Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-15
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EASTER DAY PARADE|
Procession Along Fifth Ave-
nue., New York.
BEGINS IN THE MORNING |
THE EARLY CHURCH GoERS ARE |
FIRST TO APPEAR.
Well-Dressed Throng Includes All Ele- |
ments of Society Excepting Mem
bers of the Smart Set"
BEGINS IN THE MORNING
THE EARLY CHURCH GOERS ARR
FIRST TO APPEAR.

Written for The Evening Star.
1t was said in New York last year, and
the year before that, and probably, will
be said again this year, that the famous
9Th avenue Easter parade is no more. But
1t wasn't true either last year or the year
before last. nor will it be true this year. If
you have any doubts, come and see for
yourself.
1t is true that the Real Thing-the smart
Set" so-called-the men and women who
have altogether more money than is good
for them, have stopped parading up and
down 9TH avenue en- Easter Sunday. The
first Easter paraderS in New York were
simple church goers, of course, but later.
though years and years ago, when most of
New York's wealthy Inhabitants were still
newly rich, they used to parade the ave-
nue's sidewalks to show their fine clothes
at Easter time, to see one another and to
be seen and admired. Naturally, other New
Workers who had not yet won wealth
turned out also, to have a good look at
the folk whose names were appearing daily
In the papers because they Squandered
money recklessly a-pleasuring. Undoubt-
edly, the show was a brave one
But there were drawbacks AS long ago
as ten, fifteen. even twenty years ago. there
We're quite enough rich folk in town to fill
comfortably the two and a half miles of
the thoroughfare between ODD and 59th
streets, where all the fashionable 9TH ave-
nue. churches are located. When the null
utude of well-to-do, mddle-class and
shabby genteel city sightseers added
themselves to the throng the crowd be-
came uncomfortable to the real bowling
gilded swells. 1T wasn't so nice, don't you
know" for them ito have to mix up with
common, ordinary crowd most of whom
were persons you don't know you know
and whom, don't you know. you wouldn't
care to know If you could"
A Well-Dressed Throng.
The congested condition of the avenues
sidewalks after the aristocracy of wealth
began to be bored with the common crowd
was not a bit more satisfactory to It's mem
bers than II was TO the smart set" For
there was no sure way to distinguish the
swells in the parading multitude unless
you happened to have seen them before or
were able to recognize them by their
printed portraits.
You couldn't tell them by their clothes
for some of the sightseers dressed as strik-
ingly, spent as much money for their Easter
raiment, and displayed as much taste as
the So-called Four Hundred. Nor could you
select the men of the socially elect by rea-
son of their manly bearing, or the women
because of their beauty.
Well-favored men were to be seen in the
parade every year. and women who were
visions of feminine loneliness. But the tall
six-footer, with broad shoulders and the
walk of prince. was quite as likely to be
well-to-do westerner in New York over
Sunday and out sightseeing as he was to
be member of the golden, SNOWY, metro
politan social circle, whose oldest fam
HES had six generations behind them. AS
TO the beauties among the women paraders,