38 
“Extra, double extra 1! Bloody murder in the big sky lark 
hotel. Train wreck. Limiteds collide head on. Hundred 
killed.” 
People looked out the windows from high and low buildings 
at the crowd of life, had their say and a lot at that. The fire 
department goes rambling, rumbling by in double gong dinging 
and ding gonging scaring fear into humans. “Bow-bow-wow.” 
Dog fight in the street, big black and little white dog chewing 
each other and little dog licked. “Bow-wow-wow.” 
Men passed in and out the saloon on the corner, married, 
single, other conditions and classes of life’s graded life’s acts. 
Some sober, some drunk, some sane, some insane, some leaning 
against the building their thoughts weary of life and afraid of 
death. In the alley nearby white and black kids were going it 
hot, sweating over the square tumbling dirty bony loaded 
marbles. Black kid, “Come seben eleben, for de big water- 
mellon, ha, dats it. Come seben eleben again, ha-ha-ha, dats it, 
de fat juicy bacon.” White kid, “Come seven eleven for a pint 
of booze and a game of pool, come again for a dance with the 
gal, a oyster and liquor stew.” Little hungry dirty children, 
some homeless, together with little children of plenty and no 
want were in the crowd of life. 
The hurry-up auto that gives free rides comes along and an 
old gray haired dippy dip pinched by a dick gets behind gray 
iron bars. Fashionable women of wealth, others of tricky society 
fame, good and bad mingled in and out the crowd of life’s 
ins and outs. Women all ages, some virtuous others sinners, in 
silks, satins, tatters of dirty rags were there in life with life’s life 
its acts. Across the street a man drops dead, few minutes later 
an automobile runs over and kills a woman and child. Two 
street cars collide, another runs off the track across the street into 
a dry goods store window, no one hurt, miracle of kind fate. 
Uncle Ike down the street grabs hold of a passerby, wants to sell 
him a ford, watch, cast off new suit or glass stone, maybe a derby 
hat. There is an argument in the store over two cents then a 
fight and passerby grabs Ikey’s mothy matted beard and biffs 
him a whack on his drooping long nose. Crowds gather inside 
and outside, a cop rushes in, another cop does the same, then a 
cop rushes out for the hurry-up auto, passerby is pinched. 
“Extra, extra, Judge and lawyer fist cuff it out in the City 
Hall.” Somebody yells, “Let ’em alone.” “Extra, preacher’s 
wife kills self and baby.” The fire department goes by again, 
rambling, rumbling in double gong dinging and ding gonging, 
false alarm, fireman killed in collision. The big fat cop Mike 
on the beat comes by squeezes into the crowd, rubbers around, 
squeezes out winking, then cops his coppy beat.