Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-19
Around the City
Gentlemen only"

Gentlemen only.
If you have never heard this slogan Il
argues that you have never hunted for
rooms-accordng to one well laundered.
white linen woman, who stood on a cor
ner yesterday and discoursed to a spin
stery person while waiting for a car.
''Yes, my dear. / had to give up my
apartment because I'm planning TO spend
next summer abroad and couldn't afford
to take years lease. But when / think
Of my jewel of a kitchen. and my snowy
tub, and the forever hot water. and OF
the dear. cheap little breakfasts and teas
1 got myself-and the sense of home II all
gave me-oh, well, it's all In lifetime.
only never thought I'd come to sleeping
in furnished room. with no place to re-
ceive friend in and mealing around at
cafes"
Its a poor way to live" commiserated
the spinstery person In the voice OF one
who knows
1T isn't living It's just paying double
for the discomfort Of being allowed to
exist. Listen: You would think by the
Eruption OF For rent cards in the win
dows of this town that half the houses
had lodgings to let. But when you try
to rent a room you are told. according TO
whatever humor the woman who answers
the bell happens to be In. that she takes
gentlemen only. I don't blame anybody
for not wanting foolish married woman
about. The fact that she Is willing to live
in furnished room and meal around, In
stead of making n home for her husband.
proves that she must be foolish-unless,
Of course, the poor thing can't help her.
self. But I tell you right here. that II
ever I take to renting rooms I'll snap UP
ht,ct a
Take me. for stance, I'm a government
clerk at 81. 400, l pay in advance. ! at
tend to my own affairs, and, except for
weekly sweeping, my own room also. ]
am careful with the gas-but the women
whose door bells / rang. with but two
exceptions. would rather have q man
creature. no matter how careless his hao-
it's or how Irregular his hours
They say women are always wanting
to rub out something or press things. and
they snoop around
Maybe the stay-at-home- all -day-with-
nothing-to-do women do things like that,
but we who work ask for nothing better
be let alone. You know that as well as
I do"
There must be a reason" demurred
the spinster person. with an insistence
that evidenced love for fair play.
"A reaSon," snapped the white linen
woman. There are at least three rea-
sons. If a woman doesn't want to let on
that she rents rooms man going In ana
out attracts less notice than woman.
If she is of a social turn or has marriage
able daughters the man roomer Is made
to feel that he is 'one of the family
If she is lazy she knows that the average
young man doesn't bother II there are
rolls and puffs Of gray dust under his
bed or that his window panes are
streaky.'
"a friend OF mine who used to have her
rooms always rented says that the apart
ment houses are running her trade
Maybe it serves her right. Maybe she
has tepid water in the bathroom once or
twice a week and turns out her hall gas
at 10. That's why the majority Oh
business women in Washington are living
in flats or buying their own homes. II
costs, of course, but they have the salts
faction Of knowing that they are getting
the worth OF their money"
Then the two whisked on on their troi.
lev, and q person who had overhearo
wished that the amenities OF etiQueteo
would have permitted her to re1na36
to the linen woman In parting that when.
ever the business women she referred 20
their apartments or in their homes. they
almost invariably say to the womAn-Ap-
plicant: Gentlemen only"
A batch Of boys were playing ban ma
quiet street up town. They wero merry
little fellows. and as the ball cuxve4
across the asphalt each catch or tod
raised a clamor Of Joyous laughter that
could be heard all down the square
watched the game with excited eyoa.
He was a pathetically clean little boy,
with snow-white kits and snow-white
slippers and almost snow-whtte skin. Ma
ture, for some inscrutable reason. had
laid q rough and clumsy hand upon the
thin shoulders, and the child, still too
young to know what his aH1iction VIII
mean for flim--if he livestock as Keen
delight in the ball playing as II he were
for believing that he was. for once when
the ball rolled to the curb where he was
standing the youngster who picked 1t up.
turned to him. and with an extravaganza
pretense of hurting it. called out:
"Ketch.'
The childs arms fairly quivered with
the intensity Of his delight, and when the
ball fell Imply. the meanest creature
that ever lived would have felt ike
crying to hear him pipe out, 1ubilantly:
Il almost caught it, didn't I, Jimmie?"
You would "a caught it If I hadn't Q
bone in my arm and couldn't throw
straight
And Jimmie. having lied with ease and
ability, proceeded to throw a ball that
was a credit to his years.
1t wasn't much of an incident to notice.
perhaps, in a city where big things are
happening every minute in the day, but
it showed one woman that street ki6oes
know how to be kind to an afflicted little
neighbor-
And kindness counts for heap.
He was a big young man with dimple
in his chin. And he was unwrapping some
small things from tissue paper and laying
them on his desk.
Another big young man. with no dimple.
looked on.
The first things to be uncovered were
shoulder straps Of dark blue cloth edged
with gold bullion and with a gold leaf at
each end. The dimple man laid them
aside with the nonchalance Of one who Is
used to being major. Then he selected
from a set Of golden stars tiny one
which he held triumphantly in his PALM
II had this duplicate made for the baby.
We are going to take him to see his
grandmother in New York. and
1t was not necessary to say another
word. The other young man was also
the parent of q baby son. He understood
The dmple man laid bare q couple OF
bronze shields, but they failed to catch
his interest. He was thinking OF some
thing more important:
Eyes. sir. had Mat star made espe-
cialy for the baby. Young as he IL. he
will think it great to have star like
mine-most remarkable boy"
The other big young man took on Q
combative look. Then he drew from his
pocket a postcard.
And lone woman who likes to look az
M ty