Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-12-19

This interesting miss vas pro npt'H
sentenced and led away. Her heal
was held erect and her face wrei'hed
in smiles as she went out sf court S1e
vowed Der hand 20 some desperats'
looking youihs-mere lads--on the
benches. ard whispered to the nearest
one, "I'l be with Maggie on dc. Sian 4
To- morrer. I'll give her de best love
Of de gang"
Thus sbe spoke Of going to jail. A
few years ago she would have been
classified in that same court asa" plvo'
ter" hut today she comes under the
term " chippy." Pivoter means
eiil addicted 10 pic'nics, excursions,
aud other affairs at which there was
erea, deal Of pieoting, or Waiting, aod
chippy means a young thing. Both
,e,ms apply to tho same class OF way
ward ruls in short dresses. You get
IN icta of ihe SIZE Of this town when
/ , Gu ,caliZe that there are ouOugh mis-
guided children OF one sex to AID to
our language word for common use.
The police estimate that there are 20
/ coo Of these juvenile giTl-arabs IN THIS
( city. and at least AZ many more 10
| Brooklyn and Jersey City and Newark
combined.
They are the feminine cOunterparts and
consorts oft gangs" for which Se are
notorious. They are the products of our
teuement-house system, in which hui
manity is so crowded that the children
have TO grow up in the streets for want
Of room INDOORS. The sample chippy
Is a revelation TO humanity. She Is
feminine in nothing except dress.
other glrls are Iod TO err, but she vas
born as,rav. She boasts that she was
never known to cry. She fights like a
boy and would as lief fight with boy
as not. She smokes, drinks, swears,
picks pockets, pliers, and sometimes
chews tobacco. she haunts theatre
galleries, pic-rics, sksung-rinks, and
east. side ball rooms. She is indlifsr-
ent whether she sleeps at homo or in
box.wagon laid up in side street. over
night. She terrorizeS her parents and,
ioinng with other chippies every morn
ing, decends on the avenues where
/ Goods are exposed on the sidewalks,
and they are as If scourge was upon
/ them.
TIE AMERICAN OPERA ROW.
The little dispute between Nine.
! Fursch-Madi, the dramatic soprano OF
the National Opera Company, and MI.
Theodore Thomas, threatens to be A
boomerang for Theodore Thomas. If
we are to believe MIR. De ViYO, the
agent Of Fursch- Madi, and a anpretty
well up in operate matters, there IS a
little Thomas ring in the National Ope-
"a Company. Miss Juch, it appears
is the Thomas pIima donna, aud no
other singer gets living show. be-
lieve Mile. ll2atrei'er, who won the
FIRST triumph for the scheme in OrpAeus
and Fury dice, held the same opinion.
1heIow has been precipltated by De
Vivo. but am bound 10 say that 1t has
long been a question with intelligent
observers here whether the llOerality,
good taste, and tireless energy Of Mrs.
! Ihulber would win in this hsh: or the
arrogance and incompetency Of Th9o-
/ dore Thomas would beat her. She has
a woman's enthusiastic admiration for
the man. and she sticks to him with a
woman's loyalty. But you cannot talk
Thomas to New York musician or
conno,ssur. And an compelled to
say, out Of my own knowledge Of him,
that the National Opera will never sue
coed until she takes down her idol and
puts up an operate director.
This is an awfully ungracious thing
20 say OF one Of the noblest efforts
ever made to put music in America on
selfsustaining basis. But, alas sue
cess in this world depends on our
doing the uncomfortable things.
have a profound conviction that
MIS-. Thurber, who conceived and exc
cuted this scheme, will yet rise above
personal preference and save the whole
idea.
But goodbye, Thomas when sh'
does.
Do YOU know what she would say j
they rush TO her with Fursch- Madi anC
the Hsstreiter rows? This: "Wh'
is Fursch- Madi or uastreiter, that they
should stand in the way Of great ma
tional undertakings"
Then some one might mildly sugges
how about Thomas; Her expression
would change, and in pcnsiye mo
ment. she would say: lie IS ns
tional undertaking.
Well, is be now, honor bright?
Isn't there some truth in De Niyo'
charge that he has tried to kill the odi
Gus star system by starring nothing ou
Theodore Thomas and his orchestra?
Hasn't he tried to do opera IN Eng
Nsh with German trimmings:
Isn't it pretty well understood tina
he is working English opera on th
symphonic plan, much to tho disgust
The vocal par, OF i?
ISM II patent that II Engllsn oper
succeeds 1t will have TO appeal to III
people: ..
Heavens, when | think of the mi
lions of arid hearts in this country wh
want to hear the old melodies that Pa
repa Rosa poured out to them, and
see this Wagner crank reviving Ofpheu
and Eurydice and straining Lohengrl
,, into the pcnt.cup Of the vernaculsr,
! want TO get up and scream.
De Vivo says that Thomas Away
tries 10 find out what it is that the put
lie do not want for any price, and the
hastenS with JOY and glsdness to give
TO them.
But that isn't half as sad as Thu
; Der, who fastened 10 find out what
l is that Thomas cannot do, and the
backs him up with a salary of $500
year to do it ruthlessly.
MEN AND DIAMONDS.
: A sure indication Of the preyale
g business boom in the metropolis
=. seen in the universal display Of di
! monds. Half the persons you meet {
Broadway and adjoining streets we
&c them. They appear to be as plentif
!, here as stars IN the heavens. Thu
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