44
PARTISAN REPIEW
a confidential review of their virtues and a man-to-man solicitation for
patronage from the discriminating citizenry) ...
An overalled Negro staggered beneath a legend: The Pilgrim
Fa·
thers. Now followed grimy men in overalls who gravely led teams of
oxen pulling the float. Cameramen on high wooden stands bent low
and fumbled with blade folds of cloth and shot white rabbits of smoke
thickly skyscraperward.
"Lift me, daddy," the children begged, "lift me, daddy, I can't see!"
On the float the Pilgrims, a group of grayclad puritans in tipsyred
masks-patricians out of Who's Who--leaned against a purple rocket
flaring sailship grounded on a rock coast and blew kisses.
Men in dungarees followed the float, holding up wires.
. . . the hotels, the shops, the restaurants, the theayters, the factories,
ladeez and genmen, along the line of march have taken this opportunity
presented them by his Gracious Highness in whose fortunes after
all,
ladeez and genmen, not only they but we-e, the pee-eeple, when all is said
and done, also share, with dividends not only material, ah! if you look
around you! the shining happy faces, the honest working people. . ..
An untoward incident happened now, one of many such this evening.
A man was passing out handbills. A foot-policeman; on the lookout for
Reds since the City Hall battle this morning, spotting him, jolted
his
way through the crowd, twisted the distributor's arms and started
to
drag him off. Mounted police rode spurring. Horsehoofs reared,
wome~~
screamed. Men hard against women from behind availed themselves
of the general crowding and excitement to press with thighs and fingers.
A young man and woman, hurrying to no destination, dodged down
the street. The man, speaking low, brushed strips of toilet paper from
the girl's furred schoulders.
"I don't understand you, Frankie," she was saying, "I don't see
why
you should want to throw up your job for such a reason." ·
"They gave me a five dollar raise," Frankie was saying, "because
I
fixed a paper that showed where we could beautify the city by throwing
out sixty families down on Third Street and tear up the ground.
What
a joke! We had money and pull and those colored people hadn't.
No
more nice going, Frankie. I tell you, I'm tired of playing the side
that
always pays."
A derisive cheer went up from sympathizers as a policeman, leaning
over too far with his club, fell from his horse.
"Look at that," Frankie said, "goddamit, I'm ashamed of myself!"
