The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-10-11
IDLE CHAT ABOUT OCEAN RESORTS
PART II. NEWPORT.
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carousals, ETC., etc, place all this on
the shore of the ocean, and fill it with
all kinds and conditions of men and
women--don't forget the latter-and
you will come very close in producing
resemblance of what Coney Island
really is. But do not, please, call
such a combination health resOrt-or
even watering place. That would be
a misnOmer.
Coney Island is the "wide-openest"
place in all America. Otherwise it
would lose its chief characteristics. On
Sundays, when it is much hotter and
dryer than was so happily prophesied
by our local forecaster otherwise for
this summer, the rail, elevated and
electric roads, and hundreds of steam
boats, carry sweltering humanity from
Greater New York, Jersey City,
Hoboken, Newark, Patterson, Eliza
beth and all the surrounding country,
to always cool and breezy Coney Island.
1t is estimated that there are on
some Sundays no less than from to
100000 people on this island. When
you are there yourself, you will think
there are several millions. In the af-
ternoon, the board dWalks, the beach,
the water, literally swarm with
human beings. Many go into the
water, enjoying themselves in splash
inu abont rpcbinU down tho ohutoC i'm
boats, ETC., fishing for CLANS, which
abound thereabOuts, and even in hav-
ing a clambake right there on the
beach; while many others, especially
young ladies, only stroll or lounge
about in bathing costume. Some peo-
. pie call that democratic and sensible.
, [ know another appellation for it, but
will refrain from using strong ex-
pressions. Over three-fourths of the
visitors never don bathing dress; but
amuse themselves in hundred and
: one different ways, each according to
his or her individual taste.
2 OF the many different kinds OF
! shows but little need be said. A few
9 are good, many are passable, and g
S great many are poor-and worse
:. There are shows there in which every
!, thing is vulgar, the scenery, the acting
: the singing and the dancing. While
;. all kinds of drinks are excessively in
S dulged in, Coney Island is pre-emi
: nently notorious for the fabulous
q quantities of beer which are consumed
n there. For scientific reasons, 1 one
j. made it my object to find out the visible
y effect Of this much drinking, and on
s evening, between seven and min
= o'clock, | wandered around from on
q saloon and concert hall to another
l. Whether it was the sea air, or whethe
It it was the fact that fully 80 per cent o
e the people were of foreign birth o
A parentage, and, therefore, more or les
It kinds of stimulants, cannot say; bu
g it is fact that l discovered hardI
If any drunkenness in that vast, beer
)r drinking multitude, tho l was e1
i; pressly looking for just that. But tn
d people were noisy-so noisy as l ha
Ks seldom seen people before, and it
,p quite likely that their drinking pr
le pensities had something to do with i
e; Still, it was not the kind of noise thu
IL offends; but rather the exhilaratin
#, noise of people who are exuberantl
e. enjoying their amusement after
n week of hard toll, and discomfort pr
le duced by the hot weather. For, whi
g. all classes of people frequent Cone
to Island occasionally, more than ninet
ht per cent of them earn their daily bres
ny in the sweat of their brow: clerk
d. officials, working people, etc. ha'
n been in this part of the island on
20 twice, and that was not for anus
We ment sake, and-I felt disgusted wi
ut. the place, and think it is sad sign
our times that so many people have
no taste for those low amusements. B
=. the place exists and fourishes and
-. for that reasOn-nO description of Ii
GU at our ocean resorts would be col
OF plete without at least q brief menti'
ny of what Coney Island is like.
X
as, Manhattan Beach. tho also situat