The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-16
Brilliant Fireworks, Novel Features
and Such Cheering Has Never
Been Heard Here Before.
A LINE OVER AN HOUR PASSING
LOCOMOTIVE IN FULL BLAST
THROUGH THE BUSINESS HAUNTs.
Street-RaiIway Men Make q Unique
Display-Intense Enthusiasm of
RaiIroaders and Spectators.

The demonstration Of railroad sound
money clubs last night eclipsed any street
parade ever given before in indianapolis.
1t was monstrous affair, exceeding all
expectations to size, enthusiasm and
brilliancy, for it lighted from begin
ming to end. There were over 12,CC0 men in
line, by count, While the dense crowds along
the streets numbered more than 100,0 900 peo-
pie. 1t was S:35 o'clock in the evening
when Chief Marshal Shaw and his staff
reached the corner of Pennsylvania and
Washington streets and it $40 o'clock,
just one hour and five minutes later when
the last club turned down Pennsylvania
street to Maryland. The procession was in
three divisions, the first, with men march
ing in close order, eight and ten abreast,
alone reaching eight blocks in length.
Washington street from State street, fur
ther than the eye can reach from the CEN
ter Of the city, down to Illinois, was ablaze
with rockets, Roman-candle balls and
showers of golden sparks arising from the
long line, while out of the windows along
the route there was a constant sputtering
and bursting of fireworks.
The crowds on the streets have never
been so dense as they were last night.
Men, women and children We're jammed in
to the space between building line and
building line of the two sides of the street,
and made it utterly impossible for q pedes-
trian to thread his way through. This con-
gestion was not only in the downtown dis
tricts, but extended for several miles along
Washington street The principal business
blocks were lighted up, for every Office
window the route was taken by spec
tators. The cheering and shouts as the
procession moved by were SO hearty that
far out in the suburbs the din was heard
as a muffled roar. The demonstration was
not only huge one, but very interesting
one as well. being full of novel and at
tractive features. To those who have the
success of an honest currency close at
heart the best feature of it all was the
sincere enthusiasm of the railroad employ
es, which puts at rest any lurking fear that
some of the men might not be in earnest
in their advocacy of sound money
Estimating the crowd on the same basis
the Journal estimated the Bryan crowd, it
will be seen that Bryan day was over
shadowed in the number of people that
came to town yesterday. The official fig
ures of the railroads show that only 10 900
came to Indianapolis to hear Bryan. There
were fully 10000 visitors in the city last
night. and these were from she ranks of
railroad employees, at that. The special
trains alone brought in 100 coaches, while
TO the regular trains there were attached
forty extra coaches, aside from the regular
trains, which were al crowded. Estimating
eighty men to a coach-and there were
more than that-this would give 1000 pas
sengers in the extra coaches. The National
road as far east as Greenfield and as far
west as Plainfeld lined with farmers
wagons late yesterday afternoon, ali bring
ing the farmers in to see the big parade
With these and the passengers in the regu-
lar trains the crowd of visitors was easily
augmented to 20 0o) people