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

honor guard OF British and French SOL
diers and sailors, was drowned in the
human tide. The crowd could not be
forced back of the centre span Of the
arch. and only It's fine upper proportions
were visible.
The break at Seventy ninth street was
temporary, the most serious OF many
similar ones that occurred from time to
time all along the line. The crowd for
few minutes practically closed the ave-
nue. at this point.
''Thisd be hell OF a parade II they
were all like you" said one cop TO a
woman who would not I've driven back
"Here!" he yelled, as he grabbed her
shoulder and hustled her across the
street, through an exit into the park
you go and make q little parade of
your owni"
The woman protested with voice and
umbrella, but the stern treatment dealt
out to her had its effect on the rest OF the
crowd. and with the help OF half dozen
police automobiles a way was finally
cleared. Good handling also got the
crowds back at some OF the other points
but at Thirty-fourth street. until the
last ambulance in the parade had passed.
there was only room for four marchers
abreast
on the JOD.
Indications OF what the crowd was to
be appeared with daybreak. 1t ex-
tended from the curb line OF Fifth ave-
nue.. where watchers SEIZED on points OF
vantage, sat themselves on the hard
stone and determined to walt TO the out
ermost rim of the furthest committing
village. where the family Ford was
loaded with the eight. nine and ten mem
bers of the family and the neighbours. all
bound for one or other OF the crowded
train to Manhattan. From there in
and as the hour advanced the congestion
grew in geometrical progression.
At the 14sth street traffic hub In The
Bronx ticket takers tired OF estimating
| the passengers who had gone through the
wickets. They had got up to 100, 900 by
Q o'clock. Every subway and elevated
train was damned as 1t never is on an
ordinary workday morning. for not only
| was the Manhattan workman going
down town. or up town. as the case
might be, but he was bringing with him
| his family and his brother worker and
| his brother workers family from every
borough OF the city and from every viii
lage that sells monthly ticket to
Gotham.
Wisely the police tabooed the soap box
and the kitchen chair and the step
ladder in the sidewalk jams. Thousands
| of these boxes, many of them carried
for miles, were taken away from their
| owners, broken UP and given to men OF
| the Street Cleaning Department who pa
! trolled the avenue for this purpose. Per-
! sons with chairs and ladders were forced
to abandon them long before they got TO
| the avenue. Persons with boxes would
have b. comnelled ta-ac ukswiss.nsxr
cept that most OF the boxes were camou-
| tagged with paper and Irvine to like like
| innocent containers OF ample lunch.
Probably the most exciting incident
| Of the whole day was when the east
side of Fifth avenue above Fifty-ninth
| street was opened to the standees. Up
| to 9 40 o'clock only ticket holders in the
grand stands and persons holding cards
of admission TO the houses or stands on
the east side OF the street were allowed
| to pass west Of Madison avenue, Nine
| thirty was the zero hour for a charge
| that would have held professional inter-
est for any OF the breakers OF tho Hin
| denturg line who could have seen II.
Spaces Quickly Filled.
| The police on the Fifth avenue corner
gave the signal to those at Madison ave-
\ nue.. Immediately the crowd broke into
run. Athletic young men promptly
| swung into the lead. The asphalt was
L
| spotted with the weird silhouettes Of men
running In overcoats with coat tails fly
| ing. Only for a moment. for behind
them charged the heavy battalions OF
small boys. elderly gentlemen whose
waist measures have kept down, women
| and children, Those who were In any
way 'infirm never had chance for the
| front row.
| BY 9;31 the east sidewalk of Fifth
avenue was damned with a jostling
crowd az II by magis. Only the busiest
running from place to place that any
police ever did kept them on the curb.
But here at least the police were sue
cessful. and save for an occasional slight
bulge at n side street, the marching
troops were able to maintain a platoon
front all along the park.
| The crowds on the sidewalks were but
n small part Of the whole picture Every
window on the whole line OF march held
a bevy OF heads. And not only on the