The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-07
THOUSANDS IN LINE
SEE LIBERTY BELL
Record-Breakinq Crowd Sur.
prlses PhiladeIphians In
Charge ofReIic

1 Upwards of 100000 persons, OF whom
| more than a third were children, saw
the Liberty bell in st. Paul yesterday.
| The largest crowd that ever thronged
the wholesale district passed by the
bell at the foot of Broadway in pro-
| cession from 8 o'clock yesterday morn
| ing until 1890 o'clock.
| That the famous bell had arrived
was loudly impressed upon the city at
8 o'clock yesterday morning by an ar
| tillery salute of guns. The salute was
| fired from the platform of the Milwau-
kee railway freight warehouse, a short
distance from the bell itself. No soon
| er had the salute begun than the bells
! of the various churches joined in the
| tribute.
| The children of st. Paul were enabled
| to take full advantage of their rare
| chance to learn a patriotic lesson by.
beholding the palladium of American
freedom. A holiday for the occasion
was granted by the public and the
parochia1 schools. Moreover, the city
railway company distributed through
| the schools free tickets enabling the
children receiving them to ride down
town and back again. The number of
such coupon tickets, each good for two
rides, exceeded $1,000. The little ones
began to crowd the cars as early as Z
o'clock yesterday morning. Regular
traffic would doubtless have been
| blockaded had not extra cars been pro-
vided on all lines. The early morning
schedule of frequent cars was con-
| tinued until noon, and even faster
| schedules We're observed where neces-
sary. The SeIby line ran cars three
minutes apart. Most other lines re-
duced their usual intervals between
! cars to five minutes.
Crowds Barred From Cars
Steps and gates had been preIpred
upon the Liberty bell fiat car, so that
| the public might board the car at one
| end, pass along each side of the bell,
and leave the car at the other end.
This plan was followed for a time. 1t
served well enough for the earliest ar
! rivals-and they appeared with the ris-
ing of the sun; but as the day pro-
| gressed and the crowd thickened, the
| double file proved inadequate for st.
| Paul. Then Assistant Secretary Will
| liam H. FELTON,, of the Philadelphia
| councils committee accompanying the
j bell; Sergeant G. ]. Gross, command
ing the squad of big Philadelphia po-
| 1cemen; and Capt. John Clark, direct
ing the forty local policemen in at
| tendance, agreed, as the immediate
masters of ceremonies, that the crowd
| must no longer traverse the fiat car,
| put must walk, instead, along each side
of the car on the street level Then the
multitude proceeded more comfortably.
But the files passed by increased to six.
| sometimes to seven, occasionally to
4 eight making a n a Of
from six to eight abreast
Where do all these people come
| from?" asked Secretary FELTON,, glanc-
ing about at the mass Of men, women
] and children that filled Broadway and
| the railroad yards. We've seen moth
phia.' Nv
To the reflective and imaginative
mind, no doubt, it was a semi -reveren-
] t1aI occasion, a gathering of Worship
| efs at political and moral shrine of
| highest sanctity. But no thoughts Of
that sort depressed, apparently, the
! CHEEKY holiday hunor of the Deonle
The bell was highly interesting relic
| fhey were glad to see it. They would
1 be still more glad to have seen it and
| to be able to mention that circum-
| stance.
Yet the children were not satisfied
with seeing the bell; they wanted to
1 AOCA Ats Il At1L "OU1u O6 more real. more
| demonstrative Of the wonderful bells
actual presence.
Wanted to Touch Bell
So the little ones would cry from
time to time, addressing papa, mamma,
mister" or Mister Policeman -"Say,
can't 1 touch it just once?"
And if the small requester was small
| enough, he, and especially she, would
| be lifted aboard the car by Secretary
/ FELTON, or one of the giant policemen:
an awkward plump hand would dab
| the cold metal fondly and a memory
| would, perhaps, be implanted to bear
some day it's patriotic fruit
Now and again passerby gave rein
| to sentiment. man would doff his
hat, woman would flush as she gazed
abStractedly. Several very youthful
maidens threw kisses at the old black
/ bell. But kisses were as rare as flow
| ers.
The stream of people 1essened some
what after IL o'clock, when most of the
children had passed. With the closing
of the factories, stores and offices at
| noon the crowd grew again, welcoming
long lines of employed men, women,
boys and girls.
Rain falling occasionally made little
difference. Umbrellas impeded prog
ress, but they turned no patriot away
Although the weather was remarkably
| cool for this time of the season, cloudy
as well, and showery, an ideal tempera-
| ture and the sunniest sky would prob
| ably have demonstrated that popular
| enthusiasm is seldom matter of me-
| teorology.
The Bells Private Car
The bell was seen on a special fiat
car, the sides of which, painted dark
red, showed in gilt letters the name of
| the Pennsylvania railroad which built
the car. 1t is of steel construction,
| with a wooden platform, and is strong
enough to resist all possibility of seri-
Gus damage in an ordinary wreck.
Around the car a steel pipe railing,
painted black, includes posts adorned
with nickel tops.
At the center of the car the bell is
| supported four feet above the floor by
| a trestle of vanished oak. Steel bolts
| attach the old bell to the upper beam,
and the bottom Of the liberty trumpet
| rests, at four sides, upon two low.
| crossed treStles of oak, the points of
| contact between the wood and metal
displaying bits of protective rubber.
Iron wheels beneath the largest trestle
would facilitate moving the framework