Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-08-30
New York
Letter

DaN
particularly humid day has left me
feeling crotchetyl And my govt al
ways bothers me more when am
Is threatened.
Anyway, a couple Of comments
on this town OF New York nave
started me looking around the
house for a soap box. After a while
when it coolS off, Ill look Tor a
good corner and 80 into q nice OLD
fashioned harangue.
Meanwhile the heat being what
Il IS. I'll agree TO wrap the little
old island Of Manhattan up and
sell IL 10 the first Indian I meet ior
half what the white man paid.
That's how much / think Of i az
the moments
Still and Notwithstanding, II
Gems only fair to tell the Indian
what hes getting. Which is more
than the Indians did for our fore
fathersl
Feeling this way, and holding no
brief for most Of the manifesto
tons Of the metropolis. l seldom
fail to grow annoyed when / reso
such raps as these: New Yorkism
Is more dangerous TO America than
Communism: NEW York isn't IN
the United States" There is MOTH
ing basically American about New
YORK: Manhattan is an island un-
to itself"
Bunk and triple bunk
All Of which is occasioned by an
article III the current Scribner S
Magazine, written by my young
friend Earl Sparling, who halls
from Oklahoma, and still carries a
mart Of his accent with him. Earl
~Teiterates what we've said time az
ter time: that New York Is a
Stamping ground for the people
from every section Of this nation;
then he continues. Not only IS New
York American, but 1t Is a mirror
IN which America sees herself as
she IS"
Those gentlemen who are 50
cllick IL challenge this huge, though
muscle-bOund metropolis; who can
Il al the names they can think OF
and blame ID for everything that
happens seem TO FORGET that It's lads
and lassies from their own home
towns who made it what IL is today.
EVERYTHING that's here, that's worth
talking about was introduced by the
smart Youngsters from all the
points across the country where
trains stop. And that goes for
everything from skyscrapers 10
flea powder.
The confusing and conglomerate
nature Of New York wares, It's In
dustries. its tastes. It's whole make
III Is due to that very diversified
ton Of interest on the part Of the
Young men and young women VINO
changed their addresses TO New
York City. It's like some incredloIy
huge county fair. to which each
farmer brought something dlffer-
entl OF course that makes II COM
/ plex. scrambled ard slightly cock
/ eyedtI
But it's Americanl Why even the
Empire State building they shout
so much about was put up by some
lads from Kansas, who still refer
to their Chicago mentor as Uncle
Dani' The last name OF Uncle
Dan Is Durham in case you
haven't been introduced 70 the
gent who started the sky-scraper
boom. And he headed west from
GOOD old New England, winding up
In Chicago.
Sparkling. ~ his article. has made
quite a collection Of the Out-ot-
toWners who have put the Manhat-
tan iigSaw pieces together. He cites
for instance that Gerhard Dahl. the
big boss Of the subWayS, came from
TT. Howard, Wis. And various other
subway d~ign'taries have old home
addresses. such as HOughton. Mich.
Saltwater, MINI, Hot Springs,
Ark. and Little Rock.
Broadway's pet blues singers,
chOrines, comics and leads; the
pretty maidens Of the night clubs
and the so-CalIed society dan
GERS: the fellows who run the big
hotels. the bartenders in speak
easies and the bOok-makers out at
the race tracks, Tex Guinan and
Peggy Hopkins JOyce-every symp-
tom and symbol Of the big town
an az them are settlers from the
other states.
II New York isn't IN the Uniteo
States; isn't representative Of the
United States and a pretty good
Illustration Of what United Staters
J can do-what the dickens is2