Evening star., 1928-10-13

The pageant of the city streets is al
ways interesting. A complex thing 1t
is. a combination of human nature and
the works of man, the one a setting
for the other.
Especially on sunny October day
does a thoroughfare such as Pennsyl-
vania avenue, parade ground Of the
National Capital, take on aspects Of
Importance to the observer of men and
manners.
It is not necessary to journey to for
eirn lands to see humanity as 1t Is.
All the glamour of Bagdad is here for
one who is willing to accept familiar
people in the commonplace settings
without refusing them the quality OF
interest simply because their clothes are
not of strange cut and their language
other than ours.
Mostly we see the old streets with
ewes used to the familiar. 1t is only
when one makes a deliberate attempt
to look at men and things with strange
ewes that he catches the sense OF the
unusual in the usual.
It is amazing how interesting plain
human beings become II one Will calm
ly say to himself, Now I am going 10
see you as you really are. not as you
seem to be because there are so many
OF you'll"
Here goes chubby girl in a bright
blue silk dress. A yellow scarf is cast
over her shoulders. Surely there Is no
other woman in sight at all like her,
yet the hurrying man or woman noticeS
her not at all. She is simply one OF
the crowd. No one would call her ex-
actly pretty Her stockings bag at the
knees, lamentable thing. truly, since
a little more care would have kept
them taut.
Here are a man and a woman OF
tvpe perhaps seen more often in New
York City than In these parts. They
are of a light brown complexion. dressed
in clothes of exactly the same shade
but of much lighter tone.
We have next score of staid males,
all exactly alike, dressed in blue, gray
and black, the normal trio for men
engaged in the various occupations OF
city life.
Even the observer with the best will
In the world finds 1t impossible to dis
criminate between them. They look
alike. dress alike, walk alike. Some
thing would have to happen for him
to be able to pick the leader.
An automobile smash-up, for in
stance, would send 19 OF them Scurry-
ing to the scene. The twentieth, bored,
might flash smile-and in that smile
could be read a whimsical nature not
at the mercy of chance events.
Here comes proud papa with two
boys in striped jerseys. They look for
all the world like small two-legged
zebras suspended from the right and
left arms, respectively, of the parental
tree. The old man looks around to see
If the world is gazing with rapt atten-
ton at his little ones, but, finding that
the world of the moment Is occupied
with gazing at the nifty blond over
there, turns away about his proper
business.
An officer of the law, neatly dressed
In blue, with a shining cap, walks and
talks familiarly with young man in
tweeds. We never knew a cop person.
ally. We knew a fireman and rail-
road engineer and a taxicab driver,
but never a policeman.
This one must be off duty He steps
to one side to allow a typical middle
aged woman to pass The street Is full
of middle-aged ladies. Some of them
have baskets filled with good things to
eat. Others carry containers of heavy
paper held by strings, and we are afraid
that they will break. If they should