The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-26
Three Hours in Passing.

But, police or no police. It was good
to have been alive long enough yester-
day to bee the one time National Guard
Of the State Of New York march for
three hours past a given lunch box. as
600 strong. Only at the grand review
that flashed up rennsylvania avenue In
Washington in 1868 had city of the
country had q chance to soc anything
approaching the giories Of the parade
Of the Twenty-seventh Division yester-
day.
And since 1855 various accomplish
ments OF the American human intellect
had made possible things that 1855
didn't dare dream Of when watching the
older review-boats flying 1000 feet In
air. sometimes 90 low that their "keels'
barely missed scraping Maggie, the maid.
and her friends of the rooftops Of Fifth
avenue houses, and capable girl cops
chat 1855 would not have believed possi-
BILE. motor anbulances, jazz music. bot
tied waters and caviar sandwiches q d.
vision OF United States soldiers not
bcasting OF single blue uniform, Brit
fish hags intertvined with the Stars and
Stripes, tens Of thousands of tan shoes,
motorcycles. horseleas carriages, highest
civic and church dignitarfes on the re-
viewing stands who actually could not
trace back 70 q single ancestor from
Plymouth Rock or Back Bay or old Fifth
avenue or Rittenhouse Square, gunners
who nre 600 shots In the same length of
time that II took the quickest killer at
Che wilderness to bite the end or a pa
per cartridge.
Helmet Fronts Denied.
Cohens and Van Rensselaers, O'Rourkes
and Schmidts and Swensens and Mac
Tavishes and Repettis, on they came
with smiles on tanned faces which were
% much alike the Schmidts and
ORourkes and Repettis and even the
Van Rensselaers-that In tho composite
one saw them only as 80 many boyish
Americans. They were almost too spick
and span for veterans Of great war.
Medals dangled from their heavfng
chests. Some OF them wore helmets
that had been badly dented, and the
dents always were in front Always
To see the glories Manhattan had got
up at daybreak. the outlying boroughs
before the cloudless sky had had its first
flush Of dawn. In the crowds. too. were
old and almost young fathers and moth
ers. sisters and cousins and aunts. par
ticularly wives, who had started from
far corners Of the State many days ago
20 that they might be on the greatest
street when the greatest parade went by.
Three million has been mentioned here
a. the number of the spectators: that
was the estimate Of Grover WhaIen. po-
nce officials. newspaper men and other
experts on crowds
Before 8 O'Clock In the morning the
crowds 1ammed subway, surface and ele-
waited trains. particularly the trains COM
ing from Brooklyn. so thoroughly that
fathers OF families-yesterday morning
accompanied by the entire families
found that the running time from the
home borough to the midrin Of Manhat-
tan was at least an hour longer than the
usual morning run from the breakfast
table to the same spot In the chief Dor
0ugh.
Taxis Unobtainable.
Taxicabs were unobtainabie even at
the hour when most taxi consumers were
in the habit Of dwadling over their
three minute esq. Automobile owners
who had decided the night before to
leave their cars In the garages and HAL
q taxi" after an early breakfast found
out, after searching In vain among va
Gated taxicab stands in the neighbor
hood, that the only thing to be done was
to race to the nearby garage, pile the
family into the tonneau and drive hel.
bent toward Fifth avenue
And then ono started-to take q spe-
DIDO instance-from the neighborhood OF
Seventy second street and Broadway.
and drove eastward, was shunted north
ward. tried to drive through one of the
Central Park transverse roads, was
shunted northward again by the traffic
oopA got TO the northern boundary OF
Central Park. which Is 10th street, tried
10 cross Fifth avenue there, was sent
further northward, and finally was per.
mitted, some place far up in Harlem. To
shoot across Fifth avenue 10 Madison OF
Lenox avenues and then head south
toward the general neighborhood Of the
street leading from Madison avenue
westward to ones particular stand.
In other words automobile owners lfv
ing In Eightieth street q block or two
west Of the western ridge Of Contra
Park had to drive for almost an houi
to reach q seat in n reviewing stand a.
Mghtieth street and the eastern edge O.
Central Park. But nobody kicked abou
the time required to reach the chosen
spot. where so many wonders were Il
be seen.
Fifth Avenue's Early Rising.
Tho inmates OF the swasger home
In Fifth avenue never before got up 3,
from the buffers mattresses and ser
wants in general draped along the cave
OF swagger homes. breakfast evidentl,
had been served az q particularly earl,
hour and the dishes washed and dried
Also never had a Fifth avenue bushes
house or office building. further dow
town, seen the underlings report 8,
early. They did no work during th
day--but they certainly were on the sol
early.
Three miles or more Of Madison ave
nue-the route Of the parade was fiv
miles Of Fifth avenue-contained
closely packed mass OF human argu
ments from o'clock in the mornini
until tha.~rands began to play hour
later. rktners particularly. ably aide,
by mothers. who held tho thermos bot
ties OF coffee and the sand witches an,
the childSen while father argued, trie
10 convince a large part of the 1000
regular and special policemen on tn
Job that there were reasons Of state VIII,
n particular father. mother. children ant
lunch should be permitted. IN fact es
corted, from Madison avenue WESTWARD
to the delectsbls ecstacies of FIT
avenue.
"Y'ain't got a ticket so yuh can
pass!
Thus the cops, who had the argue
licked. as always. before the argumen
was begun. And Petain's They shall
not pass" was not a whit more effectiy
at Verdun than tho paraphrase OF tn
great sentence OF the war as delivered
the length Of Madison avenue yesterda,
morning by the genus cop.
Rush OF Standees.