The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-01
HAIL TO THE NEW CITY!
GREATEST BUT ONE IN THE WORLD.
AND BORN LAST WIGHT.

oobae 70 nv Uub celebrating the
Babs. ana the Customers OF OLD Trinity
Were svamped In the Journals City unll
Dispisy-A Glorious Racket at Al,dn,rht.
with the roaring of cannon, the thunder Of
bombs, and the cracklo Of thousands upon thou.
sands Of pieces Of fireworks, with seven bands
playing seven tunes, with 10000 peoplo
gathered In and around City Hall, toot-
ing horns or yelling, and with every
steam whistle within ten miles OF New
York shrieking. the birth of the new city of
New York was celebrated at midnight. It was
such . display Of fireworks and enthusiasm 40
perhaps had never been seen before In the State
Of Now York, certainly not in tho vicinity Of
New York city.
It was showing and raining, and an east wind
was blowing. That part Of tho city for half Q
milo in every direction from the City Hall was q
great amphithcatre. The sky was the domo,
and thousands Of colored lights lit It, while q
ton or so Of powders burning red and green and
blue and yellow and purple lighted the body of
the theatre.
Tho show that the Now York journal pro-
vided was all that that paper claimed It would
be. Mr.. Hearst laid himself out, to say nothing
OF laying out Mr.. Pulitzer at tho Same time in
doing 1t. In the midile Of this amphitheatre
Pulitzer's building lowered high, and from
top to bottom 1t was covered with sigma
Of Read tho Sunday Journal Whats the
matter with the Journal2 p "watch the Rildcd
dome" and half a dozen others. From half n
dozen other buildings the public was told by
Mr.. Hearst to watch tho gilded dome,
and when IL o'clock came and the
cannons and the bombs reared and Numbered
and the sky was lit with all tho lights of tho
rainbow. half q dozen fiery snakes could be seen
to shoot up from the dome. They wore followed
by o pale green light, which died out in q mo-
ment.
The crowd began to pack in around the
City Hall at z o'clock in the evening.
There had been two stands erected. one in
tho Park. the other on the City Hall steps.
The front of tho building was deco
rated from roof to walk and from side
to side with flags and banners. and on either
end OF the building was an immense flag in cleo
trio lights, while In the centre was an anchor.
From 7 to $50 the crowd kept coming and from
that time the park looked full.
Then 400 or 500 policemen arrived, and the
fun began. 1t had been arranged to reserve tho
City Hall Park for singing societies, Journal
reporters, and paradcrs. The crowd kicked.
The people would not go, SO the policemen had
to draw their clubs and march at them. 1t took
fully twenty minutes then of pushing and
showing and prodding to clear the park.
Gradually the crowd was compressed until 10
occupied only the space between the build
ings along Park row and the middle of the
street, the buildings along Broadway and the
middle of Broadway aud the plaza near the
Post Office. The later corners packed in behind
this crowd that the police had compressed.
Every street that opened on City Hall Park
was damned from building to building with
people. Park Row was literally packed; SO were
Nassau street, and Beckman, and Frankfort. and
Broadway below the Post Office and above the
park. and Warren, and Chambers. and Park place.
and Barclay, and Vescy. In fact. not an inch of
ground was left anywhere in the neighborhood
except in the park itself. And there vera
enough police to hold the lines and keep that
clear, except occasionally when terrific fights
took place and clubs were used.
Now and then between the roarings Of tho
artillery later in the evening the crack OF the
clubs could be heard distinctly. The police had
u bigger job than they had ever had in tho
! neighborhood of City Hall Park, and that's say
ing a good deal.
The bombs announcing tho beginning of the
celebration were Tired at O'Clock. and at tho
same time two bands played America" and a
dozen flashlights sent lightning streaks in
bcwildering fashion.
A little while before this a crowd Of select WIS.,
itors had begun to gather at the City Hall.
They were armed with invitations issued by
Aldermen. There was room in the City Hall for
about 200, and the Aldermen had issued 5000
invitations.
Every man or women who had an invitation
came and stood at the rear entrance of tho City
Hall shouting for admission. The police
wouldn't let them in, and they denounced tho
Aldermen.
With this bunch OF 5000 alone n hundred
policemen had to wrestlc. and they were tho
worst pushed and showed policemen in the town.
They hardly dared use their clubs. because they
didn't know whose constituents were in the
crowd.
Alittlc after o o'clock the journal building
was framed in electric light, and ten new search-s
lights were added to those already zigzaggins
light beams. At the same limo lights began 10
show on the Post Office. Tho Government build
ing apparently had been hired.
The show at the City Hell was formally started
ut 10 O'Clock when about 800 members of tho
United Singing Societies of New York and
Brooklyn. armed with Chinese lanterns. marched
into the City Hall Park and began a singing
contest.
Though there were 800 OF them. nobody could
hear what they sang except tho police. because
nobody could get near enough; the police sur
rounded them.
The singing lasted half aii> hour or 80, and
then some moro bombs were ired and a barrol
or two Of colored lights set Off. In the, mean
time the work OF decorating the park went on
Some fifty or hundred men or boys werS
armed with coils of red and blue and white
paper tape the width OF that used in ticker ma
chimes. and holding one end OF a coil they would
send the coil itself up into the tops OF the trees.
BY tho time the singing was over every tree
in the park resembled a weeping W illow, except
that the wecps were of many colors. instead OF
all green.
The parade, which had started from Union
square, was announced to be at Blocker street
"a fow minutes before IL O'Clock, and another
batch of bombs and skyrockets and Roman can.
dies and another barrel or so OF red fire went up
in bright light and noise and smoke.
The announcement OF the approach of tho
parade was a signal for the crowdto break loose
everywhere, and the police had TO do some OF
their livellest p%rodding to save themselves from
being rample on.
The two bands already in the park kept loot.
ing "rhcrell be a hot time in the old town to-
night" until another band was heard over on
the Broadway side of the park, and the process
sion, headed by a squad OF mounted police. came
in sight.