Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-03
WITH BREAD AND

dances that now are being done every
night in ornate. pretentious cabarets with
persons, men and women, some of whom
at least look as if they belonged, look
ing on and applauding.
had an Englishman for guest few
nights ago, and l took him about to a
few of these cabarets while the dancing
was on. He isn't one of these low, bah
Jove!" Englishmen. On the contrary, he
is q silent uncritical sort of a chap, who
looks and acts and talks a good deal like
an American. though he had only been in
New York. for the first time. for twenty
four hours when ] made this round with
him. At many Of the tables sat elderly
men with their wives, and in several in
stances young women who obviously were
their daughters. The Englishman raised
his eyebrows a bit at this. Then he
asked me:
II don't want to be nuisance at the
go-off. but. | say, you don't bring your
women to this sort of thing over here,
do your?
had to brush the question aside 1t
was too patent that in New York they do
just that thing.
l don't believe, however, that the caba-
rets will last long-that is, the cabarets
where the dancing is permitted--even in
New York. Commissioner of Police Waldo
has pretty good eye for what is what
in the way of public amusements. He
is cosmopolitan. but he's getting rest
less, / have been informed. about these
cabaret dances and dancers. Already he
ha' 'ipned'' the proprietors of several
of the cabarets that they'd have to soft
pedal little in the matter of the dances.
man in the police department tells
me that Mr.. Waldo is liable, at any old
time, to have the cabarets raided and the
dan ers iinched. the interesting feature
of this is how thousands of presumably
classy New York persons with regular
money to spend can permit themselves
to sit around every night watching per-
formanceS that police head is contem-
path putting out of business. If it
doesn't argue that New Workers. will go
pretty far to find what they call fun. ;" it
must argue something else, the whereof
Of which I haven't the key.
A CURIOUS sort of story is drifting
about over here about young play
wright who became famous a few years
ago. and has since become very wealthy
from the royalties from his plays He is
the playwright of whom it has been truth
fully written that he spent many a night
sitting on park bench, without the
price of bed, before he had his first
play, the one which made such an i'm
mense hit and was so enormously profit
able, accepted. During tbs imnecunious
period of his career the playwright often
sought assistance from men he knew
about town. mainly newspaper men, for
he had followed the career of q reporter,
not successfully. for some time before
trying his hand at play-writing.
Among the men VINO gave nan frequent
little financial lifts. the story goes, was
newspaper man who used to be we'll
known and highly regarded over here for
his all-around brilliance as a newsgath-
erer and writer. This newspaper man
has been going back for the past couple
of years. owing to irregular habits. and
has found 1t difficult TO obtain employ
ment. A little while ago he met the play
wright whom he had so often helped
when the latter had touched him for
the price of the laundry. the bed, the
shave. shine and shampoo. or what-not-
whom he had helped in this way through
d series of years.
The newspaper man was down and out.
The playwright. in his prosperity. with
literally hundreds Of thousands of dollars
amassed from his royalties. had never
offered to come through for the many
loans he had accepted from the news
paper man. The latter. being completely
broke, found it necessary to remind the
playwright of this fact when he came
upon him q while back. The playwright
called Il cop and had the newspaper man
arrested as a panhandler. and not only
that, he appeared against him in the
night court, complaining that the man
had panhandle him on the street, and
had the old friend and befriender put
away for ten days
tell the story for what 1t Is worth. 1t
wouldn't be worth anything at all IL it
were not true; but l happen to know
that IL iS