New-York tribune., 1918-09-01
City's Greatest Crowd of
Pleasure Seekers Thrilled
by Great Spectacle
400 Pershing Veterans
Are Guests of Honor
Deputy Commissioner Esti-
mates $3OO,OOO Has Been
Melted for Uniforms

lWo hundred thousand persons, prop
ably the greatest number ever gathered
inside a single enclosure in this city,
stormed the gates of Sheepshead Bay
yesterday afternoon to attend the sec
ond oPlice Department Feiled Day,
whose purpose is the equipment of the
police reserves.
After the vast throngs had overun
and filed the main grandstand to the
topmost tier, had overofwn into the
infeld, where there was danger of
being run down by mounted police at
man9uvres, and had even streamed
into the bleacher stand, condemned as
unsafe. the gates of the park were
shut. Many thousands who had come
by automobile, street cars and elevated
trains, were left out.
Deputy Police Commissioner Fred
erlck A. Walls, in charge of the games,
estimated that $S00,000 had been netted
for the fund to buy uniforms for the
Opera Stars Sing
The men, women and children who
were able to enter the inclosure had
the most varied treat of their lives
musical, athletic. military and sport
ing. In each division of entertainment
the topnotchers alone performed
For example, Caruso, John McCor-
mack, Amato and Anna Fitziu appeared
in concert. Caruso, making his first
public appearance since his plunge into
matrimony, received riotous greeting
when he stood up, in a blue coat, red
tie and white trousers, and rendered
"Over There with the greatest pa
triotic spirit. Mrs. Caruso, who beamed
on her husband from a box, shared in
the applause
Four hundred bronzed veterans of
Pershings army were the real guests
of honor, although yesterday was
named Mayors Day, and his honor,
members of his official family General
J. Franklin Bell represented the army,
Admiral Usher the navy and foreign
diplomats and military representatives
stood for every one of the Allied ma
tons in the huge patriotic demonstra-
ton
Great Patriotic Demonstration
The spectacle reached its height when
the crowd rose as one and stood un-
covered as Miss Fitziu, of the Metro
politan Opera, sang "The Star-Span-
gled Banner" The throng swelled its
chorus, joining also in Caruso's rendi-
tion of cover There"
Mccormack made his special appeal
to the sentiments of the hardened vet
Grams of Pershing. Gathering them
about the bandstand, he sank directly
to them 7"God Be With Our Boys" and
"The Long, Long Trail" Then, at their
request, he added Mother Machree."
The soldiers swarmed about the popu-
lar tenor after he had finished, wiring
ing his hand and begging his auto
graph. He spent a busy half hour sat-
isfying them ali. st'r
Ten thousand soldiers and sailors
applauded the efforts of the police re-
serves in a sham battle, which the vet
Grams admitted was almost like the
real thing" So far was realism carried
that number of mines were exploded,
sending huge clouds Of dirt high in the
air, from which it sifted down on every
one in the stand. The dirt storm sent
hundreds to cover. Small batteries and
rifles were used in the mimic warfare,
which ended with storm and attack
on an intrenched position.
Mounted Police Thrill Crowd
Mounted police furnished the thrills
OF the afternoon, amazing by their res
cues from runaway horses and by ex-
nibltlon trick and Cossack riding.
Roman races, tugs of war, police dog
exhibitions and motorcycle races were
4 lew OF the events which occupied
track and infield continuously from
o'clock until after 6.
After drills by policemen and by
women's corps, the track was cleared
for an exhibition against time by Ralph
de Palma in the car with which he has
won most of the years motor sweep
stakes. After getting off to dazzling
start, the speed demon rolled off two
laps of four miles in 2:O3, beating the
former record for tho distance by
seconds.
A traffic jam of considerable proper
tions resulted when the crowd tried to
get out and home. The exits proving
insufficient, some of the spectators
scaled the iron fences and rushed the