The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-06-01
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
sleepers In the Astor Library-How Hoyt
Writes His Plays-The Tenement
Boys and the Bicycle.
Especial Correspondence

Especial correspondence
Many regular attendants at the pub
lie Libraries would not stand very
1enient test rs to cleanliness or proprie-
ty of dress if the officials chose to estab-
llsh such standard, and ono very good
evidence of this is found in the condi-
ton of the. catalogues i'll tho Astor IL
brary. 1t has been found that fire.
quent change of tho volumes produces
result not commensurate with the
amount of work involved. Tho appear
ance of many of the readers there is of
"a kind to suggest wonder as to their
presence in the library, and some of
them are frequently i'll pitifully
wretched condition. AS matter of
fact, the most regular among the read
ers at the public libraries arc men who
arc evidently of very small means
Spotting the Loafers.
But those who como to work and
those who come merely for tho sake of
reposc are recognized by the attendants,
and the latter are made to understand
that there is no place in the libraries
for them. 1t takes some little time,
however, to find this out. 1t is still pos
oiOAO W sCC iiiCIl III llDIuIlCS SOuUQ
asleep, and there are often men who ap-
pear to be working with enough time on
their hands to enable them to mako
haste as slowly as they please. The
difficulty the officials usually have is to
determine when man has come to the
library really to use it. They are nat
urally compelled to rely on tho appear
ance of things, but even with indul-
gence they are able after awhile to dis
cover the men who are there for bust
ness and those who are merely resting.
bow Hoyt Writes His Plays.
"That's the way work out n play"
remarked Mr.. Charles Hoyt the other
day, after he had just finished telling
the plot Of what will probably be his
next comedy.
ga good idea for plot strikes me, ;"
he went ON, land think about it few
days and add little to it, and then I
get hold of some good fellow and tell
him about it. Maybe he will suggest
some addition. Maybe I think of some
thing new. Every time tell it it gets
little longer, until finally I've got all
three acts mapped out. Then 1 get it
down on paper.
The plot of Mr.. Hoyt's new play?
Well, don't know that he would want
me to tell it to you just yet awhile.
will tell you, though, that the plot is
full of possibilities, and as far as he's
gothic has two acts roughly sketch
ed now-the story is very amusing.
The hero is n rather colorless young
man from small town in Connecticut,
who is the deacon of his church and
who as such comes to New York to cn-
gage the singers for choir. Well, ho
gets into no end of scrapes of course,
and-but, there, maybe I've said Too
much already.
Tive got tour booked for next sea-
son." said Mr.. Hoyt, "and I've got
some people engaged, but the play
well, maybe it'll be this and maybe
it'll be some other. 1 don't know"
Playwright Potter Proved It.
Ed Sothern, the actor, tells an anus
ing anecdotc about himself and Play
wright Paul Potter. 1t was while they
We're rehearsing "The Victorian Gross"
at the Lyceum. Sothern thought of q
good piece Of business for certain
SCCHGi tliNA wv hS<au 1CHCfSl-Il iiC
introduced it,
"Capitall" exclaimed Potter. where
did You get i;?'
''Why, it's original. protested soih-
ern. Il thought it out myself"
ooh, pshaww remarked Potter. "It's
been used before, and I'll prove it 10
you.
And, By Jove," says sothorn, "hc
did too. Ito brought me an old book CT
French plays, written I'don tknow how
many years ago, III which that i;icnti-
cal piece of business was all worked
out. Iguess it's as Potter There's
nothing new on the stage ."
a Novcl Bicycle Scheme.
Margherita Arlina Hamm tells Of q
novel and ingenious beneficence which
has been inaugurated by members of
the Woman's Auxiliary of the Universe
ty Settlement. They purchased bicy-
Gle and put it in the custody of COM
mittee of boys connected with that in
stitution. The boys acted as agents and