Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-08-18
Fans Travel Hundreds
OF Miles 10 File Past
Bier Of Babe Ruth i
BY the Assoeiofsd Press

sons from hundreds of miles.
4 Long before dawn, crowds began
lining up to file silently and tear
fully past the candle lighted bier
of the idolized king of baseball.
About $4,000 persons viewed his
body yesterday and last night. 1t
lies in the stadium lobby a couple
of hundred feet behind the home
| plate from which he drove many of
| the home runs that brought him
| fame.
The Babe, racked by pain and
wasted by cancer for nearly two
years, died Monday night at the
age Of SO.
Lineup 10 Abreast.
The crowd lined up 10 abreast
outside the stadium, but passed by
the casket placed in the center of
the lobby In double line. About
half the crowd consisted of women
and children.
Their dress ranged from work
clothes to sports attire and more
modish garb. Many carried lunch
boxes.
Many Of those in line today came
from Massachusetts,, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Upstate New York,
New Jersey, Delaware and Mary
land. They came in automobiles,
taxis and chartered buses.
They stood patiently as the sun
came up, quiet, remembering
throng.
Children passing the bier knew
the Babe only as legend. But
their parents remembered him in all
his ebullient, ball-smashing reality.
He was a part of a fast-fading era,
but many of the records he set
still stand.
Many in line had old associations
with the Babe they wanted to re-
capture momentarily at his bier.
Veteran Recalls Incident.
Typical was Aloysius White, 26,
Of Poughkeepsie, war veteran who
lost his right leg in Italy. There
were several thousand ahead of him
in line. His leg bothered him, but
he waited in pain until he was later
moved to the head of the line.
Mr.. White recalled that in 1884
when he was in st. Joseph's Or
phanage in Poughkeepsie the Babe
brought $50 of the children to a
Boston Red Sox-Yankees game in
| the stadium.
What a day" Mr.. White said.
"The Babe sat me on his lap before
the game and shook my hand. Babe
was my guiding interest"
First in line today were Jerry
Clifford, %, and William Gamble,
10, of Brooklyn. Behind them were
Gerald Holste, 80, meat dealer,
and his wife, Rose, Is, who drove
from Baltimore early this morning.
1t was nearly midnight last night
before the last of the mourners had
viewed the casket.
Wait in Line for Hours.
Most of the crowd waited in line
for almost two hours for final
glimpse of the man who always
made spectacular drama out of a
ball game.
At times the line Of mourners-
standing five abreast - completely
surrounded the huge park.
Except for the solemnity of the
crowd, the scene could have been a
hashback to the days when the Babe
was packing them in The young
sters and oldsters that came to see
him in death were the same kind of
people who damned the bleachers to
see him swat a homer into the
rightfield ands-"Ruthville.
There was the same stream of
human beings pouring out of the
subway stations and converging on
the stadium, the same mounted and
foot policemen controlling the lines,
the same working men in shirt
sleeves, the schoolboys in their skull
caps. the old timers, the housewives
and the hotdogs sizzling on a grill
under the elevated.
But though the setting was the
same, the mood was not.
Some Sob Openly.
Some sobbed openly as they
walked past the body of the man
who, more than any other, SYM
bolized Americas national sport. |
Many had tears in their eyes. and
others paused BRIEFLY to kneel and |
pray.
Last in the line last night was Biz
Robinson, 70-year-old colored dancer
and longtime friend of Ruth. Mr..
Robinson gazed silently at the for
mer Yankee star for a moment,
then took off his glasses and wiped
them as he walked away. 1t was
the second time Mr.. Robinson had
passed the casket during the night.
AS police were preparing to close
the doors to the stadium lobby, 200
more men and women arrived. They !
explained they were unable to reach
the stadium earlier because of night |
jobs.
Casket Is Reopened.
On instructions from Ruth's
widow, Claire, the casket was re-
opened and they fled past.
Then the lights were dimmed,
leaving the room shadowy. Flicker
ing candlelight played against the
rotunda's massive pillars. The
backdrop was of ported palms and
floral arrangements, a crucifix, and
beyond that a big picture of the
Babe making a home-run wallop.
Ruths body was taken to the sta
dunn late in the afternoon in a i
hearse escorted by two motorcycle
patrolmen. A small crowd already
had gathered.
Atop the casket as it was carried
inside was single wreath of roses,
with a plain card on which was
written:
''All my love to Pop-Dot."
The signature was that of Mrs.
Dorothy Flanders, one of Ruth's
adopted daughters.
Services Tomorrow.
Services for the one-time Yankee
slugger will be at II am. tomorrow
with solemn high requiem mass
| in Do 10 IL will