The Washington times., 1906-11-29
No Trouble Whatever in
Securing Best Seats
in Broadway
House.

NEW YORK, Nov. "a thorough
and comprehensive test. made last night
with the aid of Two sailors from the
baTJleshlp Alabama. In fun uniform,
shows conclusiyely that New York can
not be Included among those ciTies
which have or may incur the wrath OF
the President through laolI of respect
shown To- the nHtiOn's defenders by
places of amusement
Thomas Jefferson Williams and Mar
tin CLARK. of the Alabama, in the blue
blouse and flowing trousers Of :he
Navy accompanied by a reporter, Wis
itcd the Metropolitan opera House and
fifteen first-class theaters on broadway
and Forty-second street. In each in
stance the sailors applied at the box
Office and asked for orchestra seats.
Not once were they refused. At the Me-
tropolitan and four Jheaters which have
been playing 10 crowded houses for
weeks they We're told that seats were
all sold for the night, but We're offered
orchestra seats for the first night for
which seats had not been exhausted by
the advance sale.
Not Welcome at Sharkey's.
Strange and almost paradoxical as It
may seem the only place of amusement
On the isIo Of Manhattan where the
sailors were not welcome last night was
the back room OF Tam ShaTkey's saloon
on Fourteenth street
The eN-saIlOr pUgllist. who is es-
tecmed by seameE the world over as
the greatest man who ever walked a
deck or bit on half "a plug of eating
tobacco Tor a single chew. has an in
le'dole rule which prohibits the tars
IN working attire from invading the
sanctum directly in the rear OF his
bar The great eN-sailOr himself had
a good excuse for this discrimination
Were Shown Every Courtesy.
When Williams and Clark. the two
sailors who were making the test,
reached the Metropolitan Opera House
at 5-G0 p. m. line numbering q hun
dred persons waiting for a chance to
secure standing room had formed at
the entrance. The sailors were told
that all the seats for the night were
sold, but that they could have as many
orchestra seats as they wished Tor
Saturday night
At no box Office on Broadway or
Gortv-secOnd street aid the attendant
exhibit the slightest hesitation about
accepting the sailors money, even
though il was drawn out NJ a blue
.lpuse. The ticket speculators in front
uf play houses where some OF the more
popular plays are running demon
atratcd that they are the most demo-
cratic people ia the world They often
begged the sailors 10 purchase al prices
which would cause them great pecInt-
ary loss.
Puts Blame on Sailors.
A quartermHster ON the Alabama de-
fined New York's standing among the
sailor men who make this port.
This is about the way she lays" he
said When a bunch OF the lads find
that they cant get into a place, it's us
ually because another pied-eyed bunch,
some time before. has put the place on
the bum. When sailors make port and
-et shore leave after "a long cruise they
are like a lot of boarding school boys on
vacation. They are cut-ups and they
don't care VINO knows how bad they are.
They get afraid of themselves before
they get back To the ship. they are SO
fierce only few snOb towns, like
Newport and Norfolk and Portland
make practice of keeping the sailors
out Of the dance halls and theateTs when
they are i'm uniform. The rest of them
treat the men all right as long as they
stay sober. New York is the best OF the
bunch They take more on OF boy IN
uniform than they Will a civilian. We
never have any trouble here
Williams and Clark after tackiug Up
and down Broadway, finally dropped an
cuor IN Weber's music hail. where they
saw "Twiddle Twaddle' from orchestra
seats.