everyone is on tho gouge, and hustle, where millionaires grind the vitality and substance out of the workers, and'recompense them with tho smallest pittance, where the wealthy, in tho hustle foi dollars, fail to notice, or don't care, if dozens starve to death every day. It is little wonder that the majority of Americans in New York arc grey-headed at forty. If Australians and New Zen* landers know .when they aro well off, they will never leave their own splendid countries to seek their fortunes m this 'graft'-perforated city. They would soon discover on arrival hero that they had dropped tho substance to grasp the shadow.: "It is no city for young men from Australia or New Zealand. As an instance, I became acquainted with a smart, clean-cut, well-dressed Australian who recently landed here, who in a fortnight personally applied for forty-two positions, and in the same time answered sixty-three- advertisements by letter. These positions ranged from accountant to kitchenman, and although ho was well-stocked with good Australian references, they were not classed worth the paper they wero written on. In a number of instances lie was informed that only New York references were any uso to obtain a situation here, fortunately, I met a Canadian gentleman here, who is in chargo of a largo publio institution, and he, with that sociable, English, lend-a-helping-hand' stylo which is typical of all English possessions, but very un-American-Tike, gftvo tho young Australian a start, and now tho young man holds a responsible position in that institution. It was a bit of luck for him. but Australians should take a lesson from this experience. It should serve as a warning to ambitious young people out thcro not (0 rush'to this race-prejudiced blob oh the map. Tho newspapers here are principally responsible for fostering this race prejudice against anything English. -The papers avail themselves of ovory opportunity to decry and ridicule any happenings in England, and there aro thousands of children hero who think New York City is the only patch on earth that the sun shines on, and they have no timo for anything concerning the outside world. The newspapers do not assist to enlighten them. New York is the only place in the world for them also. One has a chanco to get some news of the world outsido in the Australian and New Zealand newspapers, but that does not happen hero. I could write a lot more in tho same strain; of how combines and trusts control this country, and of the many beneficial lessons that the great United States of America could be taught by tho examples of splendid administration operating in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania."