The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-24

Luna, Steeplcchase and Tody Ham,
i,ton, these three and the greatest Of
these Is Tody.
And once AGAIN all three came up for
air for the season Of 1915 yesterday,
while up and down Coney Islands Surf
avenue and Bowery shuffled the thou
sands on thousands and thousands more
scufYled up the sand OF Conveys SEMI
private Atlantic Ocean and the movies
moved. the schooners ~zigzagged fear
lessly about in the German beer war
zones. children wandered from dis
tracted parents. the b%allyhooers ballied
and the brass IL crashed and the
trumpets brayed.
why. Tody Hamilton. you young
rascal cried the Old Guard ecstati-
cally as they tumbled into tho Luna
procession. grabbing chairs to steady
themselves when they grasped the fact
that the benign features and whitening
hairs back Of the rolltop publicity desk
belonged to none other than Tody. the
father and mother and nurse OF all cir
Gus publicity since Phineas T.
and Jim Bailey's Greatest show on
Earth bought its first quart can Of red
paint.
They slapped Tody on the back and
asked him where he'd been during all
the years that have passed since his
great friend James A. Bailey died and
Tody had ocked up his n~ewfangled
mimeograph and had quit-oh. forever.
IT'S Great Chance.
sIfArA. 1880. A.--- -
right OH the official opening day Of
Coney. Tody," young Mr.. Hamilton was
urged. Estimate the crowd for US.
since Old Fred Thompson left these
parts there hasn't been a soul down
here with the nerve to say without
batting an eye. oh, I should say there
are about 100000 people on the Island
to-day. Go to II. Tody. YOU e%xasperat-
ingly ~exaggerating. cccentrically esti-
mating, always alliterative and aston
sh-"
mo. no. no." sighed Tody Hamilton,
the re~1uvcnated. with a note Of eolem-
nifty. One thing ] never did and never
shall do while I'm a publicity man
that's standing for any fake story"
"What-a-a-at"' screamed a chorus OF
a dozen who remembered other days.
Why. To-o-ody Hamilton, We'll, Of all
thinge! whaddyuh neal no fake
story"
We'll" whispered Tody weakly.
anything ! ever concocted-oonceived, I
mean-was done in the interest OF
science. /"
"oh. III star spansied Ba-a-a-anner.
how proudly tt Who advertised
elephant mislaid right on tho island OF
Manhattan, Tody. M then had the
elephant turn up o. the top floor OF a
little building In The Bronx?-walled In
so nobody ever did fnd out how Il 60,
there: And we ask you. Tody. who on
the night OF May Z. 1878. urned . covoy
OF lines and taggers into"
Yes. that was the lie crooned
Tody happily. Then suddenly. what
were Fred T~hornpson's figures for q
Coney day like th,s7"
"Two-three hundred thousand. sup
posing Fred were IN good form"
Police Give Estimate Too.
Well" said Tody thoughtfully after
making believe for a few moments that he
was figuring deeply. II should say. gen
tlemen OF the press, that after my many
years spent In estimating the crowds
which daily attended the Barnum a
Bailey show no man living can esti-
mate a crow biseer than I and re,
away with Il.
AT $40 o'clock this Afternoon
stopped counting then-there were be
tween 3oo.l5o and 300.175 people on
Coney Island. most OF them. I might add
In Luna Park. There's a chance IN
I may w counted a dozen or % twice,
inasmuch as ! am somewhat u o,
Iractice, Lct's call II aoo,1+o to he on
tho safe side
Thereupon IL might be said tina. thu
1915 Coney Island season had opened.
Police Capt. Linden. however. one
In Conveys Eighth street station house
seemed TO be comparatively unimagtna.
tive. The best Capt. Linden could be
ballyraeged into admitting was tina,
there were about 100000" among those
present when Surf avenu and the
Bowery got into their stride. And they
were all goody-goody folks. too fol
out Of the cityful AT Coney by dusk only
two had been gathered IN by the police
One merrymaker had a revolver har.
messed 10 him. contrary 10 the Sullivan
law. a cell door changed and then there
were only 1+9. 9as loose, Shortly afte,
this a youth pinched a girl In a Surf
avenue show, and he hadn't even beer
No much as introduced to her. The
pincher was pinched and then there were
only las. 99S-that Is. according 10 police
figures. although Tody Hamilton grimly
stuck now to 400. 1875 at large and two
in the c~alaboose, which therefore still
left Todys original count Of 400, ! "a
practically intact,
Those bathing suits.
But n some Of the annettekeiiermanns
glimpsed along the Coney and Brighton
beaches ever had been carried out by
the tide and then slammed back on the
beach at. say. Ocean Grove. there would
have been several other arrests down
Jersey way. Just a sort OF Balkan
blouse pronounced blooze down Deal
way OF black silk for the upper half
as for the rest OF the garment, little re-
mains 10 he told
Seemingly nobody among showmen o,
gadders had heard anything about the
war, so far as one could - thu
possible exception of tho rapid fire
photograph shops, whore In some cases
the prop automobile and even the pror
aeroplane In which one and ones lady
frien' sat to be photographed IN other
seasons now nave given way TO raki.h
little prop gunboats painted a wicked
battle gray.
Looks like n good year. II you car