Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-12
BITS OF NEWS AND GOSSIP
PICKED UP ABOUT NEW YORK

Special Correspondence of The Herald:
NEW YORK, March 10.-Up-town
physical culture parlors are doing such
q big business with wealthy patrons
from the hotel districts that one big
hotel proprietor is considering the plan
of adding a regular gymnasium to the
house. Many of the patrons of these
places are fat men bent on reducing
their weight. They have found that
the Turkish bath is both slow and in
effective. Doing stunts under a COM
petent instructor is now the thing. The
plan to install an instructor in a big
hotel was suggested by former prize
fighter, who says that since President
Roosevelt Herr Conried w. E. Corey
and others have gone in for the rougher
kind of athletics the prejudice against
them is rapidly wearing away. 1t Is
certainly a fact that the number OF
private gymnasiums has greatly in
creased during the last year In con-
nection with the idea of putting
physical culture instructor In a hotel
Il should be recalled that minister
rot long ago wanted to hold regular
services in one of the big uptown
places. Should both plans be approved
hotel life will be vastly more interest
ing and varied than it is today. Most
of the big roof gardens are deserted IN
the winter and the space might be de-
voted to gymnasium work. The big
banquet halls are never used on sun
day. and there the preachers might De
permitted to hold forth. Inc once
ton to the latter plan would be that
all church-going guests would not De
willing to sit under The same klnd OF
preaching, yet there is rarely any IusS
made over this detail on board the Dig
liners. on which permission to preach
is readily granted to travelling min
listers.
Chinese MiIlionaires
There are references now and then
TO "Chinese millionaires." 1t Is hard
to tell anything about the wealth OF
any Chinese-that is thing which
they conceal even from one another
for fear of blacKmail. But it is proba-
BILE that there are no conspicuously
wealthy men in the Chinese quarter
here. The Chinese say that wing Gnu
Chung, a conservative old merchant,
who Keeps out of politics. is their rich
est man. Old Tom Lee. mayor OF
Chinatown, must be comparatively well
off and J. NJ. Singleton, head of the
Chinese Empire Reform association,
has a comfortable income from real
estate, a cigar factory and an inter-
est in many stores. All of these for
tunes, however, are insignificant be-
side the wealth of certain merchants
of the Pacific coast. Opportunities are
lacking here. Most of the poor Chi
nese in New York are wash men,
When they had only native washer
women to compete with their natural
industry and their man strength won
out every time. But the steam laundry
pulled down prices and has improved
work, so that there is now very lit
tie money in the laundry business. This
has reacted on trade all along the line.
Once. too, when Chuck Conners was in
his glory, and Chinatown was supposed
to be thrillingly wicked. the tourist
trade was considerable. That has fallen
off in size and quality. Even the rub
berneck wagon has helped but little,
for the up-country considers come to
look and not to spend. The reaction
against opium dens has cut off an
other source of revenue and finally
the coming of the Parkhurst society
and the resulting tong war have hurt
gambling lot
Mrs. Fishs New Tiara
Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish was in box at
the opera last night. She wore her new
diamond tiara, whose value, jewelers.