The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-09-07
THE NEW YORK ALPS.
A New Jersey Mans View of the
City in 1920.

1t was a sultry morning in August,
1929; having an idle day in New York,
had inveigled a friend into showing
ne its marvellous sights.
Il hope you've brought an overcoat, 3"
he SAID. to my amazement, a. we
started out. You will need it," he
Idded, moping his forehead As he
poke we turned into a narrow street
cunning north anI south. Here a
breeze struck our faces as cool as if it
blew from the ferny depths of a can
yOn. The light was twilight, and
looking up | saw that we were walled
in by gigantic buildings. Far above,
between their black sides, ran a silver
ribbon OF sky.
We are now entering the range of
the New York Alps" he exclaimed.
Bat w.at i the reason for this sud
len change in the weather. | asked,
Gearing to contract pneumonia before
l could button my coat
why, the sun rises at eleven and
sets at two in this street. 1t is called
Crevassc alley This building on the
right is Jungfrau, the other Jugger-
naut. Both are snow-capped." lie
then began to stare SO hard at jung
frau that thought he must be trying
to discover a mortgage on it, but one
glance at his face assured me that |
was wrong. He was weeping That
is my old homestead" he sighed.
| looked at him amazed. What a
perfectly enormous family there must
have been,"
only three children" he replied,
puzzled at my surprise. ''Oh, l see,"
he laughed; you thought we occupied
the whole building. No, indeed; there
were forty-tive other families under
the same roof. My homestead is the
two extreme northeast windows of the
tenth floor. See, one of them has a
jar of milk on it" Then followed an
eloquent silence which | dared not
break. Il tell you, Tom he at length
continued, lit stirs all the poetry in
my being to see my old home again.
What fond memories cling to that win
dcv~r"
| found myself instinctively looking
up for the memories. just then a ped
dler accosted US.
Looking for your old homestead?"
he asked. Hire one of my fine tele-
scopes"
My companion drew himself up stiff
ly- My family were first settlers. and
our windows can be seen with the
naked eye. You see, my father" he
continued to me, owned a very valua-
hle layer of air thee hundred and
fifty feet above the building. | was
not old enough then to advise him, 50
he sold out But it was a mistake.
New York air is getting more valuable
every day"
l thought it a kindness to check
unhappy "reminiscences, SO | said:
But how can the memory of such a
cooped-up life be grateful? What fun,
for instance, can a boy have in such =
place."
'.Oh, it was possible in those days to
reach the sidewalk during the course
of d morning, and there we played
like rowdies. To be sure. we were
cramped in many ways We were like
the elephant in the conundrum-we
couldn't climb tree; then the rules Of
the fiat admitted no domestic animals
neither dogs chickens nor horses"
That was hard"
Yes; still | love the old spot"
As we talked we threaded our way
through Ravine street and Gulley way,
always in the cool shadow of buildings
whose tops were lost in the clouds.
was thinking the while of the sweet,
idle fields of my New Jersey farm, and
| asked: is there not ground enough,
that people should take to building
castles in the air?"
is it possible, men, that you do not
understand the wonderful advantage
of those buildings"
Frankly, no; and, moreover, I've
been racking my brain to discover why
they are painted in stripes"
The particular building before you
is called the Refrigerator" he ex-
planned. And those stripes are the
isothermal lines representing it's sum
mcr climate-red being torrid; green,
temperate; white, approaching arctic.
Well, Ia no idea you knew SO little of
, the world; you must have been living
in New Jersey" Then, seeing my
confusion, he said: 'In that case You
need a change of air. Let us ascend
the Refrigerator. 1t only takes a day
and half"
"A day and ha-f!'' gasped. And
you sleep in the elevator"
why, yes. There are Pullman
slecpers attached But don't say ele-
vators, man; that's old American.
They're called translatorS now. Come,
It's sweitering here, and once there
well have peaches for tea and tobog-
gan slides after | know some de-
lightful people, too-the first families
of the Refrigerator, who claim to have
come up in the first translator"
The plan was alluring, | agreed, and
in an hour we were on board the trans
lator, speeding upward.
The first stations were hot, noisy
slams, and, as | am rich and poverty
annoys me, L paid no attention to
them. 1t grew more interesting in
the afternoon, when we struck October
weather, and as we neared station
the conductor called out: Thirty
mirutes for shopping"
Upon my looking puzzled my friend
| said: Wen need to stop and buy
warmer clothing" / was beginning tO
| lose the power of being surprised, so