Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-06
DELEGATES SEE
WESTERN SPIRIT
DENVER CITIZENS EXTEND THE
GLAD HAND
POLITICIANS ARE MADE TO FEEL
RIGHT AT HOME
Colorado Metropolis Is Not Even Awed
by Arrival of Tamnany Hall
Chief and His Fol-
lowers


convention are beginning to under
stand what western hospitality means
Nothinsy is too much trouble Tor the
local people in their efforts 60 giVe tls
visitors a good time me spirit u
xvelcorne is in the crisp mountain ar
ana what Denver may lack in size II
intends to make up in energetic en-
pertaining writes the advance scout OF
the New York SUM-
There Is nothing conventional about
Denver Its residents are OF the West
westy and are proud OF II. They ooh
ATTEMPT to follow the ways and man
nerisrns OF the big cities OF the east
A sense of satisfaction exists over the
fact that a community OF 100000 people
has been established here more than
5000 feet above sea leEel ana essiS
man, woman and child is booster,
as they call it, for Denver and the
whole of Colorado. and the visitors
don't blame them
If everybody who comes here for the
convention goes away as pleased as the
Democratic leaders are who got TO the
scene early the boosters can take a
rest for a while and let the boosting
be done by outsiders.
Last night all the Democratic high
chiefs and a lot Of other strangers
went out to Lakeside. q resort nve
miles from Denver, where they we're
entertained at dinner by local officials
Admired Scenery
lakeside was q revelation to them
IN the way of an amusement resort
It's on the order OF Luna park, with
diversions of many kinds. but these
things became secondary IN the eyes
Of the visitors to the scenic setting
The long table at when tne V - !,
sat down to dine was placed on an
open porch overlooking pretty lake.
and as they ate the diners looked over
this strip Of water at background OF
Jagged mountain peaks all purple ana
blue IN the beams OF the settng sun.
Most of them said that they wouldn't
have missed ii for worlds, and while
thew enioyed the dinner, and parttcu-
Iariv the Rocky mountain brook trout,
1t was scenery that appealed to them
most.
70 verse. and although 1t is generally
suspected that Col. John I. Martin OF
ST. Louis, the sergeant-at-arms OF the
Democratic national committee, is the
guilty one, there is no certainty that
he is the author of these lines.
No painted scene is this our eyes behold
No cameras reproduction here we see;
Those sun-kissed peaks are real and suons
Rockrtbbed and beautiful like Democracy.
This dropping into poetry invites at
tention to the fact that the average
Denverite is a natural poet. Whether
it comes from lying up here among
the clouds or where the clouds ought
to be, or from having constant piano.
rama of lofty mountains before the
eve or from some other reason, good
ness only knows but the spirit of the
muse is in the air 1t shows itself In
unexpected places. Even the busy
shopkeeper, his mind burdened with
things that have no rhyme or rhythm
in them, Is affected by the prevailing
poetic tone. There is laundry in the
hotel district whose window reflects
metaphorically and in glass the idea
that the uplift may be found In sordld
business In golden letters the window
bears this legend:
Not the cheapest but the best.
The finest laundry in the west.
And even a humble seller of fruit in
vites custom with the following
fastened to juicy melon:
Watermelons on ice,
Five cents slice.
Spirit of Freedom
The spirit of freedom and indepen-
dence among the Denver people shows
itself in many ways To the eyes OF
the eastern and middle western polltt-
clans the young women who ride
horseback can't be surpassed. Nothing
conventional about them. They sit
astride their Indian ponies and gallop
along in a devil-mey-care way that
would put old John Gilpin to the blush
c.
They are different from the tailor
made maids of Manhattan Island, their
fresh checked sisters of up state and
the Great Lakes region and the soft
rosy young women Of the southwest.
They have a style and appearance all
their own, suggestive of the determi-
nation Of their pioneer ancestors. They
are straight and 1.-THE and are frank
and direct in speech, and how they can
ridel
One of the first things that attracted
the attention of the visiting politicians
was the scarcity of straw hats among
the men of Denver. OF course In city
this size there are hats of all prevail
ing shapes and materials, but the ten
dency is toward soft felt headgear.
Many of the younger men affect the
light colored, broad-brimmed SLOUGH
hats which the eastern mind associates
with the west. Some of these are orna-
mented with stamped leather bands
But the striking thing about Denver
hats is that they are worn with an un-
conscious rakishness that suggests the
independent and care-free plainsman
who holds himself to be as good as
everybody and wants everybody to
know 1t.
There are other things about Denver
that tend to show it's individuality.
Nearly every saloon has a Chinaman
as barkeeper's assistant, and when the
barkeeper is very busy the Chinaman
helps out, and with Oriental adaptive
ness and ability to initiate manages
to make himself useful in the mixed
drink line.
Denver, by the way, is pretty
abstemious in the consumption of in
toxicating beverages. Beer is popular.
but the hard stuff is not imbibed with
that freedom which prevails in other
large. cities The high altitude brings
its own stimulation and a little liquor
goes a long way with the man who
wants to feel good.
Odd Street Cars
when you enter a street car in Dem
yer you do so at the middle and not al
the end, at least that's the way it is
with the summer cars. These public
conveyances are so arranged that hall
the car > open and the rest of it lie in
closed on all sides. You may smoke
in the open section.
Another thing that strikes visitors
is that the telegraph messenger boys
ride motorcycles. Denver is spread
out over large area and the little
fellows who work for the telegraph
companies would wear out their legs
and their wind If they had to peda
for living.
The committee in charge of the ar.
rangements for the convention did no
overlook the fact that many of The
Democratic dignitaries and delegates
who will attend the convention Will
10 oocofnnanfQd nv their wives. The