Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-03-04
S|GHTSEERS JAM
:. CAPITAL CEN7ERS
Visitors Out Early, With High
Hats and Sleek Cars
in Abundance.

Bent on seeing rs much Of Washing
ton as possible before the homeward
trek begins this afternoon, large part
OF the throng Of visitors rose early this
morning and crowded the cityis points
Of interest. As fresh arrivals fiocked
In through Union Station. the airports
and highways, taxicabs and sightseeing
buses did a thriving trade
The clear, sunny weather served as an
extra inducement to the visitors to
make the rounds of the Washington
Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the
public buildings and the other beau.y
spots which could be visited before
noon.
Estimates of the Number Of visitors
In town or on the way varied from
10o. 900 to 100000. In spite. Of the plea
Of the Police Department that visitors
leave their cars at home, thousands
used the family automobile and on the
downtown streets 1t seemed that, except
for the taxicabs, there were more cars
with foreign tags that District licenses
on the streets.
Stage Own Auto Parade.
Traffic was slow on the downtown
streets and came almosc to stand
still on Pennsylvania avenUe last night
when the visitors staged an II .omptu
inaugural parade of their own, crowd
ing the historic avenue bumper to
bumper, with much honking AMI gen.
eral excitement. The one-way diagonal
streets leading eff the avenue seemed
to battle many, Of the out-of-towners
and they headed into them in the wrong
direction every now and then, making
the snarls worse than ever. TRAFFIC
policemen at each intersection patiently
Strengthened things out, a task made
easier by the general good nature pre-
vailing. The jam was expected to be
several times worse later.
Street vendors Of souvenirs. flags, in
augural programs and special editions
of newspapers took their places early
and hawked their wares industriously.
There is special regulation against
selling confetti or ''ticklers' during this
parade.
Silk Hats in Abundance.
Judging by the sights at the Union
Station and the various hotels the silk
hat industry must be booming. Seldom
| in the past decade have so many gentle
men been seen in daylight attired in
formal regalia from top to toe.
Most of the silk hats. however. be-
longed not to the distinguished visitors.
but to those assigned to welcome them
to the city and escort them to their
stopping places Each Governor on ar
rivel was entitled to an escort OF three
silk hats. Thus the Governors alone
were responsible for the sprouting of
80 silk hats on the city's streets before
the parade had even started.
The same must be true of sleek, ex-
pensive automobiles. used to whisk the
dignitaries here and there. All Of the
limousines seemed to have tops high
enough to accommodate silk hats. For
tunately for Gov. Buck of Delaware
he was wearing derby. He is more
than 6 feet tall. The family flivvers,
| took the honors for numbers. There
may be depression on. and the banks
| in most States may be closed, but
! Washingtons streets this morning bore
eloquent witness to the fact there are
still thousands of persons left with
money to buy gasoline for long trips.
Union Station Thronged.
As early as am. Union Station
was damned with humanity The crush
continued until shortly before parade
the concourse or the waiting room at
more than snails pace The in.or-
| nation, telephone. telegraph, baggage
| checking and other of the booths at the
station were all packed beyond capac-
| ity. 1t took anywhere from 20 to 40
minutes to make telephone call and
| there were equally long waits every
where else.
In addition to the crowd Of average
citizens, there were the respondent uni
forms of the Richmond Blues, numer-
| Gus high school cadet bands. Indians
in brilliant war paint and feathers and
| the inevitable reception committees in
silk hats.
As the crowd eased its way through
the doors. there were shouted warnings
from station attendants to leave i'm
mediately for the parade route for
standing room.
The benches in the waiting room were
all in use throughout the night by per-
| sons unable to get accommodations
Many persons slept in automobiles along
the roads near the station and then
thronged into nearby restaurants, where
they stood in line waiting for break
fast.