Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-02
NOT EASILY STUNNED
Only Something Stupendous
Moves New Workers..
IMAGINARY WINNINGS
JAMES GORDON BENNETT DROPS
IN FOR CUSTOMARY PEEP.
Rather Fond of His Sudden Descents
Upon His Army Of En-
ployes-Morocco.
IMAGINA AIRY WINNINGS
of The Evening Star.


NEW YORK, June %, 1904.
There Is something almost fine. almost
ca ptivating. in the recklessness of these
modern Babylonians the New Workers.
When that ancient Undertook of a pad
| dle-wheeler. the General Slocum, snuffed
| out and engulfed the lives of thousand
| and odd women and children recently.
| men who didn't know their little old New
York exclaimed, Here is deadly. an eX-
| tinguishing, blow to the excursion business
around New York waters-fOr good many
| seasons to come. any way
Which foolish predictions caused those
who did know their little old New York to
SMILE
| 1t takes a lot to stun this population into
a state of heedfulness. If the lake in Cen
| trail Park were to become transformed.
| over night into the seething crater of a
menacing volcano. the New Workers would
| read the headlines. yawningfy. and then
| begin to wonder If the bubbing crater
would interfere with the roof garden per-
| fOrmanceS If the threatened eruption
| would really afford so fine spectacle as
! the fireworks volcano down at Manhattan
Beach.
| Not even the surface symptom of dent
| has been put in the excurSion-by-boat bust
ress around New York by the appalling
| disaster of last week
The rotten, crazy old tubs, on the very
| day after the catastrophe. carried their
| full quotas of quite normally hilarious pas
sengers to all Of the f1ip-the-fiap resorts
| that stud the beaches around New York.
Nary a boat stopped running for the pur-
| pose of taking precautions for the safe
| guarding of the passengers The steamboat
! men weren't stampeded little bit. A few
of them caused the life-preservers of their
| alleged vessels to be overhauled while the
boats were in transit and crowded to the
gun'ls with passengers. and the passengers
| looked on alphabetically while the cork
| sawdust-filled 'preservers" fell apart IN
the hands of the grinning overhaulers.
Leaky. crumbling ''life-boats" were low
cred from their davits and supplied with
new hemp in plain sight of the tranquil
passengers. and hose of about the water
| tightness of stage papier-mache was un-
| coiIed and looked over by humorous crews
under the same stOlid gaze of the vessels
| pilgrims
Requires Something Stupendous.
1t does take something stupendous to
get these modern Babylonians going.
Little talks like the following were heard
| on the L trains on the morning after the
awful Slocum disaster:
| First New Yorker (yawning amazingly
| Horrible job, that boat business yesterday,
| hey?'
Second New Yorker (yawning unbeliev-
ahIy)-"Sure. Fierce. Say, I wonder why
| they're postponing that fight between Jer
| and Monroe? Think Jeff's shown the
yaller? Maybe he thinks Monroe ain [ such
a stiff after all. hey?
A couple of days after the disaster last
week several of the New York newspapers
| came out and called roll or excursion
had been pronounced totally unsafe ny
| competent unofficial inspectors who had
| been sent to look the vessels over me
| names Of the unsafe boats were published
IN 1or black letters. 1t was men,
| toned that the life preservers of these
vessels were rotten and utterly useless
that the lifeboats were the merest she us
or toys and that the appliances Tor
snuelching fires were crimina!ly farclcal.
Several hose connections were found that
led nowhere-mere plugs set In walls 1or
the ewes Of the government inspectors
On the day that these facts were pub.
,shed the boats that had been pointed
out by name as being unit TO even haV,-
gate a creek carried the same old crowns
as usual A large number of the passen-
gers had the newspapers containing the
Stories of the unsafeness of the vessel upon
which they were riding spread out on their
laps They read the stories with solt
~ imnersonal disinterestedness peculiar to
New Workers., and then tossed the papers
over the rail and took in the scenery
Imaginative Turf Writers.
WHAT'S the USE by the way, of the imagi-
native turf writers who write pieces for the
nspers In this town adding so many ciphers
TO their figures of the turf winnings of
celebrities?
Mos. Of these Midas minded young men
had II that Lillian Russell had won all
the way from $4,000 to $4,000 on the
victory of the horse Hermis in the Subur-
ban.
On Suburban day that noted prima donna
occupied box right alongside the press
payiiion on the Sheepshead stand. From
his position in that pavilion this writer was
a more or less unwilling witness and
auditor of her betting transaction In con-
nection with the suburban.
Whats Irish Lads price,! she asked the
commissioner who approached her box
"Even, and not much O. that" said the
commissioner
..Stingy," commented Miss Russell. pout-
ishly. .:And he's bound to win. What's
The Pickct's price,
Three MALT, said the grandstand run
..That's the one I'm afraid Of murmured
Miss Russell with her little diamond-stud-
ded gold pencil at her lips. How about
Hermis?" ,.
DO You really think SOP" inquired the
operetta diva Well 40 &c, you Know MKe
Hermis, too. Believe IL play HIN. EiNe
me to 12'
..Oh, just cause it's you" SAID the com
missioner good naturcdly.
Miss Russell pulled 500 bill out of her
ed II over to the commissioner.
..Fi' hundred t hundred, Hermis,' said
tie commissioner, jotting the bet down on
the program Of the bell-throated songstress.
Consequently, she won Just 500 when
Hermis towroped his field in the Suburban
Unimportant? Probably. but it is just as well
to straighten these little matters out for
the benefit of pOsterity. We should like to
have seen Miss Russell win million dol
lars or more on Hermis in the Suburban.
hut we have an acute sense Of values and
we hate to see ciphers tossed around in this
careless turf-writer fashion
Benefits Occasional Turn.
James Gordon Bennett on his sumptuous
yacht dropped quietly into New York
little while ago. took a turn or two around
the town and then quietly dropped out
again. Mr. Bennett does this every few
years. He is of Paris, and only very oc-
ca sionally of New2fYork. He has come to
be- a white haired. MISUNDERSTANDING
man OF almost austere bearing-a bit stoop-
shouldered, as indeed he always was. but
with the bronze ofimuch motor car touring
on his face, and looking to be as sound as
a bell of brass. Every time he slips into
New York he finds himself more q stranger
and each time his stay here Is more con-
tracted. He drove around few of the
old clubs, of which he has been a member