The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-29
FLOATS GIVE HISTORIC TALE Magnificent Parade in
 New York. ' SEEN BY @ aENsE CROWD; CROWDS Record Pss $ Secured for Review ~ ing Seats. Page t Represents Fortune as Well Vas Months of Labor on Part
 of Artists and
 scuiptors.

| B..
 It comprised Central Park. West and
 Fifth avenue, extending almost In .
 straight line. with a slight elbow at l Fifty-ninth street from One Hundred
 and Tenth street to Fourth street at
 the foot of Washington Sasare. The celebration committee has attempted to | illustrate the periods of American his- | tory made famouns by the achieve
 ments of Henry Hudson and Robert l Fulton.
 The day opened with a dr,zziing rain. | but this stopped before 8 o'clock. Comparatively little interest was shown in the New York-Albany bal-
 loon race. As high northwest wind
 stin prevailed the dirigible balloons l did not rise. Today's pageant represented the su- preme effort of the commission. For several months 300 artists and carpen- ters and papier mache manipulators
 have been at work preparing the wood and plaster figures which today decor- ated the fifty-four floats In the pro. l cession.
 Nearly 10000 men, women and chil- dren, most of them :n costume, repre- | senting every national and patriotic society in the city. posed as historic | personages on these floats or marched beside them. The cost of the whole I5pectAcle was xSuu.VVV. l On every available spot along the five-miie line of maich stands have been erected for spectators.
 The guests of the commission and | the city numbered several thousand. :.
 The former occupied an immense stand
 in front of the new public library as l Fifth avenue, Fortieth and Forty-see- 1 ond streets.
 Notabies Review Parade. l ha rio @rtv aNo orA
 at this point on both sides of the
 street. lowered white pillars. while at night the two blocks were illuminated
 to daytime brightness by thousands oi electric bulbs. 1s This stand held the officera Of the visiting warships and the represents 1 tives of foreign nations at the celebra-
 ton. besides the commissioners and
 Ths story tory unfoided hy shs floats and their costumed characters dealt with 1 the history of New York and the coun- try immediately surrounding, in four
 periods: The Indian, Dutch, colonial
 and modern. The last named. however, 1 carried the tale no further than the
 first Erie canal boat tsd the intro,
 auction of water from Croton reseF. ] Yoir.
 | Leading the pageant were the off, cers of the city and tAe commission
 The Irish societies led the first divis- | ion, having in line about 400 Friendly
 Sons of St. Patrick and 2.OoO members | of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
 while after them marched l.5O0 from
 the Italian organizations. 1,500 Bohe-
 mians. 250 Poles and 250 Hungarians, l all in costume. The title car New l York" which led the floats. was fol-
 lowed by 25o Norwegianz A number l of Iroquois Indians took part in the AA-A AAf lowed.
 Floats of Wonderful Creation. Following 1000 more members of the | Italian societies and 1000 more from | Ireland came the floats representing l scenes in the early Dutch colonies, in. | cluding representations of the Half Moon and the Fate of Henry Hudson" l" | one that attracted much attention was l the car "St. Nicholas" attended by 250 l children. In order that the youngsters 1 might not be wearied by the long march they served in relays along the route.
 Swedish and Irish societies, including l 1,500 members of the Clan n-Ha Gael. preceded the floats of the colonial pe- riod and the members of the various patriotic societies escorted the cars of | the Modern or United States period. which composed the last division. The | Reception to Lafayette" however. was accompanied by 200 members of the | French societies. and the car Gafibaldi
 was escorted by members of the Ital-
 ian societies. including ten veterans | who had served under Garibaldi. The other events of the day include
 a music festival in the Metropolitan opera House and literary exercises In
 the Brooklyn Academy ot Music, both | in the evening.
 All records for street celebration
 crowds were broken today. The por-
 fer of a Fifth avenue office building
 sold twenty soap boxes to serve as l seats at an average price of g apiece. 1 The purchasers. to hold their positions. were forced to stand on their pedeStaIs | for several hours before the parade
 appeared. There were forty police
 men to every block along the parade 1 route.
 Workmen erecting a building at Sev- nended A scaffold at It's front about 1 fifteen feet above the sidewalk and
 quickly disposed Of seats thereon at | Ss to $5 apiece.
 With the end of the parade at Wash | ington Square. the crowds broke out l of bounds and swarmed back and forth | across the square. literally storming l the floats in an effort to get souve- | nirs. It necessitated military severity
 on the part of the police to save the
 creations from being torn to pieces. 1 The line of march was kept well | cleared and in the crushes there were only minor accidents, the victims of
 which generally were nervous women.
 More than 5000 sailors from all the
 ships now assembled in New York har- bor attended the performance at the Hippodrome tonight as the guests of the Hudson Fulton commission. No
 attempt was made to seat the sailors
 bv countries. and as a result the light blue of the French uniform. the white
 tassel of the German jackie and the
 distinguishing uniform of warrant of- ficers of the various foreign nations
 were seen in all parts of the immense
 throng relieving the solid navy blue worn by the American and the Eng | lishmen.
 pr. Frederick A. Cook, the explorer;
 Governor Hughes, of New York ani l Governor Foft of New Jersey. were among the guests tonight at banquet 1 rendered by the citizens of uptown i New York to distinguished visitors at l the celebration. There was also an-