The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-04-13
FORUMS SPECIAL
new YORK LETTER

Lt1GtL 6pdSIl oL CIluIch dlLcl1udIICS. e IA
that time the II Won't Works threat
ened a more spectacular move upon the
evidences Of wealth and pomp In the
city. On March q the red flag Of
anarchy waived def1antly over a thous-
and singing m%archers ~(unemployed
men and womenl who moved up Fifth
avenue, sweeping pedestrians aside and
stopping automobiles. A rumor reach
ed police headquarters that last Satur~
day the mob would parade again with
out police perfnission) stoning the win
dows Of clubs and hotels on the ave-
nue.. Acting upon this hint the police
commissioner stationed 400 policemen
In Union Square with Instructions to
squelch the invasion of the avenue OH
its incipiency. A much to be regretted
riot occurred, regarding which there Is
a grave difference of opinion. The
magistrate before whom the arrested
men were brought, released them and
cause for action against he police who
had used strong arm methods. h
incident illustrates the. smugness Of
New York. Riot and mob and violence
but this community cantered along the
bride paths of Central Park, or tan
COED at tea dances less thar a mile from
this sinister incident and If anybody
morning papers treated it as IL it was
all in the days work, and waited until
Monday to comment on it., and sand
wiched it IN between villa ana the LAT,
/. w. w. do not evoke a scintilla OF
sympathy but he who pauses to think
of his beloved country n it's future
seems to hear the palpitating air echo
those famous and in famous words OF
Marie Antoinette: What are the peo-
pie crying for? Bread? If they haven't
bread, why don't they eat cake?" Do
we take such demonstrations too calm
}y? Are they the symptom Of deep,
seated disease in the body politics? or
is 1t simply sporadic? The best train
ed minds can follow these demonstra-
the effloresence, but the thoughtful can
gain a hint here and there of the
mephitic soil in which thees flowers
have matured: To the onlooker. not
the streets of New York bulks large
1t is subtle, it is material, and all but
~invincible to the undiscip1ined. To the
peasant of Europe, fresh from a sirnp-
Ter environment, whose worldly goods
have been limited to bare necessities
and UGH necessities, too, as his
vironment dictated not our American
attitude of mass to class, feeling the
JOY of, at last, being foot loose, the
New York streets with their hundreds
of miniature white ways are as the candle
peasant only who Is caught by the
glare. It draws all in whom culture is
not d~eepseated and self control the
,woof and warp OF their nature. This
n CAO1uoSSOp4o D. y S|tAl "
New York-is he lure which holds
here where bread is SO scarce thous-
ands and thousands who live a hand to
mouth existence they take IN taeir
hand for a little Of the cake of life as
it is passed around. And here in New
York they seek it-they see 1t about
them-many with more than they can
use. Is 1t any wonder the clamor
arises? If the distribution Of popula-
ton could be arbitrarily arranged the
element of poverty might theotretlcally
be eliminated from America; but 1t
would, only be a theory, which the pass
age OF time would bring to naught. You
can't bring to bear on hearts and souls
compulsory. well being. Such lures as
these streets are outside the action of
law. Human life in feeling its way UP
to the higher levels and in taking hold
of its expanding opportunities grasps
s~onality gives his home address at Null.
berry bend or Riverside drive.
This lure Of the streets Is hard to
realize unless you have felt 1t. IN
avenue (such an inapposite. name for
such a, wonderful. thoroughfare) from
Madison Square slowly. to the Plaza,
where the shopping character drops
a rising tide Of sensuous well-being. 1t
grips you, and in some subtle way you
feel as part of it-no longer simple and
modest and a wayfarer but with head
~ "AAN aNhSSNS SAAA ~ ~ A@A "a
citizen of the great world. The win
dows fascinate you as they bloom in all
the colors of Tyre and Sidon, as they
sparkle with the gold Of India and the
such wonderful old masters and modern.
masters, in oil, in etching, in engrav-
ing, in carving n ponder the webs Of
Iran (prayer rugs in Fifth avenueD
and the brasses of Benares. AS you
pass st. Thomas wonderful facade Of
stone carved lace you feel less its re-
ligious note thar you do its artistic
tone--it seems fitting on this pathway
of luxury. And your fellow pedes-
F~trlans, they are scarcely less wonder.
full, than the scene itself. Time was
back to YOU the typical American face,
a combination of Puritan, Dutchman,
German, and Celt but today-blonds or
near blends are conspicuous as excep-
lions. The sloeblack eyes of southern
Europe, the prominent noses of the
Semitic race and the poles of raven
hair show what an inf1ltrat1on of orien-
tai blood has been made here. Fifth
euipages, its hotels, its women-many
hand decorated, its men enchant you
but with the enchantment of the sens
es. The re~-incarnationt Of Carthage.
the material, whose, lack of patriotism
made possible the Roman edict Garth
ago est deIenda-seems to have arisen
before you. The same luxury, the same
excess and the same type Of face. II
were all of New York then we might
nave tears for the spectacle but 1t Is
not all-it is not half for quality out
weighs ~quantial and the churches, the
schools, the wonderful societies Of bet
terment, the hospitals speak with. a
clear voice of the other side Of life.
But these streets have been n are tho
lure. They have been the picture hung
bfore many IA simple-minded soul on
the steps or Russia, on the hillsides Of
Sicily, and on the banks of the Danu-
be. rEE H
past month preparing for her part in
the Studio club benefit which will be
given at the Berkeley theatre April 16.
Miss Luger will appear in drama with
city and was chosen from many pupils
of the theatrical schools, who were
anxious to appear. Mr.. Wendell ca
brother of Barrett Wendell OF Harvard
ger the principals Of the drama have
been photographed for the magazine
section of the New York Herald of the
issue, Of April Il; Miss L,1ger will
a guest at the house party of Miss
Helen Buchanan.
Mark Andrews, son of Mrs a. "A.
Andrews Of Fourth avenue s9uth' a nov
will be the Easter guest at dinner OF
Mrs. FL. p. Salter.
He who clothed the lily that in my win
With beauty, grace; and fragrance gave
The air with odor sweet as royal rose,
Can make a simple man one OF regal
If he but follow in the path,
In which lily hath.
God to all the sun n air b~equeath,
a ca P~nx IN a n oSrlr hnEli11 ~ hvJEt han 1t1