The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1920-09-04
The City Of
Dreadful
Night

rancs ment rsfA the wheeler Sus-
dicafc. Inc.
During the recent warmed spell. /"
said my friend Carney. driver OF ex-
!. press wagon No sses. "a good many
opportunities was had Of observing
human nature thru peckaboo waists
The park commissioner and the
commissioner OF polls and the for
estry commission gets together and
agrees to let the people sleep In the
parks until the weather bureau gets
the thermometer down again TO a
living basis. SO they draws up
sopen-Air resolutions and has them
%. KID By the secretary OF agricul.
turc. Mr.. comstock and the Village
Improvement Mosquito Exterminat
ling society Of South Orange. ~. j.
when the proclamation was made
bopening mp 70 the people by special
grant the public parks that belong 10
Fem. there was q general exodus into
Central park by the communities ex'
s1Dting along its borders In ten min
meen after sundown you'd have
nonGht 1hae these vns an undrvss
>rohGnfuDl q : po<n3o famine In Ire
- and 8 1kiahineff mAnsacre- They
~ms b. FAMILIES. .enngS. ciambAke
\ 'ocisties. clans. clubs and tribes
1S'om AL st6es 10 enjoy cool sieep
20 the grasp- Them that didn't have
III stoves brought along plenty OF
bhnkcss. 20 as not To be upset with
the cold and discomforfs OF sleeping
outdoors BY building fires Of the
- a ks f.x.~ In
che bridle paths. and burrowing un.
1z1er the grass where the ground was
NJ enough. the likes OF 5000 head
II people successfully battied against
{7he night air in Central park alone.
"Ye know live In the elegant
furnished apagtment house called
the Bc<rsheba Flats. over against
the elevated portion Of the New York
Central railroad
when the order come 10 the flats
that all hands must turn out and
sleep in the park. according 10 the
instructions Of the consulting com.
mitfee Of the City club and the
Murphy Draying. Returning and sod
ding company, there was look OF a
couple of fires and an eviction all
over lne place.
The tenants began TO pack UP
feather beds. rubber boots. strings
Of garlic hot water bags portable
canoes and scuttIes OF coal 10 take
slong for the sake OF comfort The
sidewalk looked like a Russian camp
IN Oyannas line OF march. There
was wailing and lamenting up and
down stairs from Danny Greohe-
ean's flat on the top floor TO tho
apartment Of Missis GoIdsteinupski
on the first.
For why says Danny. coming
down and Raging in his blue yarn
socks to the janitor. should / be
turned out OF me comfortable apart
mtnts TO lay In the dirty grass like
q rabbit 'Tis like Jerome 10 stir up
trouble wild small matters like this
instead OFF,"
~sWhist. says officer Reagon on
the sidewalk, rapping with his club.
N sTfs not jerome. 'Tis by order OF
th< polls commissioner. Turn out
nrvery one OF yez and hike yerseives
~ the park
$ssNow. twas a peaceful and happy
kome that all Of us had In them
<name Bsersheba Flats. The O'Dowds
and the Steinowitzes and the Gala
hans and the cohens and the Spiz-
SMELLS and the NcManuses and the
Z spiegelmsyers and the Joneses--all
the nations Of us, we lived like one
big family together. And when the
hot nights come along We kept a
line OF childher reaching from the
front door to KeIly's on the corner.
passing along the cans Of beer from
one to another without the trouble
Of running after IL. And with no
more clothing on than Is provided
for in the statutes. sitting in all the
windies, with a cool growler in
every one. and your feet out in the
air. and the Rosenstein girls singing
on the fire escape of the sixth floor.
and Patsy Rourke's flute going In
the eighth, and the ladies calling
each other synonyms out the win.
dies. and now and then breeze
sailing In over Mister Depew's Cen.
trail tell you the Beersheba Flats
was a surpmer resort that made the
catskills look like a hole in the
ground. with his person full Of
beer and his feet out the windy and
hts old woman frying pork chops
Over charcoal furnace and the
| cbiIdher dancing In cotton slips on
| the sidewalk around the organ
EGrinder and the rent paid for week
what does n man want better on
. hot night than that? And then
comes this ruling Of the polls driving
people out o. their comfortable
homes To sleep in parks--'twas for
III the world like a ukase Of them