Show THE SHADOW OF A STORM CLOUD IN speaking of the extravagant tendency toward luxury and vulgar display prevalent generally but particularly in new york city the san franeisco francisco chronicle follows in the wake of the moral example set by the london socialists on the occasion of the lord mayors parade last monday that is it pictures the antipodal condition in life showing the crying poverty of the laboring classes and the snail snaillike like efforts where any are made at all of statesmen and political economists in the direction of substantial improvements it is just as well that such a subject receive constant attention from the bessas in the absence of that protection and benefit which the struggling and meritorious poor receive biorn the duly constituted makers of law the newspapers must assume their time honored f unction function of guardian and agitate until agitation secures reform the Jh hron ronicle icle instances the example of the metropolitan opera house in new york of which a recent dispatch givel some faint idea the aggregate wealth represented by the lessees lessels ot of the boxes is said to be about and the figures do not appear to be much exaggerated since among the stockholders of tue the proprietary company are found the heads of nearly all the very rich families of the metropolis the vander bilts and the goulds were among those who took the lead in the inception of the project for founding a temple of opera which should rival the old academy ot et music no one city of the old world that we can recall has within its limits two such luxurious and important theatres theartres the atres designed I 1 for or grand opera alis is a strange commentary on the lengths to which those who have been fortunate in great speculations will go 90 in the direction of flaunt flaunting irig their thel gains rains mainly in the fice face of those who have baye toiled and suffered and still toil and suffer that such things may be and when it is id remembered that thai both the distinguished names mentioned have been most conspicuous at times in the matter of cutting down the wages of their employed emp loyes irom a beggary to a starvation point and the sequel always showing that the cause of 1 such auch scaling has anvari invariably ably been greed glutted at the price of the sorrow if not the blood of their fellows the situation assumes a more serious phase and dakeson takes on some ot of the characteristics of villainy our assumes that the situation is rendered still worse and if its conclusion be true which h seems more than probable it puts the case much too mildly by remarking that if nearly are represented in the ownership of the private boxes of the metropolitan opera house not a quarter of that sum is frankly accounted for to the tax gatherer since the total assessment of real property in the city in 1880 was only here He reagain again the excessively rich offer to the excessively poor an unwise text for reflection and discussion cus sion it would be a good deal more gratifying to every lover of his race it the charity and public spirit of new york kept even pace with the luxury and pride of its affluent citizens it is not devoid of enen cial effects for the rich to indulge in luxuries as thereby artisans ans and others are given employment which they might not otherwise get but when the laborer is ground down to 10 squalor and ignorance through the meanness and cupidity of the capitalist it is no wonder that a socialist can poll votes for mayor of the city of new york and as he said himself if that is the beginning what will the end be |