The Washington herald., 1919-01-07

Special Correspondent of The Washington Herald.
New York, Jan. 6.-The news of the
closing of Dolans beef and" restau-
rant on Park Row awakens memories
in the mind of nearly every writer
who served an apprenticeship In Park
Row. There wasn't much to Dolan's
but atmosphere. The original Do
Ian passed on and it was handed
down to his nephew. Peter Meehan.
who made enough TO quit and is go-
ing to travel with his wife. He al
ways wanted to see Yellowstone Ma
tional Park.
Dolan's was a cheap little restau-
rant with bare tables but excellent
beef and pork and beans. There was
something about the place that held
the customer-something indefinable
Perhaps ii was the elder Dolan stand
ing at the block slicing the beef and
later the younger Peter Meehan, or
maybe it was the food itself.
I know that used to go there be-
cause l had long heard of the place
In the West. 1t was redolent of jour-
nalistic and political traditions, as
oehtted an eating house within hail
ing distance of the City Hall, and un-
I'll within recent years of the great
newspaper offices.
The atmosphere was democratic
rather than exclusive. Horace Gree
ley partook OF coffee and "sinkers"
there, often at the news table with
tribune printers. Big Tim Sulli-
van used to eat there when he was a
sort OF padrone to newsboys smaller
IMAM himself and glad to avail them
selves of his superior credit
Little Tim" Sullivan, Abe Levy.
Paddy Diver and Tom Foley were
among the politicians of an elder day
who favored Dolan's. There was a
famous painting on the wall of a bar
rel of money-the bills flowing out
over the sides. 1t caused a lot of
newspaper discussion and finally. on
| account of it being so natural. DoIan
got special permit from the govern
ment to keep the picture on the wall.
Dolan and Meehan grew wealthy
but never stepped out of their cir
Gle. Dolan used to spend his Sun
days tramping over Jersey hills with
Red Mike, his staunch and loyal old
waiter. Red Mike quit recently,
worth $4,000. Until recently moth
ing at Dolans was more than 10
cents. Finally he had to raise beef
ana TO 10 cents. He apologized
to his customers for it.
sandy SpenCer's Live and Let
Live" at Fulton and Broadway, and
Mike Lyons. in the Bowery, were
contemporary with DoIan's in davs
gone by. and all established their
regulations on their good food They
were a part and parcel of a large
element in the life of the town when
Harrigan and Hart were popular,
and Tony Pastor was deveIopIne
some of the best theatrical talent
the country has ever known.
This is a little story of The Men
| Who Walk Alone: They are the
subway trackwalkers, the unsung
; heroes of a literal under world. All
| night long and every night, down in
the dark entrails of the island, they
stalk abroad on a nocturnal circuit
! OF life and death. There are only
fifteen men, but in their grease
stained hands, brown as iodine, lie
| the ends of the life threads OF the
| little world man calls Manhattan.
In those hands are the strings
that move 6.000,0 900 puppets: all the
1 dAHig VI "OTheTS GROWING SAIL TO sur
cease: all tho cohorts OF dalliers
! bustling to futile thither and yon;
a million women hurrying from
scrubbing pals to sculleries: a mil
lion men speeding home and family
ward.
These hands. the terrestrial agents
of the unknown Taker of Life, are
toilers' hands, Enarled and SCARED
\ bV elemental conflict
While the world is bound in the
underground iron cars, reading
each others news sheets. and the
train is pushing it's impudent nose
| into the black vital regions OF the
earth, sometimes it passes in the
swirling darkness the wild flicker of
a fieeting lantern. The trackwalk-
ers see that every rail rings true.
that every bolt is frightened and
that the third rail is clear. In his
hands he holds the safety of thou
sands upon thousands. He is known
only by a number.