New-York University, Sept. 12th, 1853.
To his Honor, the Mayor }
of the city of New-York.}
Dear Sir,--I deem it my duty as a citizen of New-York, and a member of a
literary institution, of which your Honor is _ex-officio_ an officer, to
apprize you of a fact of my personal history during the past winter,
which as it is intimately connected with the maintenance of social
order, should not for one moment be passed over by the authorities of
the municipal corporation. I have for a number of years past been
connected with the University of the city of New-York, first as a
resident graduate and lately as the Professor of a modern language, and
have ever since my connection with the institution resided in the
building on Washington Square, spending most of my time in authorship
and instruction in a room, which for several years I have occupied for
that purpose. In consequence of some bad feeling towards me on the part
of certain enemies of mine, who of late have done all in their power to
annoy me, the quiet of my residence has been disturbed in a scandalous
manner, by day and at all hours of the night, for weeks and months
together, so as to inflict on me the torments of perpetual interruption
not only in my work during the day, but of rest during the night, until
my health was completely shattered; and in this miserable manner I have
lost nearly the whole of last winter without accomplishing any of my
purposes with satisfaction or comfort. This outrageous annoyance has
been the source of severe loss to me not only in regard to my health,
but also in a pecuniary point of view. My salary in the institution
being altogether inadequate for my support, I have been engaged for a
number of years past in preparing works for publication, and this winter
the ruin of my health from the causes already mentioned has also
threatened me with the ruin of my income. As this villainous business
has proceeded in part from the institution itself, or rather from
individuals personally hostile to me and to my purposes, I deem an
address to your Honor so much the more in place, as I believe it to be
officially your duty to interpose your municipal authority in matters of
this kind, and to reprimand or punish men for the immorality of so
flagrant a disturbance of the peace. As my ears have almost daily been
wounded by disorderly noises, not only from students, but (and mostly)
from other persons, who ought to blush for such base conduct, I cannot
say, that I am unacquainted with the authors of the nuisance, and could
easily designate to you at least half a dozen. Such cries as "Go on!
Stop!--Out of the institution with that man!--Kill him!" besides
multitudes of vulgar chuckles, screams and other horrid vociferations
have been heard by me from well-known voices, until at times I felt as
if I could support the vexation no longer. Numberless insults in the
street and even menaces were constantly thrown out by a low gang, who
were evidently hired for the vile purpose, and I have seen things, which
I never witnessed before either in Europe or America. A certain firm of
this city seems to have commenced the nefarious hostilities. I have
suffered encroachments on my personal safety to which no American
citizen ought for one moment to submit. As I cannot afford, nor feel
inclined to lose my time and health any longer, I would respectfully
submit to your Honor's consideration _my claim to the protection of the
laws of the city_ in this respect, to which as an American citizen I am
entitled, and the necessity of a sterner maintenance of order by the
police of the city. Disagreeable and painful as it is for any one to
come into hostile collision with fellow-citizens, there are nevertheless
cases, in which such enmities may be innocently contracted, and holding
mine to be of such a nature, I may confidently expect the ready and
effectual interposition of your Honor and of the honorable members of
the Common Council, to whom the order and honor of the city must ever be
dear, in a matter that seems to me to involve one of the most cherished
principles of our republican freedom, viz., the personal safety and
peaceable domicile of every member of our community, of every citizen of
this vast republic.
To sum up my complaints briefly, they are as follows:--1st, Personal
hostility towards me in the institution itself; 2dly, Horrid footsteps,
noises and loud conferences under my window by day and by night; 3dly,
Menacing insults from low people in the street, without the slightest
provocation on my part.
Trusting that your Honor may find an early occasion to give me an
opportunity for finding my firm conviction true, that the majesty of the
law is capable of being upheld by its representatives in the community,
and that I may have a different tale to tell respecting the morality of
the city and my own sense of personal safety,
I am your Honor's
most respectful and obedient servant.
G. J. Adler.