The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-21

l watched the crowds swirl into the GU
! de sac of South Main street for hours
I yesterday afternoon after the flower pa
rade, and the thought came to me how
! fleeing events are, and how rebellious to
anything like report.
There is nothing which can adequately
preserve the memory of yesterday to
Wichita, although it was undoubtedly the
greatest five hours in the history of the
city in the point of crowds.
One can say that the trains tcame in
loaded, but that does not convey to the
reader how heavily they were loaded,
how from north, south, east and west the
excursion and regular trains grOaned
their way into the depots and emptied
themselves into the street.
1t does not tell to the reader the rows
of coaches standing on sidings, the extra
work it meant for all hands connected
with railroad, from wiDers Of lOcOmo-
tives to the dispatchers making place for
specials in crowded schedules. This
cannot be conveyed.
OF course the noise by which such a
crowd demonstrates itself IS beyond re-
cording. Before the parade struck
yesterday afternoon individuality in
sounds ceased and the largest mega
phones in the city failed to attract at
tention longer. Even Paramount Col
lege's yell, which was out in force and
perched high on top of the Boston store
failed when the bedlam was al its height
to reach the pavement. The yellS of a
holiday crowd augmented by that
atrOcity, the tin horn, and that greater
nuisance. the megaphone the ''spieiers, -
the shrek and rattle-te-bang Of the Mid
way, made a distracting uprOar, an up
roar so great that big fire took place
in the city and not one-hundredth part
Of the people on the streets knew any
thing about it. This noise is not to be
conveyed 10 the reader who was not
there.
The roof of the Boston store at one
time had three hundred people on it.
There was at one time, by rather close,
estimate made conSciendously by count
ing squares and multiplying by the total
distance, 5000 people between Main streets
and Market street on Douglas avenue At,
the same moment there was on Maint
street between Douglas avenue and First
street 500 people, mostly on the shady,
side of the street.
You can't convex that TO anyone
1t would be difficult TO prove TO some,
peaple who saw 1t that there were on
one of the decorated vehicles in the pa
rade 5000 chrysanthemums
You can say that the decorated vehi-(
c,es We're beautiful. But neither pen rorj
Photograph can reproduce 10 the eve orr
mind the artful, bewitching blend Of coll
orS. or the fair drivers dressed in fIimv)
stuff 10 match the cOlors Of the vehicle
or the long gorgeous ribbon lines they(
The flower parade was by FAR the most
beautiful thing Wichita has ever seen in
daylight. The delay in getting started
was annoying, but that is the way pa 5
rades have, and what IS the use 10 com
plain?
But the reader cannot see it as a read
er. He has To be a spectator
And still. the most interesting thing in :
the whole crowd was the in .vi5ual ASK
the thousands. in the black mass. stood
hacked in the street IL was difficult to-
imagine that each had his troubles aEd5
his Joys, that each was scheduled f0r)
death that b. ! o'clock that night each
would be stretched out in bed asfae7 Z
that each individual had an appetite ard {
a2d - be fed and would be fed. by soue(
hook or crock. three times q DAY. that(
each had his individual tastes ard c70tch-f
cts and ambitions. his m aatal shade. hiss
individual color. And that in the th9us-1
ands there were 10 two alike
or course Il IS nonsense for anyone to