The sun., 1919-05-07
RED FEATHER
PARADE FIRES
VICTORY WAY
Three States in Colonnade
and Big Bill Edwards's
COattails Burned.
SC0RCHING TALK RUINED
Gov. Smiths Plug Hat Also
Suffers as Sparklers Live
Up to Name.

Nine and three-eighths square yards
OF broadcloth were burned Off the left
hand coattail Of the morning coat worn
oy the Hon. William II. ("Big Bill)
Edwards, Internal Revenue Collector,
when the torchlight Victory Loan pa
rade which he and Gov. Al Smith led
up Fifth avenue last night set IRE to
the whole doggone north end of Victory
Way in Park avenue, and a sailor tried
70 climb a sixty foot flagpole through
me flames to save the Jolly old Stars
ana Stripes, and an army Lieutenant
pulled the sailor down and saved the
nag himself. and streams of water which
came instantaneously from the noxzles
OF Engine Company S-which happened
to be selling Victory Loan bonds from
It's truck at Park avenue and Fiftieth
street, where the fire started-busted
the torchlight parade in the middle, and
a Boy Scout tried to throw none other
than Owen Eagan. inspector Of combus-
tibles Of the Fire Department back Of
the Historically formed fire lines, and
Fourth Deputy Police C'mish Frederick
A. Wallis had to spank the Boy Scout.
TO resume: The sparks from the sput-
tering sparklers which set FIRE to the
Dig altar at the north end Of the VIC
tory Way Just as the last ten yards of
the Hon. Mr.. Edwards's coattails were
passing given point of fiame--the
flames mounting as high as the tall
apartment house roofs on either side of
the avenue-also set fire to the ever
green" decorations on the State columns
two blocks to the south. The States of
Arkansas. Rhode Island and Missouri
were also total loss, the result being
that there are only forty-five States left
IN the Union as this lump of literary art
enores to press.
Every Window IL Filled.
All Park avenue draped itself out of
swagger apartment house windows as
the happiest go lucky. or the happy go
luckiest, or whatever II was, red feather
pee-rade set fire to itself. A little forest
IRE was started by flying sparks in the
fuzz Of Gov. Al Smiths plug hat, but
fortunately was stamped out by Joe
Bsee Humphreys before the entire for
est was ruined
In the general excitement of q fire at
torchlight pee-rade Fire Lieut.. Patrick
Meaney of Engine Company 225, Brook
as a spectator also got the notion that
II was up to him to save the grand old
Stars and Str!pes-a nag measuring
30 by 40 feet-from the flying sparks,
and began to climb UP Honorable Ed
wards to get at the flag before II
dawned upon him Chat Mr.. Edwards was
Mr.. Edwards. g.
Fiery Speech Damaged.
Lieut.. Meaney had placed one of the
rescued camp chairs from the burning
altar" against the Hon. Edwardss ia
cade and after mounting the chair had
dug his fingers into high vest pocket
OF Big Bill with the hope Of pulling him
self TO the level OF the third floor OF the
neighboring apartment houses and 20
reach for the flag when Big Bill, MOTTO
Ing that something was annoying him,
brushed his front waist line impa tiently.
BY one stroke OF the hand the Hon. Ed
wards brushed Fire Lieut.. Meaney OF
the belt line. Lieut.. Meaney fell sixty
two feet to the street but was unin-
jured.
report was current shortly after !
o'clock this morning that Collector Ed
wards's typewriter speech was also a
total loss in the fire that brought the
pee-rade to glorious climax. Sparks
that had made ruin. so rumor had Il,
OF Collector Edwardss coattails had
jumped from floor to floor to floor TO
floor to floor to floor to floor of his
clothes. and had finally burned away the
exordium OF the advance copy of the
speech. also totally destroyed the body
OF Big Bills address, and even singed
the peroratlon
But you may say for me-" said Col
lector Edwards while the flames were
doing their darndest and the Boy Scout
was still being spanked by Deputy Po-
lice Cmish Wallis-who spanked gently
and wound up by telling the boy he was
a great little fellow-'that. fire or no
IRE. ] spoke in part as follows" And
here Bill. always brushing flying sparks
OF the other coattail, said what he was
going to say about the Victory Loan n
ne mad had chance to say It,
IN brief the Victory Loan speech of
Big BIZ Edwards. which was a total
loss. spoke we'll OF the loan. II even
went to the extreme OF asking that the
cheap skate, selfish, lowlife, penurious
money grabbing. narrow minded. white
nyered' no good citizens OF New York
or no account ancestry who 40 far hsd
not doubled their subscriptions 10 tba
Victory Liberty Loan ought 10 realize
mat they were even lower than Biz Bill
said they were,
But TO cut out the persihage In this
descriptive narrative and coma dou,n 90
the cold facts OF the first "torchIi1ht"
parade Manhattan had seen s,nca ~.
cohorts OF James C. Blaine wore oil
cIotn capes to save their 1874 autumn
clothes from oil stains-to come down
10 the cold facts OF the processIon 4,
should be said here. firstly, that even
before the fires started IN Victory Wav
the pee-rade was hot stun. II w,s ~
not tnat shortly before dawn this morn
ing tnrty-eIght hose companies were
sun playing high pressure on Big Bill
ana wandering about his person with
lanterns. dark lanterns and elac,r,n
searchlishts, And Brooklyn hremen ava
insurance company salvage men. or A..
patrols. were covering Gov. Al sniths
pug hat with sheets OF tarpaulin TO save
II from damage by water.
5000 March TO Boom Loan.
The heroes Of our story. Al and p,1
Bill. innocenuy started out shortly he.
fore o'clock last night at the head a,
pee-rade which had no idea OF start.
Ing a hre. What Al and BIZ wanted N
DO was TO start up Fifth avenue at the
head OF about Ave thousand Victory
workers 80 that they might urge the In.
nocent bystanders toward a state OF en-
thusiasm which would result In Victory
Note buying.
1t was RED Feather Pee-rade "
Big Bill. for instance. had big red feath-
ers sticking up so closely from his hat
band that he looked like a particularIv
handsome sitting Bull, or three or four
Sitting Bulls all grouped into one hu-
man clump. And back OF Big Bill. Al
Smith CAL as has been intimated, is an
oliver street lad who now holds doun