The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-21
$4,000 IN HAGAN'S MAY PARTY.
cBF4T FIN AND coon CHEER
M CENTRAL PARK SWARD.
Ten Bands Playing "Tammany" Lead the
children OF the West Side in Pink, white
and Blue Array to the Soene Of Fest!vi.
,es~Dances, Ice Cream and ROmps.

7, there we're not 10000 stomachaches
=, the upper West Side last night and
urany thousand calls for paregorio and hot
ninosr. it wasn't the fault Of James j.
laean. Mr.. Hagan is the Tammany
ladder of the Nineteenth Assembly district
ond he gave the grandest May party for
The little people Of his district yesterday
in Central Park that ever happened. The
children said so, anyway and 30 did hun
d,ads Of grateful mothers who kissed
.Ilmmy" Hagan 50 strenuously that his
roht wbiskers were visibly frayed and worn
toward evening
For weeks and weeks that part of Man
haitian which lies between Eighth avenue
and the North River and between Sixtieth
and Eighty-ninth streets was all a-futter
because OF the coming party. Long after
the children had been put to bed tired
mothers stitched and sewed over pretty
frocks, pink and white and light blue for
the most part. so that their little folk need
no, be ashamed when they went to play
with the children Of the we'll to do. In
school. at recess time and when the children
we're home little else was talked Of.
The sun hadn't much more than rubbed
the sleep ont of his red eyes when the chill
dren began to pour out Of the tenements,
excited as could be for fear they would be
too late for the May procession. 1t didn't
start until half past o. clock. but by the
time Mr.. Hagan and ten bands and Father
Casselly, the Paulist father, and all the
good fairies that Tammany knows how to
find for just such things appeared at Am
sterdam avenue and Sixtieth street, the
starting point the whole neighborhood
was packed with children, every little boy
and every little girl az prim as II he or she
had stepped out of one Of Mrs. Burnett's
books The hum Of the childish voices
everybody talking at once, everybody 40
excited he couldn't stand still six seconds,
was the finest of all spring songs.
Six of Commissioner McAdoo's light
cavalry, wonderful creatures to the children
in their blue and gold uniforms and white
caps, and any number Of the common or
garden variety of cop, were there to see
that the children didn't get hurt. 1t was
no end of hard task to get the children
lined UP, for there we're 10000 and more of
them. and they skipped about like 'eas and
we're good deal harder to put finger on.
Precisely at e:3O O'Clock the mounted
policemen started away, the policemen on
loot safeguarding the children into even
ranks OF eight abreast. The Seventy-first
Regiment Band struck up "Tammany,"
the drum ma jor twired his wonderful baton,
tunes and they we're off for the park. that
wonderful park, with its trees and grass and
Fairgrounds and swimming swans and
wooden horses and monkeys, that park that
some people want cut up into building lots
and streets. 1t was a treat to see 10000
natr Of 1Io unit hn v,la ~
the thing. and 10000 pairs of neatly stock
nged legs step out briskly to the band
music and the rattling rub-a-dub-dub Of
Father Casselly's fife and drum corps.
From Amsterdam avenue and Sixtieth
street Mr.. .Hagan led his little people to
by the Sixty-sixth street entrance. Every
thing had been made ready for the children
with the system and forethought always
observable when Tammany sets out to en-
tertain. The background. which some peo-
PIE call the South Common, acres and acres
Of level green south Of the carousel. was
spotted with white tents. There was tent
for lost children-and it was the scene Of
many temporary tragedies before going
home time, tents for refreshments and divi-
sion tents. The 10000 children were grouped
into ten divisions so far as possible. The
Italians had a division. The Germans
had another. There was a division of COL
ored little folk and divisions of other ma
tionalities. They tried to put the Irish into
one division, but they found that it was a
little folk with curly hair and very dark
complexion go by the name Of Mccain ard
O'Hare and insist on t1ockng with the
Gumbinskvs and the Einsteins one cannot
exactly drive them under the harp OF Erin.
Over every division tent save one flew
two flags. the Stars and Stripes of courre,
and allo the flag Of whatever country the
childrens parents came from. But over
the tent of the little black children there
was only one flag, the American. The
reason for. this was explained by a colored
quartet, which sang very tunefully to the
blinking of banjos
England floats the, lion bold.
Even China has a dragon.
Germany the eagles gold.
bonnie Scotland has the thistle,
Turkey has the crescent moon,
foS a Bn% old TR Rsd { WRie sn a9
Every Nation has its flag but the coon
i, wasn't three minutes after the parade
reached the common until the green was a
Tot Of happy children. They kicked up
they rolled and tumbed in the grass, they
played ball, skipped the rope, wrestled
and laughed just because the SUN was bright
the grass was green and they knew that
many good things were to come.
Pretty soon whistle was heard from a
iat man. There was rush of children, W o
formed decorously in line. Every child
81 the tent door was handed great goblet
OF milk, creamy milk, and another il it
wanted il, Most Of them did. That was
Leader Hagan's first treat. 1t took long
UNI line to satisfy 10000 with that good milk.
Then band started up near the carousel
ana ana there was stampede in that direction.
Almost every child tightly clutched red
,icket calling for one ride on the wooden
horses Mr.. Hagan had given out some
lhlng like $1,000 of those tickets which |
retail at three cents apiece in ordinary |
times
What fuss there was when little girl |
10 pink dress spiked the gold ring which |
entitled the holder to another ride free. |
mere we're only seven girls, while there |
were twenty-three boys on the galoping |
ponies, but unknd fate put that gold ring |
INTO the hands Of "goil." 1t took Mr.. |
nnagan himself to settle the matter and he |
QUO 1t by slipping a handful OF gold rings
mo the frames so that tickle fortune |
couldn't slight knickerbockers because Of |
The pink frocks.
n, Then It was time for the big celebration.
me children ringed around May POLE
a a, "a, straight pole with streaming ribbons
81 blie and red and white--more colors
, man any rainbow ever saw. Forth came the
queen Miss Madeleine Conway. Of 1877
west SiHty-sxth street, with a cleaning
cr9Wn and gauzy dress covered with |
god stars. With her was Master Fred