The sun., 1900-08-12
SUMNER ~ WASHINGTON.
Impressions . Traveller Had Of Hot Day In
the National Capital.

Speaking of warm babies. hot stun and
other tropical subjects" remarked the man
who travels, did any Of you unfortunates ever
go up against Washington, D. c.. when there
was an area of high pressure frolicking around
the Potomac Flats and contiguous territory'
Don't unless you've got date with an Ice
cream freezer in a cold storage warehouse.
Il struck the town one day during the last hot
spell. dropping OF n train in the morning and
catching another the same day in the evening,
and I'm a saamander II ] ever felt anything
like it. You've heard Of TOphet and Aitch and
Gehenna and Brimstoneville and n few more
winners OF any kind Of a heat haven't you? Well.
put 'em all In the field give 'em all the start you
want, and III bet 10 to that Washington will
beat the bunch out OF the top Of the thernome-
ter hands down. II was extremely hot as early
as o'clock In the morning with nasty, heavy
unbreathable kind Of air shutting of all the
breeze. and the wide streetways Of asphalt had
begun to simmer and grow soft under the sun.
] could see the Quayerings OF the heat rising
from the scorchlng tar and the everlasting
restlessness Of it brought the perspiration to
my very eyeballs.
BY II o'clock il was very much hotter and
the pavements were so soft that my heels stuck
into them and my feet dragged over the super
heated surface. By noon | was forced to put
up my umbrella. and was Immediately COM
PEELED 10 put il down again. Did you ever put
up sun umbrella in Washington No? Then
don't. The direct sun is bad enough but il is
cold custard to the heat from the pavement
that is caught by the umbrella spread over IL
and dashed back into your face and all over
your seething person. By Jove, ! thought l
had run my head upinto an old-fashoned gar
re. next TO a lin roof, and shut that umbrella
up with a snap that almost broke one Of It's riOs.
/ believe it would have broken it, only the rib
was so hot that could have twisted 1t into a
spiral spring for s27 mattress.
BY o'clock II WAS simply damned hot, and
when | said so everybody agreed with me re-
gardless Of what religious belief he pro-
fessed, That is peculiarly Of religious teach
ing in Was hington. IL is not considered swear
ing to say that the weather in summer time Is
damned hot. As between swearing and lying.
the people who have TO stay there in summer
have chosen the lesser Of two evils
At this hottest hour Of the day was COM
PEELED 10 60 out on the street and. so help me
Bob Ridley. there was not one other person
visible far as the eye could reach and only
two vehicles. You see they knew better and
didn't and couldn't haye helped myself any
nearly "a lonesome and a good deal hotter.
because the avenue j. 100 feet wide and, in the
language OF Shakespere. imagination drops
her wings and refuses to soar in the useless
fight for words 10 express how Internally
hot a section Of asphalt 100 feet wide by a mile
and quarter long, can get when exposed all
day In Washington 10 a summer sun. People
have talked TO me about Rome being hot in
summer. Why, compared with Washington,
1t is a mouthful of ice cream 10 dose of boiling
soup. lts main thoroughfare the Corso runs
in about the same direction as WashingtOu's
main thoroughfare, Pennsylvania avenue. that
Is, with the sun banging away at one side Of
IL all afternoon. but It Is made possible and
passable by awnings extending out over the
sidewalks and reaching down 10 the curbstone
at the gutter. A canvas tunnel is thus formed
which IL not exactly the place sincere man
meaning business would select If he wanted
TO freeze TO death, but IL lacks good deal Of
being as bad as no awnings M all. In Wash
ington tie thing has never been attempted.
simply because the people there know that n
tunnel like that Of the COrso put up on Pennsy-
vania avenue would result In the surocation
and roasting Of everybody who tried 10 go
through IL. Ordinary awnings are. of course,
in use but they don't do much good and Penn
sylyania avenue of a summer afternoon is absO-
lutely deserted Why rode along II for half
a mile IN a street car and did not see woman
in the whole distance II YOU know anything
streets you ought 10 he able TO approximate,
from her entire absence, how hot the town
was. The stores we're open, because that's
inert masses. incapable of action, They hung
around on stools ana counters like lot of
wilted dshrags. and they had TO decline 10
show fine goods for fear 81 injuring them with
the perspiration that tricxed from their fingers.
liot? Well I should melt and run down,
BY cripes do you know that a band which
would dare 70 play There1l Be Hot Tine
hot spells would only I've saved from lynchlng
because the outraged people were so exhausted
they could not vent their righteous indignation