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

particularly humid day has left me
feeling crotchetyl And my govt al
ways bothers me more when ram
Is threatened.
ANYWAY. a couple Of comments
on this town OF New York have
started me looking around the
house for a soap box. After a while,
when II co0ls off. Ill look for a
good corner and 20 into a nice old
fashioned harangue.
Meanwhile the heat being what
il is. Ill agree TO wrap the little
Old island Of Manhattan up and
sell IL 10 the first Indian ! meet for
half what the white man paid.
That's how much I think Of 1t at
the moments .
Still ana Notwithstanding. It
seems only fair 10 tell the Indian
what he's getting. Which Is more
than the Indians did for our fore
fathersl
Feeling this way. and holding no
brief for most Of the manifesto
tlons OF the metropolis. / seldom
fail u gro annoyed when / read
such a D 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
work: Manhattan is an island I'M
10 itself"
Bunk and triple bunk
All OF which IS ~occasioned by an
article in the current Scribners
MAGAZINE. written by my young
friend Earl Sparling. who halls
from Oklahoma. and still carries q
part oil his accent with him. Earl
r~eiterates 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 ISL.
Those gentlemen who are SO
quick to challenge this huge, though
muscle bound metropolis, who cal
~ All the names they can think OF
and blame IL for everything that
happens seem 10 forget that it's lads
and laSsies from their own home
towns who made ID 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 Tor
everything from skyscrapers TO
flea powder.
The confusing and conglomerate
nature Of New York wares, IT'S IN
dustrics. It's tastes. its whole make
10 IS due to that very diversified
ton Of interest or the part OF the
young men and young women who
changed their addresses 70 New
York CITY. It's like some incredibly
huge county fair. 10 which each
farmer brought something differ
cntl OF course that makes II COM
pleX. scrambled and slightly cock
eyedii
But it's Americanl Why even the
Empire state building they shout
50 much about was put UP by some
lads from Kansas, who still refer
to their Chicago mentor as Uncle
DAM" The last name Of Uncle
Dan Is Burnham in case YOU
haven't been introduced to the
gent who started the sky-scraper
boom. And he headed west from
good old New England, winding up
in Chicago.
Sparling. ia his article. has made
quite a collection Of the out-of-
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 dignitaries have old home
addresses. such as Houghton, Mich.
Saltwater, Mimi, Hot Springs,
Ark. and Little Rock.
Broadways pet blues singers,
chOrines. comics and leads; the
pretty maidens OF the night clubs
and the ~sO-called society dan
GERS, the fellows who run the big
hotels. the ~bartenders in speak
easies and the bOOk-makers out az
the race tracks: Tex Guinan and
Peggy Hopkins Joyce-every symp-
tom and symbol Of the big town
All of them are settlers from the
other states.
If New York isn't in the United
States. isn't representative Of the
United States and a pretty good
Illustration If what United Skaters
can do-What the dickens is?