The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-10-10
WHISPERED MAN
IN An OMNIBUS
Instead of Being Peppery When JOS
tied, Talks Friendly to One
Who Bumped
Him.
zEPPELINs INFLUENCE
One Theatre Advertlses Bomb
Proof Roof and That At
tracts the
People.
zEpPEL1Ns INFLUENCE
rBy william G. Shepherd,


Press Staff Correspondent
LONDON. Sept. IA. (By mail.)-
Gee whillikins! A lurch of the bus
has hurled you into a seat and up
against whiskered LIondoner with
force enough to break his watch crys
tai
Now you're going to catch 1t! Just
wait till he catches his breath. These
Iondoners with whiskers can be
nasty. You try to catch your breath.
You want to say, I'm sorry" vita
the accent on the I'm" That means,
in New Yorkese, Excuse me-"
Chances are he'll be mussy anyhow.
He's turning his head toward you;
he's taking his pipe out OF his mouth.
Now he's speaking:
Thought you were Zeppelin
bomb he says.
You see? Before the Zeppelins
came he'd have been mussy old par
ty under such circumstances as these.
But not now The Zeppelins have
made Londoners friends. Everybody
Of all the seven million people, has
something in common to talk about.
porter may interest the king; a
bishop may interest suffraget. Ev-
erybody has his own story Of what he
Zeppelins came to the eastern couE-
ties'
But back to the man on !. the bus.
He's typical Londoner, well.to-do,
on his way to the ONCE. ..-
He says he didn't see the Zeppelin.
He was home in bed, asleep. But he
has heard since that one bomb hit a
motor bus. like the one we're on,
loaded with people, and blew 1t and
the people to bits. You tell him some
Of the things you heard; especially
how you saw the big canvas sausage
Ealumphing around the sky. Then
he puts the climax on 1t all, express
Ing just what London feels.
Il only wish one Of the crews would
come down in Hyde park he says.
Not all the soldiers and policemen
in London could keep the crowd from
tearing them to pieces"
There'd be pieces OF German uni
forms shown as souvenirs in every
shop window In the Strand" you sug-
gest
Pieces Of German meat and bones,
you mean. he says.
It's no secret that Scotland Yard
wants Londoners to keen off tn
streets in case OF air raids, because.
every now and then the newspapers
carry long dissertations on what the
Yard wants the people Of London to
10 In such pinches.
Two nights after the raid you go
zeppelin hunting" In London. You
nave tip that three Zeppelins have
peen sighted crossing the water Ca
ward London: it's partly foggy
night; perfect Zeppelin weather.
About 1890 is the good hour for
tne birds II they come much later
they'll have to finish up their home
ward journey in the daylight and
,hese birds aren't afraid to go home
IN the dark: in fact, they like it.
It's 10 o'clock now. The crowds on
,ne Strand are thinner than usual.
. FIRST you run around through the
PARKS; they're dark. You get over to
,ccadiliy: it's almost empty. At
.v.So you're in Piccadilly circus. You
nave to ask the taxi man where you
al, are you don't recognize the circus:
square
Inc hour might be four in the
n,ornlng. You whirl around from
plaee to place. Gradually you notice
...at the crowds are returning to the
streets. BY II o'clock. Piccadilly cir.
- us' sne square. the Strand and Char
ing cross are themselves again.
M, mere are the same old crowds.
, mhere they have been keeping them
ewes during the past half hour OF
Vmp,y streets is mystery. Scotland
s sa'd had said stay inside" and they
~ u IT'S too late for "Zeps" tonight.
~ NJ london becomes itself again.
ne Globe theatre is one of the
most popu' r in town. 1t has been
, oud since the war began and the
n ,sas sighted directors, forseeins Yep
he'ii scares. ordered that the roof
Ma made of cement. three feet thick.
NV. No" the theatre advertises as "the
proof ceiling"