Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-02
FEELING OF THE CROWD

In olde4 days highly placed men led.
Now theft follow. The pronunciamento Of
an Individual Or Of q party no longer FASH
ions public opinion. There is too much inE
diyidualitY among modern populaces for
that. Men have got into the habit of think
ing for themselves. A Star man Witness
ed, the other day, quiet but significant
ebullitions of What Parisians phrase the
opinion Of the pave-the trend of thought
of street pedestrians. high and low, on an
uppermost question.
In the SHOW window of tailoring estab-
liskment On F street there was spread out
an ordinary coipred map of the Island Of
Cuba. Attached to short stick, End
caused to fiutter over the map by means of
some invisible air appliance, was an Amer
lcan flag. Passers-by stopped before the
window and gazed long and earnestly at
the American emblem floating over the
charted representation of the devastated
Isle. At times there were four or five rows
or gazers, women as well rs men, repre-
sentatives of the thought the que stion
OF the hour in Washington homes.
One of the men who stood looking at the
nag and the map. on Thursday afternoon,
shortly after o'clock, had peevish ex-
preston on his countenance and a peevish
fnf1exion in his voice. He was close up DE-
fore the window, and there were probably
twenty-five men and women halted around
at the display.
WELL" rasped the man with the reevish
face, addressing nobody in particular, so
that's Cuba, eh2 What I'd like TO know now
is, what have we got to do with Cuba?'
The man was made to feel that he had
made a mistake almost before the words
were out of his mouth. All of the men
around him suddenly removed their eyes
from the flag and the map and regarde
the speaker fixedly. Then, almost stimuli.
taneously. they broke into a cascade of de-
nunciation, not loud, but apparently deeply
felt. Those of the crowd who stood in the
rear could not see the speaker, but their
ears caught his remark. Those who stood
right by the speaker looked him straight in
the eye as they gave vent 10 their express
sions of disapproval. Out Of the jumole of
denunciation, which was all over in less
than half minute, these phrases were
caught:
DO you call yourself man; or what
are your
'Cuba's a heap more to us than a million
of men like YOU"
Whats Cuba toLus? Are the lives OF 2GO
and odd American sailors anything to
your
Amy place. my man. around American
waters is a lot to us that has got it in the
neck Hike Cuba has,"
Say, do you ever read newspaper
'Oh, say, take walk. You've got no
license to talk To- men that have got any
gizzards of compassion in EN-;
You wouldn't make a crack like that if
you had the brains of a boot OWL
Say. young Teller, I'd as lief haste you
In the nose as look at ye.
IF you got off a bleat like that down
where live, you'd take a ride on u three
sided rail all right, all right
Perhaps you'd like a few more of our
men-o'-war to go up in the air, hey?'
Take him outn"
These are only samples Of the torrent Of
red-hot talk that instantly followed the
peevish-lcokng mans fll-timed and ungen-
erous remark. He looked dazed and crest
fallen under it all. Then he edged cut of
the crowd sidewise and hurried down the
street as If he feared pursuit, and every
man and woman in the crowd before the
window followed his retrca.ins figure with
expressions. of contempt on their faces aEd
words of scorn In their mouths.