TOLD OF HIS TRAVELS.
Former Mayor Neff a Guest of the
Lower House of the Council.
Former Mayor Neff was a guest of Alderman Weston on the floor of the lower house of the council chamber last night. This made the first time that Mr. Neff has attended a meeting of the council since his retirement from office a year ago, and his presence was seemingly a source of pleasure to a number of aldermen who served during his administration.
The former mayor, upon request, addressed the aldermen on his recent trip to Europe. It was an interesting narrative, burnished with important historical facts and humor. He said that when he was in Ireland he saw the house in which his wife was born, and that when he was asked what he thought about Ireland his reply was, "that for a little Ireland it was all right, but that big Ireland was in the United States, where there are 9,000,000 from that country."
Russia, Mr. Neff said, is the most impoverished and distressful country he had ever seen and that the people as a rule are of anarchistic tendencies. The wealthier people of Russia are disposing of their property and leaving for the United States, England and South America.
While away he traveled 20,000 miles in five months' time, and his travels in Russia and Italy where the railroads are operated by the states had convinced him that municipal ownership of public utilities is a bad thing for the general public and should not be tolerated.
