Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-22
MURRAY'S MUSINGS.


Getting Colored Peoples Rights ~ Busi-
ness-The Fat Oyster-The Weakness
for shoestring Peddlers-Running .
Clipper Over Horse-Gotham Gossip.
rHoN A STAFF coRREsroNDrEr.I
NEW YORK, Nov. 21.-Fortune doesn't
seem to be very bad name, but no man can
Do considered fortunate who is born biack,
OF even yellow. Mr.. Thomas y. Fortune Is
neither black nor yellow; he is q genteel
gingersnap. But he is a man OF respecta-
Dlilty and Of brains, an editor and writer
OF NO mean ability. As representative and
champion of his race he has undertaken to
not only vindicate the equal rights Of his
people before the bar of justice but before
the bars and in the restaurants of New York.
Mr. fortune has cut out q very large con-
tract. And yet his first attempt does not
appear TO have been wholly q failure. He
was refused glass Of beer at a Tenderloin
precinct all-nfght house and when he re-
monstrated he was 'tfred" out When he ap-
pealed to the police he was locked up. For
all this New York jury has given him $3.50
damages.
This does not seem like a bad start. Armed
with such verdict and the money Mr.. For
tune may now take a rest from pen and ink
stroying popul ar prejudice against the
whole colored race. The price-Ss50 is
rather high for glass of beer, and if that
should como to be ruling figure the thirst
for drink will do much to offset the scien-
tifc inroads of Dwight. ILL.,, and White
Plains, N. Y. 1t is true, there are the draw
backs of being humiliated by refusal, the
scorn of a red-headed bartender, the igno-
miny of being fired" the wear and tear Of
being dubbed by ignorant white policemen
and the outrage Of being inca-cerated in
dungeon cell over night. All OF this, in ad-
d1tion to the aftermath of newspaper motor
1ety, Of lawyers fees. OF public trial and SO
on. II these Objectionable features could be
stricken out of the case the refusal of q drink
at $3.50 a refuse might be n new business upon
paying basis and Fortune in name become
a fortune in fact.
AS it is, there is too much cold water for
the amount of beer in the scheme. Still,
"The blood Of the martyr is the"-and so
forth, and II the able colored editors trous-
ers and skull are of unusually good material
he might stand a refusal every now and
then at the same figure. The recalcitrnnt
and wealthy saloon keeper with his pug
nacious red-headed barkeepers are doing
business day and night and Sundays at tho
old stand and invite the thousands of Mr..
fortunes fellow gingersnaps who daily pass
Ine mahogany doors to come In ana Try.
There are plenty of other resorts, from Del
mon1co's down, where colored people are
refused service, and there are the statute
books and the Constitution and the old flag
and the appropriation. Let 'er go?
Shaving the Horses.
The tonsorlal artist who gives horse
shave and a hair cut has no opportunity to
air his knowledge of affairs while his Gus
toner is undergoing treatment. He has no
array of scented bottles. damp towels and
observations about the election or the
weather. He is nevertheless an interesting
individual, and always draws q curious and
motley crowd of admirers. His barber shop
is stable, and he brings with him his tools
of trade. The latter consist chiefly Of a
machine on wheels wherein
figures fywheel run by crank communi-
eating power by means OF pulleys and 8 fine
round belt through q flexible and closely
woven wire coil to the operating knife of q
clip somewhat similar to the Ole your bar
Der chucks down your neck when he trims
your hair. The knife has harvester mo-
tion, only so times more rapid, and when he
moves it over horse it takes the hair OF
like a razor, smoothly and evenly. His as
sistant meanwhile turns the crank and the
swaying pulleys hum.
Meanwhile the horse loves it. He turns
his ears and the side OF his nose to the bar
ber with pleased, sleepy expression just
like big man in the chair. The buzzlng
clip is thrust into his silky ears. run along
the edges of his nose and twinkles about his
big eyes, but he never winces. 1t puts him
in quiet doze of solid endowment. When
it is all over he looks at his barber with
silent expression OF regret and eXpectat1on-
What New York VIII Tolerate.
There is often larger show OF personal
liberty in New York than can be seen in any
country town. This liberty sometimes bor-
ders on Questionable license, but 1t is
viewed with great leniency by both the city
authorities and public. Forty or 80 college
iSo nf a N n
way or in a m tropolitan theater with per-
feet tmpunity than would be tolerated even
in a college town. The other day l saw at
least that many young men marching along
at its most crowded portion, near
the postofhce, about o'clock in the after
noon, blowing tin horns and shouting and
There was nothing in the time or In the day
when such q demonstration might be ex-
pected or winked at. They had simply been
to a society meeting.
Yet all this noise was deemed necessary
They swept the sidewalk of ordinary busi-
ness people and compelled the floating busi-
ness world to stand still for the time being.
theater and running the play: or
swarming about a leading hotel until the
managers are obliged to shut up the bar and
trive them out with the aid of the police,
this performance takes the confectionery.
A Fire at Busy Corner.
"A recent fire at the corner Of Broad
way and Thirty-third street resulted in a
rarely seen even in crowded
New York. A Broadway fire is always some
hing like bone down a mans throat. At
ibis particular point there are two systems
If double tracks and four systems of car
ines crossing each other at long, acute
Lngle of Broadway and Sixth avenue. The |
ravel is at all times dense both on wheels |
md foot, and this is peculiarly congested at |
present by the efforts of the cable railway |
% get across the Sixth avenue lines with |
,ut Injunction. Extra curves are thus laid |
Lround the excavation. The fire was unim- |
one man was burned alive. |
But the engines and hook and ladder tracks |
;hoked this spot up in two minutes. In |
i've there were surface cars on both Broad |
way and Sixth avenue for half a mile each |
yay An hour of this sbone-in-the-throat and |
lpper New York almost ceased to breathe. |
When the fire was over and the tracks free /
t took another hour and the most arduous |
nd skillful labor of a large force of police
O clear the jam. I watched the thing |
Trough and made up my mind that few
,eopIe know what such fire really means. |