The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-06-16
OVERWHELMING CuRIosITY.

Is there any limit or restriction to
human curiosity? We used to hear 1t
said that young raccoon was the most
curious animal in the world. but even
he will have to yield the baton to hui
manity. If an accident occurs in a
city it will be but few minutes un-
I'll there is a dense crowd collected.
II fire occurs, day or night. the crowd
will soon be so large that the firemen
| are impeded. 1t matters not what I'M
usual thing happens. 1t draws crowd
of curious people. most of whom could
give no reason for their presence.
A few months ago there was fash
ionable wedding in New York between
a titled foreigner and an American
heiress, and a mob was the result. Net
only was there a total disregard OF all
propriety and total violation of
privacy, but property was wrecked and
trampled on and women's clothes torn
from them in the frantic struggle of
the curious crowd to see what was go
ing on. And 1t has been but a few
days since Miss Alice Roosevelt was al
most mobbed by thousands of people at
ST. Louis who wanted to see daugh-
ter of President.
But the most disgusting exhibition
of prurient curiosity occurred in New
York few days ago. The columns
of the newspapers for some days have
contained more or less of the details
of the trouble between the millionaire
who Is claimed to have bled him of
hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some
of the newspapers have been almost
filled with the nauseating details of the
affair, and all of them have had some
thing to say about 1t. With that
trouble we have nothing to do. If the
rich old fool allowed the woman to
Sbunko him out of about three-quarters
of million dollars, 1t is none of our
funeral. What did interest us was the
following from The New York Sun:
Hundreds of persons stood yesterday.
many of them all day long, in front of
the handsome residence at 236 Central
Park, west. wnere Hannah Elias, the
negress is resisting all efforts to serve
her with the complaint and order of ar
rest in the suit brought by John II.
Plat to get back the $685., 900 he says
she got out of him. Last night there
were thousands in the crowd. At $3.50
o'clock they were walking up and down
in front of the place. choking the side
walks and making life miserable for
the occupants of the neighboring houses.
So bad was the situation then that T.
L. Boucher, who lives at 237. adjoining
the house of the besieged negress, sent
word to police headquarters that the
force of police was utterly inadequate
en- h. Nrrr1 80,
were sent from the West Forty second
Street station. four men from the West
Sixty eighth Street station. and Cen
trail Park furnished two mounted men.
The latter frequently had to ride on
the Sidewalks to scatter the crowds. In
the crowd were many negroes. The
people stood soltdly packed on the op-
posite side of the street for two blocks
Vehicles of every description stopped.
too, blocking the thoroughfare.
Was not this an edifying spectacle to
be exhibited in a city claiming to be
civilized? A mob of people standing in
the street all day to get a glimpse of
disreputable negress who had done IL
senile old white man out of fortune!
There was no excuse or reason for their
conduct but morbid curiosity for prob
ably not one of the mob would have
given second glance at the woman
If she had passed along the street with
out any one knowing her, or knowing
anything of her career. The details of
her nefarious operations had been made
public through sensational newspaper
articles. and that was enough to cause
thousands of respectable people to act
like a mob of hoodlums. Verify HUI
man curiosity is empowering at