Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-12
BOARDWALK CUSTOMS

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There must bs q very large number Of
young men from Chicago. Cincinnati. Pitts
burg and other Hanky-Pankvilles down on
| the Jersey coast this season." remarked
District Of Columbia knockss. who wa
driven back homo from the beach by the
misunderstanding rain Of last Tuesday
Anyhow. you'd DO amazed to SO what
lot Of these cut-ups are wearing their
dinner suitA and even evening clothes. on
a boardwalk that was rubbering at In
Jersey recently. They obviously belong to
the class Of young persons who believe
implicitly In what the etiketty books tell
them. and you'll recall that It's one OF the
keystone truths OF those learned works
that dress suits may be worn with pro-
priety any time after 8 o'clock. Now. the
sun is still AWAY up. high In the west at Q
o'clock during the season on the Jersey
coast. but that fact doesn't bother the
fetching young things who take stock IN
the o'clock hour for the evening toys
They hop into their Tuxedos and swallow
tails-oh yes, they all call EN- dress sultS
a while before the 8 o'clock hotel dinner,
and. as they've nothing else to do to while
away the somewhat anxious hour before
dinner, they just parade up and down the
boardwalk with their shiny black toys on
and give the sun a crack at them. And at
that. nine-tenths Of them wear those rak-
ish, pulled-over-in-front golf caps with
their sunshine evening toys, the effect OF
the same. / m bound to say. being weird
in the extreme. However the Tuxedo or
swallow tall, with the golf cap. Is simply
chaste to another combination OF enects
that 1 saw on thu boardwalk one evening
last week. 1t may sound pretty strong. but
it's absolutely on the level. young TEL
low who looked very much Manayunk or
Ipswich passed by the hotel pavilion In
which 1 was seated at quarter to clock
in the evening. His makeup was strictly
as follows, and no kidding:
"A very long and Happy spike-tailed coat,
a pair of tight worsted trousers with per-
manent turnups' and belt straps. a russell
belt with brass buckle passed through
the belt straps. no waistcoat, pink-barreo
madras shirt. a standing collar and long
fiappy. blue-polka-dot four-in-hand tie.
pair of russell shoes and-the browning In
famy-a bulgy green-plaid Tam O'Shanter
cap pulled rakishly over his left ear Fact
Hope 1 may lie. If that young person
didn't look like an individual at war with
himself, you can search me.
Il observed. besides. that very large
number of the male board-walkerS had an
extra buttonhole pierced in the soft-bos-
omed outing shirts. in which to screw their
large, orifamme yellow diamond studs
Tasty scheme. that, isn't 1t? / used to see
those outing shirts with the extra button
hole in front in show windows out IN Om.
aha and st. Paul and other places of that
sort but l never quite understood what
the extra buttonhole was for until found
out at the Jersey coast.
And, talking about lively clothes and
things" continued the District of Columbia
knocker some of the people that excur-
sionize to the Jersey coast are just as lively
as the clothes they wear. There was a
whole plenty of action, for instance, In an
incident that happened at the hotel next
to the one that had my name on file, on
Saturday last. There was tremendous
crowd of excursionists. from Pittsburg.
u, Rp.J InIv, 10
and such places. storming all of the hotels,
and about 800 of them all hot and tired and
hungry. were lined up in the big lobby OF
that hotel next to the one atwh1ch stopped.
They were all waiting for a crack at the
already full register and chance to buy
rattle ticket for a room. Several people in
the big crowd, 1t seemed. had written In
advance. some Of them week ahead of
time. for rooms but no attention was paid
to their advance orders. Not unnatura1ly.
they were pretty sore over this treatment.
One of them in particular, man who had
engaged two rooms for himself and family
two weeks in advance, only to find that
they had not been reserved for him, was
particularly grouchy over this treatment.
and he didn't make any pretense Of hold
Ing 1t in, either.
Say, YOU he bawled to the hotel pro-
prietor from the outskirts of the crowd in
the hotel lobby. dye want to know what
you are? You're a bum shine, that's what
you are and II you come out in front of
block Off for YOU
THE hotel man was game himself. and
he had a hot-night fume Of his own on.
"'You for me. Jack! he yelled in reply.
and he raced around the counter and
quickly joined the angry chap who had in
vited him to get his head punched of in
front Of his own hotel. The two men
walked side by side out of the hotel and
down the long flight OF steps leading to the
pavement. When they reached the pave
ment they squared off at each other. regu-
lar ring style. and began to pound each
other all over the sidewalk and road. They
were pretty well matched. and honors were
about easy between them, until a couple
Of the hotel porters ran out and separated
them. Then the hotel proprietor quickly
hoped up the steps, wiping his face with
his handkerchief. and inside of about four
minutes after he had left the counter he
was back there and showing prospective
guests the locations Of rooms on his chart,
while the man who had invited him outside
went off with his family to seek quarters
elsewhere