The sun., 1908-12-26
Big TIL FEEDS HIS HUNGRY
THE BOWERY'S, THOUSANDS AT
THEIR ANNUAL FEAST.

All Day Long they Fiocked to the Beard
and Cheered From Full Stomach tho
Leader, Whe Wasn't Thefe-It Was
Coffee That Gave Out First. Not Beer.
Down along the Bowery is ter-yesr-old
tradition that something 10 bound to hap
pen In the rooms Of the T. d. Sullivan
Association between the hours Of Q In the
morning and In the afternoon on Christ.
mas Day. Usually the tradition Is bull
warited with white card asking you to
dinner. and then you 60 TO the rumber Of
six or seven thousard. But II this time
you didn't 60 yourself you can be assured
that there were q great many men ut Big
Tins table who were very much like you,
at least in so far as their liking for turkey
and mince pie can be taken to establish
likeness.
II was about half past 8 In the morning
when the line began to form In fret Of the
entrance to Big Tins hall at 2O7 Bowery.
IN an hour there were enough to fll up the
table. and though the invitations sat the
hour at II nevertheless the doors opened
and the men filed up stairs, In that dinner
party were about 725 men. They had tur-
key and potato salad. celery. mince and
apple pie and the choice OF coffee or beer.
When. late in the afternoon, things began
10 run low it was the coffee that gave out
first.
It was Doc Feeney who stood behind
the desk on the platform and gave the
men the greetings OF Big Tim. and just
how the crowd felt about their host any
body could see from the way they yelled
and took OF their hats whenever Doc
mentioned ibis name. Apparently they
liked him pretty well.
Every fifteen minutes from half past 0
until almost 4 o clock there was new diu-
ner party. and each Of them as IL came
10 looked like the one that had just gone
out. Most OF the men were the habitues
OF the lodging houses up and down the
Bowery. out OF work perhaps. and GER
tainly very hungry.
Once in while a man appeared who
looked better thar the rest as though his
days Of adversity had but recently come
upon MIN. And there were now and then
some young mon, shaven and neatly
dressed, vigorous, with something OF
promise about them. Doc Feeney, who
has seen these dinners Tor decade. said
that there were moro men Of this type in
the crowd than he had ever seen before
and that it must be sign OF something or
other in the times that we have been hav-
Ing,
But those men were the exceptions,
They say that some OF the regulars have
been coming to Big Tim 8 dinners ever since
they were started and are in just about
the same circumstances now as they we're
then. These are the park bench kind and
sometimes are unsteady on their feet,
But still, as you read minute ago. II was
coffee that went first t
Every man got Christmas present with
Big Tins best wishes. As he went out
the door he found waiting for him briar
pipe with Its necessary complement OF
tobacco. Along with that was a card
which Is sort OF promissory note against
Big Tim for pair Of shoes and some WOOL
len socks. The date Is the 9th of February
next.
There were good many Democrats
who came around for a mirute or two TO
look on. Little Tim was there. so were
Justice Erlanger. Judge Dineen. Judge
Roesoh. Senator Fitzgerald. Congressman
Goldfogle, Joseph Dunn and Bird S. Coler.
DIR. NJ. B. Feeney. William Dopf. John j.
White and Henry James were at work
almost all day seeing that everybody had
q good time, and 80 was a band.
As for Timothy D. sullivan himself, he
got as near to it as the far side Of the street,
watched the men 60 in for few minutes
and then went away. 1t II not his habit
TO show himself at his Christmas dinners.