Evening star., 1909-04-12
CASTR0SW|FEB BARRED FANS Do THEIR PART
Not Allowed to Go Ashore in Great Crowd at Ball Park for
Venezuela. First Game.
COMMUNICATION is DENIED SEATS FILL IN A HURRY
Unable Send Word Husbands Bhers Are damned
Friends in La Guaira. O'Clock.
SHIP PROCEEDS TO COLON BEAUTY IN THE GRANDSTAND
Of ExP Two Add
Venezuela by Means pectant Thousands Ovation
Of Airship the
SEATS FILL IN A HURRY
Bleachers Are damned as Early as
! O'Clock.
BEAUTY IN THE GRANDSTAND
Two Brass Bands Add to Joy of Ex-
pectant Thousands - Ovation
Given the Players.

The long-pent-up thrill which the
whole base ball population Of Washing
ton has been nursing all winter long
burst forth this afternoon. when a tre-
mendous army Of fans marched into the
American League Park.
The gates were opened at 1 o'clock.
but before noon there were people
waiting to get in. At 1870 long line Of
waiting fans extended from the ticket
office to far down 7th street, and re-
serve force of policemen was necessary
to keep the good-natured crowd from in
terfering with traffic. All the old fans
were there. And it seemed as If all the
young ones were there, too. All the pea
nut sellers were there and all the pro-
gram boys, and the great crowd displayed
as much haste as If the game had been
o'clock
They laughed and shouted, saw faces in
the crowd that they had not seen since
last year. made bets on the game. and did
everything that base ball fans always do.
A Whooping, Joyous Mass.
The great feature of the fans entrance
into the park was that scarcely anybody
walked. Man and boy they entered the
park on the double quick, or even at a
headlong pace. The bleachers were
packed solidly without room for one more
a few minutes after the gates were
opened. With the game almost three
hours off, they started in to make the
afternoon pleasant, and 1t looked as II
they succeeded. for all the humor that can
be crowded into the bleachers was packed
in and stirred up. There were the man
who brought great big megaphone. and
the very small boy who had lost his hat,
but who does not care a bit, and several
Thousand others, all turned into q whoop-
ing. joyous mass. ;.
The fans greeted the sight Of the clean
new diamond with sigh of joy and re-
lief. Everything Is looking fine- The
grass is greener than eyer before. and
the infield looks as If 1t has been pol
ished
Crowd Of Pretty Girls.
OF course. the grandstand people were
a little slower In getting to their places
than were the fans in the bleachers.
There is a great crowd of very pretty
girls in the grandstand this afternoon.
who came early and who took up the
front seats, while men who came later
had to sit behind some of the tallest head
gear that has ever been seen In the city
of Washington. If there should not be
a ball game there will at least be q fine
display of millinery.
There are two full brass bands, sta
toned on each side of the grandstand,
and they have been playing constantly
since l o'clock.
been free from the joyous strains Of
some lively music that makes the fans
feet tremble with joy. The very first
piece that they played was prophetic
Big Night Tonight" and as the blare of
the horns swung into the lively and well
known chorus. the great crowd in the
bleachers rose up and yelled themselves
hoarse. And it certainly does look as If
Washington would see one of the most
magnificent nights in the history Of base
bali celebration If this little old team
manages to win from the team from little
old New York
Cheers for Everybody.
or course. everything that happened
brought a roar from the assembled multi
tude. man selling balloons got loose
on the diamond. and if he had been selling
airships or riding in one he could not have
attracted more attention. A boy from
the clubhouse. carrying bats. got recep-
ton that would equal the cheers given to
the President on Inauguration day.
1t was to be expected that when any
of the players would appear there would
be a perfect cyclone OF applause.
And there was.
The first man to be seen on the field
was Blankenship. He was dressed in
plain clothes. of course, and as he walked
to the clubhouse the air was shattered
Street came next. Just before he was
seen, a newspaper photographer was TAX
ing a picture of the bleachers and was
trying to get a little enthusiasm into
whole bunch of fans turned loose like wild
Indians, threw their hats into the air.
threw coats around, and II the picture is
not a good one II will be the photograph
er's fault. Mcbride got great recep-
ton. So did Delehanty and Hughes.
Vice President Not There.
Vice President Sherman did not go to
the opening base ball game this after
noon, because he was in Utica. \. Y. his
home town. addressing a meeting Of the
chamber of commerce. His secretary.
Mr.. Harry E. -Devendorf. said that Mr.
Sherman had intended to go to the first
game. and was disappointed because he
could not do SO. for he is one of the lead
ing fans of the country. Mr.. Sherman
will probably attend the game tomorrow
Many senators expressed satisfaction
when the Senate adjourned at 12:45 this
afternoon because II would enable them
to get through with their business at the
Capitol and eat their luncheons in time
to get out to the game. The proportion
of senator's who are base ball fans Is
by no means small.