The evening world., 1905-12-07
By ROBERT EDGREN.

BY ROBERT EDGREN.
All through the long days and through
he long nights these six-day rider
rind, grind, grind.
The monotony Of It paralyzcs TN
rain. Spectators and riders alike fal
n nto dull, dogged apathy II Is wors
the morning, when the dlsenchant
ag daylight filters through the dusk'
II kyligfhts overhead, In that pale, gray
1umination all the tawdry features OF
no race stand out hard and cold and
.lnmmy, like the outlines Of a corpse
he floors are Uttered with peanut shells
ana scraps OF paper and the dusty
'ef,ise OF the Thousands Who have
mmped In and tramped out again, In
he galleries talow-faced spectators
,ounge. They have slept ftfully on the
chairs all night, and now they are
fioping that the managers will be lenient
fand the watchers allow them TO re-
fnain. Tneir clothes are full OF wrinkles,
hnd they are covered with dust. They
search hopefully through their pockets
kor some free lunch remnant or a cigar
btump.
Like odor from Menagere.
From ROOF to cellar fingers an odor
Z Ike 4 whiff from a menagerie and a
Bowery five-cent lodsing-house com
bined. II is a solid sort oflan olor. 1t
Bticks In your throat. like thick dust.
tn you come in quickly early in the
momlng 1t nearly knocks you down.
n All the time in the great bowl the
+ ricers. swirl and swirl through the stale
tobacco smoke They have a weary air,
but theii legs pump up and down mon
Y ctonously. Sitting beside the track
you hear them coming in a bunch.
4 There is a rumblng sound as they roll
\ By. A moment Of silence-tdey are on
. the other side Then the first comes
into sight around the curve, the others
close behind, Again the rwnoing
sound like that of Suoway train pass
\ ing underneath you and they are gone.
1 A dull moment goes by and they rum
bio past again. The sound Of Il Is like
the slow ticking Of a grea, clock wound
up to run six days.
Curious People Drift In.
All througl the day curious. people
drift In through the gates brave the
to, rors OF the stining atmosphere, sit
for while. ana go olt again. In the
afternoon, when the crowd Is good, the
riders may wake up long enough to
srrlnt a few furious laps But they
soon calm down. The excitement dies
ard the rum5lng Of the waeels alone
disturbs the silence.
Bua at nigh. II Is a different story |
Through the early evening crowds oozo
In through the ga.eHay BY midnighJ |
a haEe Of smoke covers the battle
fleh-a haze that rises from thousand |
OF cigars. o. Thousands o. dfferen, |
sizes and blends and qualities. An
hour later Ne nearby Tea.eEo!n has
Its floating population
Queens OF the demimonde, weighed
dowL with lace ami fr!ppery. elbow
through the pack with Their escorts
There are loud Laughing and loud tilE.
ins, giygliny ana gab5lng Near Ii,
cafe you can hedc the popping Of corks
and calls for the Handsome walter
Thugs on Hand, !
Thugs with lOJ. ties and wide checks
swusgsr up and GCNn Here ana there
a silk hat and broad eNIdn.e OF white
shlIt Us IN mark the presence Of a
Oeiausd t1eltregOer VINO has drogpel
In On the way home, Al ? O'CLOCK
lnere is hsat shr.ll chorus of
ieoihirs pro,es. rises and the police
rush In and separate the comba,ants.
Iney start TO drag them out. A pull"
e"orts It's silence iauIence. and the
are rt.easa,-to dgpi agaIn
halt an hour later
Ana all this while the race is going
on AT his time Of night there a.c
several sprints. The riders try To catch
eaeh o'her of guard and steal lap.
In the excitement somebody tries I'd
sieal a po'ketbook and either pr,s
away with It or is nustled Out. Yel.
low eltcrc lights cover the tawdvy
S's'S nldi hol lealNE l1ZC. The rider !
elad nall IN sWCdly NDOllen underwear
AID half In sarunken circus cos.
tune looks as attractive as the fellOV
IN sllk VITA a ri1oon nOulng 5c.
iahd hlm through the pa! Of smoke
,ne SCOT and CRIME a. the nJrut7g
hours nave not yet begun to show. The
teams are all srOag. There Is none
ot TIE wabblng wayering riding OF tgo
Gays When edcn mar STUCK ID his wheel
until he fe.l and had 10 be carried or
Tor a rest.
As plain matter Of fact there is
nOthing about this s.N-GIy race, as We
nave IL now, Ia excite the Society for
prevention of Cruelty 10 Animals. There
are accidents row and then, but the
men who come Out uninjurel can mn
lsh the race without sun ring from |
anything but OyertrIining The days
Of dope nave passed. II Is no longer
necessary for trainers 10 beat tsoir
men 20 force them tc give up sleep a4d
20 out 10 ride
Yesterday aflernoca I took trip
through the riders qulrtors. The first
10 be entered vas the on iA which the
foreign teams ate a1d slept II Was
Gown IN the cayerns underneath 'nC
main toor, the place whore me c.uyu,
usually have their being
The ancient odors hung about the p.a e.
70 thick that a divers helmet would
have been q llfcsaver.
How Apartments Looked
In long room the forcigl riders
lived when they were not on the track