Evening star., 1924-07-25
THIS AND THAT
BY c. f. TRACEWELL.

pennsylvania avenue, in it's ordinary
everyday working clothes, is decided
ly different thoroughfare from the Penn
sylvania avenue of great parades
Gone are the waving flags, the blar-
| ing bands, the Presidents, generals, SOL
diers cannon. stretched ropes, police,
Boy Scouts and all that go to make the
street celebrated throughout the nation
1t is just the Pennsylvania avenue
Washingtonians live with, day by day,
| an avenue of contrasts, a street of the
beautiful and the ugly, the grand and
the ridiculous, on which we walk and
ride about our daily work.
+ r.
Aside from the magnificent Capitol
and Treasury, at either end of its main
portion, several other fine buildings, and
its notable width, the Pennsylvania ave-
nue. of everyday has nothing particular
to distinguish it. Gwen the Capitol and
Treasury cannot be said to be strictly
on the Avenue)
The greatest enthusiasts have found it
necessary at times TO apologize for the
wide way, on account of the heteroge-
ncouS collection Of buildings of all sizes,
heights, colors, materials and general
outline that stand along it.
Some day the Government may con-
denim the entire south side of Pennsyl-
beauty, one with a greater Mall but for
the present we who live here have to
take the Avenue ''as is"
X 4
Not far from the Capitol live the Chi
Eet a
own New Year in their own way. To lis
they are a strange folk The average
visitor never gets any farther than the
main room of their shops.
But know how to do it and a bit more
of the Orient is yours. A detective Of
the metropolitan police force makes a
good guide, not for safetys sake, par
ticularly, but because the Chinese resi-
dents know and respect him.
Behind the shops proper, where one
may BUY ChlnaWdre, tea and other COM
moditieS, may be seen another room,
where there is an ordinary round dining
room table of the golden oak finish so
popular some years ago. Bunks are ar
ranged around the walls. Here the Chi
nese play their card games, unmolested
by the police.
There are strange tales of a. loss
cent about that II is doubtful if a COP
looks in there any more than the casual
visitor. This is America where a man
may worship according to the dictates
or his own conscience
Peer through a window. There sits a
Chinese grandfather. attired in flowing
black silk robes, a black round hat on
his head, his gray hair showing at the
edges
He writes with a small brush. but YOU
- vI,-f
ference If you were closer. He is writ
ing in gold on red paper, carefully
brushing down each character.
1t is a quarter to o'clock in the
morning, one Of the busiest times of the
long day on Pennsylvania avenue
Automobiles, street cars, "shanks'
mares" carry the thousands of Govern
ment employees to their work. Between
8 80 and 8 o'clock is the busy period,
practically all the workers getting to
their desks on time.
AS the hands of the great clock in
the Post Office Department tower near
the hour an acceleration of speed on
the part of the already hurrying en-
ployes may be noted. At one minute of
O'Clock some break into a run.
Now the whistle has blown 1t is
after the magic hour Every Govern
ment worker is slowed away safely
Pennsylvania avenue settles down for
its morning run.
There seems little stacking in the
number Of automobiles however BY
ones, twos, threes, fours, dozens, they
glide up and down the Avenue, tieing up
pedestrians on street car platforms for
minutes at time.
Woman pedestrians are more brave
or more reckless-than the men. The
latter will quietly stand, waiting for the
women are not so.
a woman will dive into a street
swarmng with automobiles, glare at
the drivers, thread her way into a hard
look scared to death, finally get to
the curb. Why some of them do not get
killed is mystery.
Perhaps the outstanding change in
Pennsylvania avenue during the last 10
years is this increase in the number of
automobiles. Even the youngest of us
can remember when a few horse-drawn
wagons would be the only things in
sight up and down the Avenue on hot
summer afternoon. That is all over now
X *
Two colored men, in blue shirts and
khaki pants, drive by in an old ash
wagon. 1t is a ramshacklely vehicle,
with a rib-lined horse ahead of it. Poor
old boss. he has seen better days.
An Italian fruit cart man has
branched out in the world. Instead of
pushing the heavily laden cart all by
himself he has a colored helper, who
works at one side of the handles.
A small boy on a bicycle nearly gets
run down by an automobile, but man
ages to extricate himself just in the nick
of time, whatever the nick of time is.
A pretty girl with an armful of roses
walks along the sidewalk.
The gypsies are coming-no, they are
already here!
Not very far from the Post Office De-
partment may be seen a gypsy family
plying it's new trade of ..phrenologist"
1t used to be fortune telling" but the
circle of time has brought the goold old
chronological fake back again.
All the gypsy stands on Pennsylvania
avenue are alike This one is a sample
of them all They occupy a doorway,
over which is large colored sign.
See Her." reads another sign along
side the doorway. The sign goes on to
state that it would be mighty good
thing for the passerby to consult her
about ANYTHING he is going to do. from
buying oil stock to taking a trip down
ha river Sha ran read the fl,tura vo,,