The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-10-05
GREATEST PAGEANT IN
HISTORY OF new YORK
Growth of Metropolis Depicted
by So Huge Floats.
PARADE WAS SIX MILES LONG
Reviewing Stand Containing 5000
Foreign and Other Guests is Cen
tire of Attraction-Streets Packed
With Citizens and Visitors.

New York City Through six
miles of the city's flag-draped streets,
packed with their tens of thousands
of spectators, there passed the histor-
cal pageant, the first Of the great land
spectac1es of the Hudson-Fulton cele-
bration whose preparation has occu-
pied almost a year.
New York City told pictorially the
story of her wonderful growth in this
parade. In the crowd that witnessed
it, crowd that stretched over these
six miles in one black throng of close
~ packed humanity, splitting over into
the side streets for a block each way
and climbing to the top of her sky
scrapers, she presented the culmina-
ton of this story as it has been writ
ten thus far.
New York City has seen longer pro-
cessions pass through her streets, but
never before in her history has the
city seen one representing greater eff
fort or greater expenditure of money.
Floats that almost took up the width
of Fifth avenue and on which in some
cases twenty-five persons arrayed in
appropriate costumes were easily ac-
commodated, passed down Fifth ave-
nue.. Twenty thousand men, mem
bers Of the various societies of the
city, accompanied these floats. The
floats themselves carried several hun
dred Watching them pass was half
the population of New York City and
100000 more visitors.
The fifty-eight floats showed what
a prodigious task had been accom-
plished. The main point of interest
on the line of the parade was the pill
Jared court of honor, festooned with
green garlands and banked with flow
cred plants, reaching from Forty-sec-
ond to Fortieth street, in Fifth ave-
nue.. Here stand reaching the en-
tire two blocks and accommodating
5000 persons, the guests of the Hud-
son-Fulton celebration commission,
had been erected. Mounted in tow
er in the back part of this stand was
a set of chimes, and they began to
ring two hours before the parade
came along.
The foreign officers came riding in
automobiles and on foot to the stand.
There we're the Englishmen in their
stiff black coats and gold trimmings
and Germans in blue and gold. Vice
President Sherman was followed by
Governor Hughes. William r. Will
cox and Seth Low. Admiral Won
Rooster was in a third automobile.
General Stewart l.. Woodford rode by
himself in a car labelled president
car" Admiral Seymour, followed by
his staff, pushed through the crowd
on foot and walked up to the stand.
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe was the
only woman on the stage with these
guests. Minister WI Ting-fang was
with M. Lefodre-Pontalis, the French
Charge d'Affaires. and~A. Rusten Bey,
Charge d'Affaires of Turkey; Justice
Brewer and General o. o. Howard
To the right of the central stage OF
the platform sat the captains of all
the warships in the harbor, grouped
by their nationalities.
1t was 440 when the last float, a
statue of Father Knickerbocker of
prodigious size, beaming on four
young girls, representing how New
York has welcomed all of those who
have come here to watch it's celebra-
ton, passed the stand. 1t was the
end of the show.