Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-08

through the streets did not seem to care
whit for the official statement made
by Secretary Lansing that the armistice
had not been signed. Nor did the fact
impress: them. either i'll the afternoon
or at night, that the American troops
in France were capturing Sedan at the
declared that fighting had ceased.
The merriment eliminated last night
with monster demonstration on
Pennsylvania avenue which lasted from
about o'clock until nearly midnight.
Two hundred thousand people, the
police estimated. were on Pennsylvania
avenue last night. All of the down.
town thoroughfares were crowded, but
the historic parade ground was the
center OF all interest. and thither the
and from the suburbs.
Great, Good-Natured Crowd.
1t was great. good natured crowd,
it's good humor saving it from the
appellation of mob" although it's
blind confidence that the armistice
had been signed led many philosophic
souls who watched the throng from
high windows to SO call it.
But it made no difference to the
people last night whether the arms
tice had been agreed to or not agreed
to-they were "out for a good time"
and they had it. Every noise-ma king
device known to the ingenuity of
man was brought into use by the al
walton was thrown to the winds and
long chains of paper. confetti and
other articles strewed the streets.
Fire engines. which responded to q
false alarm about 9 o'clock last night,
were forced literally to creep to the
fire. Patiently the firemen guided the
big engines through the dense crowd
at 18th street and Pennsylvania ave-
nue.. while patient horses, drawing
hook and ladder. ambled along as If
returning instead of going to a blaze.
Policemen Caught in Throng.
Policemen who tried to get the
crowd to move on were 'laughingly
enyeloped by hundreds of men and
the street by the happy, noisy crowd.
The policemen did not seem to re-
monstrate. nor was it apparent what
good their struggles would have done
them. 1t was happy night that
was all. and nobody was going to
spoil the evening.
The automobile parade on Pennsyi-
vania avenue last night was prob
ably the greatest demonstration OF !
its kind ever witnessed here. For
ed up and down the Avenue. the yell
low headlights on cars coming up
the Avenue toward the Treasury con-
trasting with the red tail lights of
automobiles going down the gay
way toward the Capitol.
The thousands OF out-of-town work.
ers who left their desks yesterday
afternoon to join in the demonstrsA-
ton which iilled the downtown streets
all afternoon long We're leaders in
the merrymakinS last night. They
were there in their velvet hats and
their furs. They were there smiling. ;
laughing. singing, blowing whistles.
footing upon horns. beating tin pans
and shouting The war is over
"Walk-out in Departments.
1t was these same girls who for
the first time in the history of the
usually staid government depart
mentS literally walked out yester-
day. carried away by the thrill of
the war is over
Chief clerks of the depa rtments
and wartime bureaus were powerless
to restrain the women. who left their ;
duties and flocked to the open air. |
When heads of departments were
asked by whose authority they gave
orders for the workers to quit their
duties the officials replied that no
orders were given-"theE Just left
bit tired after their revels of the
afternoon. in which they had ridden !;
miles and miles around town. sing
ing and whooping and declaring that .
The war is ended.
Soldiers and Sailors Join In.
Soldiers and sailors joined in the
demonstration last night. as they did
in the afternoon. Army trucks burned ;
UP gallons of gasoline, p!o,ring their
way up and down Pennsylvania avenue
with great loads of men and women. !;
The spontaneity of the whole thing
struck observers. although there was
some question among the more thought
full over the whole proceeding.
why, it's just 4 rehearsal said
one man. Wait until the real news /
of the surrender of Germany comes
then you will see real demonstra-
ton"
But there were those who believed !
that the outburst of the people, tense !
from weeks of war worry, was some |
thing which cannot be duplica ted, and /,
which. having started, had to work it ;
self out by sound and movement.
Most of the men and women and
last night knew that Germany had |
signed the armistice. How did they /
know it? Il have confidential infor- |
nation many declared. and seemed |
to know more about it than Secretary |
himself.
Wild Rumors Prevalent. !
There were wild rumors of all sorts. |
One could hear almost anything he |
wanted to, assertions and denials be-
ing in the air. But what nobody |
wanted to hear was the denial that !
the armistice had been signed. Even !
after the Secretary of State had is
sued formal denial, the joy-intoxi-
Gated people refused to listen.
The people knew what they wanted /
to know and that was all there was
to it. Anyway. 1t made no difference,
because you could make all the noise |
YOU wanted to, and one could walk |
from the Capitol to the Treasury and
back again just as many times as one
could negotiate the distance. 1t was |
a great night. /
Theater crowds. led by theater mu- ;
sicians. swelled the paraders late in |
the evening, and added to the din. !
The whole police force was out to !
handle the crowd, but had no difficulty !
and reported today practically no I'M
toward accidents.
The absence of intoxicants from the
city was remarked on favorably 4by !
many, although a few were heard ITO |
lament its absence. There is no doubt,
according to the police, that the sale |
of liquor here would have made yes I