STRIKE OF FAT MEN

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 124, 12 October 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

STRIKE OF FAT MEN

FOR WIDER SEATS.

A strike of fat men is one of the latest things in New York. A number of fat men, who make a regular practice of attending the baseball games, sent an ultimatum to the manager of one of the leading atheltic club grounds, to the effect that if he did not provide them with 1000 seats, each at least a yard wide, they would boycott the ball game.

The seats on the grandstands at this particular ground are of the sub-divided order, giving a space of perhaps two feet wide for each person. The manager of the ground laughed at the fat men, and the strike was declared.

It failed, and a representative of the New York World, who interviewed the leader of the strikers, a monumental individual weighing 4001b, was told the reason why. "you see, it was this way," said the giant, "we lost on account of the generals—General Indifference on our side and General Enthusiasm on the part of the supporters of the club because of their winning form. General Indifference led many of the fat men to attend the games, hiring private boxes to do so. General Enthusiasm filled up the other seats. Yes, the fat men's strike has been declared off." In the course of some further conversation with the interviewer, the chief fat man gave an amusing dissertation on fat men in general. He proceeded thus: While I wouldn't say that everybody loves a fat man, I will say that almost everybody likes him. And, generally speaking, lie gets the best of it." A fat man gets the end seat of the street car, the aisle seat at the theatre, the front seat in an auto. If he comes into a restaurant the head waiter puts him under the electric fan. That isn't all; the bar-tender is always anxious to make a fat client the biggest, coolest drink he knows how to concoct. The tailors are always trying to make comfortable clothes for fat. men and of goods that will give them slender aspects.

Children take naturally to fat men, and if a woman has a chance to make her choice between a skinny man and a stout one she takes the fat follow every time, because she knows he'll make a big, good-natured husband for the very reason that everybody is kind to a fat man.