Los Angeles herald., 1909-04-11
IMMATURE FOREIGN LANDS IN NEW YORK CITY

butchers In the window of the Oriental pastrycooks
lie large, fiat products, with decorative and
coiled rope effects. At other stores, with cryptic
Arab inscriptions lin which the illuminative flights
of the proprietor may be more than suspected seem
to be gathered generous collections Of everything.
Variety in fact seems chiefly characteristic of the
window displays of Little Syria. There the pure to-
bacco leaf rubs edges with the adys blouse; here
postal cards and bottles Of Syrian wine will in all like
lihood fraternize with the domestic feather duster
But how can one know the full glory Of Syrian win
dow till one looks upon the bowls of brass and col
ored glass; enwreathed in gorgeous spiral stems
which conjure up visions of Eastern Incidence? They
are majestic and cost money, too If may believe
Pat Fallon, who collects the rents In Washington
street and who has inhabited its classic shades for
thirty years or more.
"You won't get the cheapest thm," says he. with
his mellow brogue (Which, to his praise, is yet In
splendid trim) for less thin three foorr dollarrs
money enough, too, in Little Syria or out of it.
Pat is a fine old fellow and remembers Washington
street in its ancient Irish days. before 1t came to be
called "out of its name" me boy" said he "its tin
years. ago We shd have come down her-re, whin
they dhressed in them earrings an their funny
clothes and they squatted roun the floor as they
eat; and cooked their mate in the pots by the low
stoves-it's thin We sh'd have seen thin"
But Little Syria, alasi has changed 1t sits in
by gas stove in these degenerate days.
.sYou see" continued Fallon explanatory, "ts
only the old timers that's lift her-re now an they're
as much American Syrian. They live in Brooklyn
when they get we'll off, and new ones come no more;
they're all shipped to the West"
very quiet industrious people, according to Fail
lon, and very generous, too when you come TO know
them. "But if it's trade you want" said he, you've
got to find their equal. They've beaten thin Jews
firm the pushcar-rt business an, If we en- match tho
ye're matchin well, me by
One leaves Pat to his pursuit of rents and moves
along the Clipped and broken sidewalks, past the
dilapdated, dark little shops, which are but held by
past the shr voiced ecstatic children who play in
the Uttered roadway; past the olive skinned keen
faced pedestrians, disappointingy Amercanized CT
garment past the women, whose draping OF woolien
shawls at least brings some faint flavor of their far
off land and whose nvariable slippers help to miti-
gate the bloused corsetessness of their swelling
frames They stand in mildly interested groups about
the pushcarts which string in uneven intervals along
the road-pushcarts rich with the freghtage of cal
coes and knives, can openers and saws and TIN cans
packed in bright confusion.
at the receipt of custom, near the several carts and
horses of his business of express and 1t is here thar
one gains the first insight into the inherent gener-
osity of the Syrian character.
George listens you you state your need of In
formation with widely opened, scrutinizng eyes.
Seeing the Sights.
terest eYou know Davenport You do, and hence
forward he is yours. For Davenport, the cartoonist
possesses Arab horses from Georges own country,
and George has ridden them, Arab horseman that he
is at Davenports own farm, and Davenport is to
him a prince of men. So George claps your shoulder
and squeezes your hand and whispers instructions to
his olive subordinate and leads you into labyrinthne
ways. and you may have anything in Little Syria
that he can give you without price For to offer
Syrian money for friendly act is the extreme of In
suit You would be, George described one so OFFER
ing, "a cheap skate"
Into the little school he leads you, with crossed
American flags upon the vivid walls, divided into red
and green At the end, with authoritative slat in
hand stands the very courteous Syrian teacher whose
dark skinned boys with sweaters little dark SUITS
adorned with the familiar celluoid collars, drone
over books of Arabic and English
They going to perform the Biblical incident OF
Joseph at the we'll in Brooklyn presently, and
rehearse their parts. The table is the WELL under
meath which the mimic Joseph crouches; the ash
for the stove represents the bucket and the poor
teacher is hard put to it by Josephs brethren who
insist upon outside interests. Bang! goes the Stat.
but very lightly and wall comes from Joseph's
temporary relative Another disturbance elsewhere.
"Geew says the teacher in good colloquial exclama-
ton; but boys though Syrians. are boys yet"
George has now thoroughly given himself up 70
the delights of courerage. He rushes, in enthusiastic
precptancy up the dark stairway to the daily news
paper AL Hoda whose circulation may reach the high
water mark of 5000 and shows you its inner work
ngs its three compositors, who pick the Syrian type;
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