Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-28
NEW YORK WAS HOT
The Way the Average Gothamite
Keeps Cool.
RECREATION PIERS FOR TEE POOR
Coney Island Now the Peoples
Playground.
A WARM WEATHER GROWL


opeciai correspondence Of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, July 81. 1900.
The leather-lunged man who yells into
the ears OF visiting provincials that Moo
faWks the greatest summer resort in
the world m'boy" probably went into
close hiding last week. At any rate. he
wasn't seen or heard around. If he had
been visible or audible, it is more than
likely that select committee of the visit
Ing provinctals would have got after him
and dubbed him into state of coma. For
new York city was the veritable CEN
ter of old Soils target last week. 1t was
the mathemat teal center of the big heat
wave 1t remained the heat waves mathe
NAUTICAL center for six days. and there are
indications that it is about to repeat the
performance
The writer hereof used to think that
when the thermometer began to climb IN
Mo1ave, Kern county. Cal, Mojave was the
record breaker in the matter of warmth.
de likewise cherished the belief that there
were Few hotter spots in the United States
than New Orleans in midsummer. He had
supposed that, for a northern city. Chicago
was about as hot a town under the in
Hlcuon of a land breeze as the country
could boast of. He had even imagined that.
When the heels begin to sink into the
Washington asphalt the capital city did
them when 1t came to the matter OF mid
summer heat. But the writer hereof finds
that dead reckoning isn't as good as the
chart, after all. If there was any Ameri-
can city hotter than New York last week,
then the site of that city ought to be re-
moved The reader with a penchant for
investigating these matters may look up
last weeks weather reports and triumph
artly discover that, in the matter of tenn
perature, there really We're hotter cities in
the United States last week than New
York But the temperature doesn't tell the
story, so far as New York Is concerned.
It's the New York humidity that makes
New York men and women and outsiders
marooned over here during the hot spells
LOOK 1ndulgently upon the long daily list
of suicides. temperature Of 81 over here
is almost invariably accompanied by an
amount of atmospheric saturation that
would make a resident of central Mexico.
where .he thermometer often climbs to 1en.
gasp in his misery. A hundred degrees or
50 Of dry heat are by no means intolcrable.
as men who have visited the southwestern
portions of the United States will testify.
but 80 or ~ degrees of the humid heat of
the New York brand enough to make
the cheeriest man or woman must sullenlv
upon the emptiness of existence. The Their
mGmeter of the weather office in New .ork
climbed up to % last week. and non-ofcial
thermometers took the figure away beyond
the hundred mark; in addition to which
the humidity throughout the entire period
was so great that the air seemed like
Manhattan Island, surrounded as Manhat
tan Island is by salt water.
This protractcd heat spell caused some
manifestations on the part of the New
York pOpuace that had not been seen be
fore Hundreds of well-groomed men. for
example. walked up and down Broadway IN
the middle of the day with their coats
slung over their arms in needless disregard
of the urheautiful and non-acsthetic effect
of their crossed suspenders in impact with
their n"Glige shirts, The men who put up
this queer show weren't bill collectors or
young clerks in the stores or vealy youths
Indifferent to the demands Of convention
atty in dress. On the contrary. they were
men around town. the dressy chaps who
put In their days strolling from club to
club from cafe to cafe-the men who
find their Tuxedo coats laid out for them
when the dinner hour approaches. These
CoatlesS, painting men in broadway made
an odd picture. but nobody registered any
complaint about the picture: nobody de-
Clared that the coatlcsS men weren't en-
tirely forgiva be under the circumstances.
In fact. men whose diction would seem IL
proclaim them both sensible and level
headed. have been writing to the New York
papers ever since. demanding that all male
persons. of whatsoever station degree. be
accorded the privilege of going entirely
without their coats in hot weather
The women have their shirt waists have
they not?' these men ask. And women
are compelled to comply more strictly with
the laws Of modesty than men. aren't they?
lDOtS any DOtS MAINTAIN lldt the woman
shirt waist is immodest? No. Very well
then why can't We go in shirt sleeves?
If the suspenders offend. then we can GO
without 'em-we can do away with the sus-
penders and wear belts only. Only. please.
Mr.. Editor, issue fiat a pronuncia-
mento or "A manifesto or some old thing de-
caring that it is regle and the proper
kink for the best-dresSed men to give up
the wearing of coats altogether during the
hot weather and we'll guarantee that your
subscription list las We hope your shadow
will never grow less"
All Of which seems reasonable. In the
meantime. it appears probable that the
coatless custom will prevail during the hot
spells anyhow, pronunciamento or no pro-
runciamento
Sleeping in the Parks.
The folks whose conditions are such that
they don't have to wait for edicts as to
what they shall do to get comfortable i'll
hot or any other kind OF weather probably
lad the best of it in New York during the
sizzling period last week. In the first