Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-09
PURITANIcAL PLYMOUTH
One Has Only to Look Around to
Know Why Pilgrim Fathers Left
There-MornIns or After,
noon, One or the Other
BY GEORGE NOx MCCAIN
Torduny, Deyonshire. Ensla,

TorquHy, Devonshire, England.
HAVE discovered the real reason why the
Pilgrim fathers left Plymouth.
They grew weary Of its mock puritanical
Sunday ways.
AS, for instance:
The old town closes up tight as wax on
Sunday that is, to all appearances and for
On all the main streets not only are the
stores closed. and Slinds drawn, but tar.
pnulins are stretched around the outside OF
the show windows. (The tarpaulins have
the concerns advertisements on them in
Not a t,,lley car runs. They call them
Trans -
The streets, principal ones, are dead and
deserted
The slow. solemn tones of church bells fill
the soft, salty air during the morning.
IF YOU long for cigar or cigarette
Or, II you are shy Of bread, or cucum-
bers, or postcards, or salt mackerel, or
Or or you want to buy trinket or some
Take a, walk UP a side street and the
gentlemanly grocer, or the lisping lady in
the candy and soft drink emporium, or the
cigar and postcard shop is ready to serve
Then about 2 o'clock P. NJ. the grand
transformation takes place.
Plymouth becomes Caracas, or Seville,
or any other modern community or the
: Latins or Latin Americans.
In Caracas and Seville you 20 to church
enveloped in your special clonk Of sanctty
with somber eyes In the morning.
In the afternoon you go to the bullfght,
and then you attend the opera at night.
It's somewhat that way in Plymouth.
A LONG about 2 o'clock the ancient town
"A comes to life
Church bells give way to tramcar gongs.
Toward evening the saloons, or bars
pubs" as they are called in the vernacular
few drops of Scotch" and any other old
thing you want.
Cigar stores take down their camouflage
canvases.
Plymouth has been Transformed.
About s 80 p. NJ. the streets are crowded.
. People walk four abreast. There's a
great lot of laughing and jollying.
Coming home from church?
Not bit of It.
Coming home from the free band concert
on the Hoe, as the sea promenade is called.
"\NHY do you stop all the trolleys for
w half a day on Sunday?" I asked
native of the town.
He cast n look of injured surprise on
me as he replied solemnly:
wy: to permit the trolleymen to go to
church,
AS the city owns the trolleys, you have
transcendent example of corporate sodli-
ness-by proxy.
/ wouldn t object to the scheme if they'd
only stop the motormen smoking pipes.
The conductors smoke cigarettes.
Where time does not permit him to finish
it, he rubs the fire out and sticks the "fag,'
or butt, behind his ear till he can get an
opportunity to light it again.
When the tram comes to the end OF the
line, does the conductor swing the trolley
rod on top of the car with rope as Mitten's
men do?
Well, rather not!
He grabs a twenty foot bamboo pole with
n hook in the end and thus reverses the
trolley rod.
Some wet, foggy. slippery day the steel
hook on the end Of that fishing pole is going
to slip.
1t will come in contact with the current.
Then there'll be n new voice heard in the
angelic chorus that evening.
IT'S pretty small world after all.
l. Suggestions Of home in faces or names
constantly arise in the most unexpected
manner.
Down Mt the Milbay Station of the South
western Railroad l came across the follow
ing on poster: