The sun., 1909-12-02
COCKTAIL .LODESTONE GONE
PLACE SOLD FROM UNDER HTM,
FRED WALKS OUF.

"
Tble TO An bsIt aimseis- -Cheir sung
in9 His DtsalpAtian Nv oman Bu1s
CAFE and Puts Her HnsDand In.
A young man on an evening news-
paper who spent tho nrst half Of yestsr-
day trying to hnd DR.. Froderick A.
Cook burst into the ocSoe Of his news-
paper just before noon. r.
-Fred's gonel' gssped tho yormsstef
when he could get his wind.
Cook? Sure he's gone. began the man
at the desk. That's Why ssnt--'
. 'No-Fred's eone.' broke in tho re-
porter. -Fredl Fred!' Il
you don't mean began the boss,
slowly. The man with the news sadly
nodded his head In assent.
I. Yea he whispered after q time.
In twos and threes tho STAFF gathered
about in silent little groups and stood
gazing vacantiy out acroes City Hall
Park. The boss raised his hsad pros-
emily and asked for details.
Fred. tho subject OF our sketch 10
said TO have another name. but In the
twenty or mofp years that Fred has
mixed cocktails and discussed music
and the drama In his little cafe at Beck
man street. the most northerly point
OF the downtown cocktail route. the
story about the other name never has
been verified. Just Fred. N. Y. c.
was about all that was necessary On the
envelope when mailing him money orders
to pay for bar checks which accidentally
had been carried away In the waist
coat pocket unpaid.
Fred and his lone assistant, Danny
Danny has another name also. il 10 said)
opened up as usual yesterday morning
with no thought Of the horrors the day
was to bring about. Little did Fred
and the bologna sandwiches on the lunch
counter opposite the cocktail department
that "wednesday, December I, was to be
one OF those regular days.
About 10 o'clock In the morning q man
entered and sr9ss the s, nsws e. to 3 Ersd q.
day before and the man announced that
he was about TO hang up his coat and 80
70 work running tho place. Tho news that
Fred wasn't the proprietor OF Freds
was ~ great shook TO strotlers saunterinG
the news TO Fred that the cafe had changed
hands. Fred stayed just long enough
to get his hat and coat from the little
closet In the northwest corner OF the cafe.
Danny followed suit. for where Fred 10
Once upon time the old Brick Church
and ito graveyard occupied the TRAN kIiar
block bounded by Park row. Nassau
and Beekman streets. but that. Of course,
was even before Fred came into the
triangle. About nine years ago the man
that his wife had bought the cafe pur:
chased Frsd's from q man named Fred
Gerken. A year ago Frsds ytsttor Of
yesterday got into financial diniculties
and lost FTcd's and two other cafes.
Hence the present anonymity here OF
my wife bought the place yesterday.
didn't. . explained the new owner. And
don't mention my name O6rken owned
Freds for fourteen years before. the
present owner bought i nine years age.
Whether Fred ever ssrved the fannoue
-Fred's cocktail to Horace Greeley could 4
not be learned yesterday. but there 10
story about an editorial writer. nov
SUCCESSORS one day carrying what 10 vai- |
carly known as souse. 4
Il thought you were On the wagon
reproved the chief.
Was explained the edit oriai writer.
wssGnt%Sssy s %.S, days ays yrsS Count to.y
forty days. Took forty Fredzh cocktailzh |
all at once today
He slept then. as any one would who |
took forty Of Fred's cocktails all In one |
Frcd's disappea rance yesterday was as
complete as DR.. Cooks, The best that |
could be learned was that Fred had gone !
home -some place up in The Bronx.
Park row hurried hrst to Fred's to hnd
whether the unbeiievable could posaihly !
be true Then followed the Wall street |
crowd whsn the strset quit work in the
middle Of tho afternoon. and later on !
Broadway and the ONCE buildings sent |
forth more mourners to gather about |
the pile Of cracked Ice which always 70
paved with seltzer bottles. Every once In |
a while somebody among the crowd hrst
to discover that Fred had howp would |
think il time TO run over TO Fred's gain |
to try to find out just whore he had gone, |
II was a favorite occupation all yesterday |
afternoon.
Fred, who il a bachelor, never drank. |
When he did feel like taking ding his !
took the form of singing at |
amateur concerts or at any church AFFAIR
where his services were wanted from /
fllrthest Staten Island to ths furthest |
Bronx. He has taken singing lessons |
for years and he was happiest when his !
cafe door opened to admit some OF the |
officesr- But even then he never got so |
in musical discussion as to |
forget the greater art with the cocktail |
shaker.
And as architecture, they say. 10 frozsn |
music, so II might almost be said that
Fred's cocktails-But what's the ussi
You cant reduce the Pastoral sym
phony, for instance. TO moro words.