The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-05-06
THE DAY OF THE
PARADER IS GONE
odd Time Custom is Happily
Recalled
BAND ALWAYS PRESENT
Britisher Says it is the Irish Spirit
That Makes Americans Love a
Uniform and Street Dis
play.
From the Kansas City Star.

From the Kansas C1ty star.
Where are the paraders? Paraders-
men who put on uniforms and marched
for the delight of themselves and of the
admiring crowds, neglecting home and
business for the spectacle? Where are
they?
Not more than twenty years ago-and
that's a short time to man so old as L
it was a dull week when the K. P.'s, the
Knights Templars, the Old Settlers as
ISOLATION, the Turner'S. the Catholic
Knights of America, the Odd Fellows
Ancient Order of Hbernans-there were
dozen more in our town-it was bleak
and barren seven days when one of them
did not give the people treat. Some
times it required funeral to bring them
out. but they did march, and never with
out band.
A Britisher who affected disdain but
never missed procession would turn to
mol was always there-and say with all
the finality of an English analyst: This
amazing love for wearing uniforms and
marching through the streets proves what
| have always contended-that. the pre-
dominant influence in the blood mixture
you cali American is that of the Celt. To
marsh and to wear uniforms is the strong
est characteristic of the Irish, and it's
, the Irish spirit that marches in the Amer
leans" He was an Oxford man and full
grown and l was easily in awe the first,
dozen times he said it,
"All right, let it go at that" 1 came to
reply, however, Pm glad the Irish have
made us like to wear uniforms, and be
Sir Knights and parade. They like to
parade, and like to see them parade and
so do you-everybody satisfied
But that was twenty years ago and now
tho parades are few-I haven't seen one
in months. Has that Celtic influence lost
its strength, or was the Englishman
wrong in his learned observation? Don't
| remember the day they buried Colonel
Sleeper back in the old town. He owned
a Clydesdale horse, to whom boy tradi-
tion had given ''hoofs as big as wash
tubs" They weren't much larger than
peck measures in fact, and this is my
first acknowledgment of the disappont-
ment then felt. The colonel represent
ed Wealth in the town, having the one
private hack. and wearing Sunday clothes
on week days. Everything turned out for
his funeral and it was a. tribute worth
dying for.
1t was a spring afternoon and / didn't
get any nearer to the house than the Odd
Fellows, who had the band with red
coats. Haven't seen a red coated band of
circus wagon since then. There may
have been more important organizations
there that afternoon, but none was bet
ter looking. / can still see the first four
tall, erect and handsome as any soldiers
in a picture ever were. Thorne who
worked in a bank, Woods the harness
maker, who wore a full gray beard
Busch, blond mustache and owner of the
} Busch One Price Dry Goods and Clothing
House, and Professor Clarke, principal of
the high school. There never were hui
! man figures of such magnifcence in one
"set of tours" again.
Perhaps there are better bands than the
one leading the Odd Fellows that sunny
afternoon; perhaps Chopins funeral
march is the pinnacle in tear starting, All
right; but you wouldn't say it had YOU
been there to hear Remember Me-" Com
pared with Remember Me-" Mr.. Chopins
effort Is dance of merry peasants. Never
even heard of Remember Me-? Then
you don't know neutrality-suspicious.
about weeping to music. / never knew
how l loved Colonel Sleeper, to whom I
had never dared to hope to have the priv
ilege of speaking, until the clar.onets be-
gan to wall the first sorrowful notes of
Remember Me-" kept fearful step with
it all the way to the court house.
Yes, there were happier parades-pa-
rades that are no more. Do you remem-
Der March II, twenty years ago? Great
Moriarity, the contractor; O'Donnell the
owner of the big foundry; Doran, vice
president of the Farmers National bank
"a dozen like 'em, who had put their last
cent in the town. And then too. there
were Murphy. Delehay the plasterer; Car
rol, "the silver tongued young lawyer"
and Stanton. the shoe man. For these
latter four it was their once-a-year day
in the saddle and they just had to stop
at Brady's for one more before going to
Hibernian hall for the speeches. And at
3 in the afternoon-Stanton having made
two vain attempts to mount his impatient
charger-the man from Bill Evans Palace
Livery and Feed Stable would lead the
horses away. Murphy, De1ehay, Carol
and Stanton cared naught.
Yes. that was in the days of parades
when men were men. They're not sure
enough of themselves nowadays to wear
uniform and keep step behind the band