McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1916-07-21
A&NNNNNNNNNNNNNI,
NEW YORK
LETTER

and the moving picture shows furnish
the main part. There are thousands
of movie show places here, some
few of which may be seen for nickel,
but the most of them cost from ten
cents to a quarter, and some of them
as high as dollar. You can see
pretty good movie and vaudeville
show for fifteen to twenty-five cents.
Vaudeville is the name of French
town, but just why it should be ap-
piled to that sort of a show | don't
know. There are short acts or
stunts" of few minutes each, dane
ing, juggling, acrobat performances,
singing, monologues and dialogues,
etc., most of which is tiresome to me.
President Wilson and his wife often
visit the vaudeville shows in Wash.
ington, and they are mostly very re-
spectacle. Once in awhile one hears
some pretty broad jokes, but they
know just how far to 60. Some lame
wit takes immensely with the crowds,
and one hears things like the follow
ing repeated at many performances:
Old maid comes in, sits down on
chair on which her niece has left
hat. "Great Caesars ghostp cries
the niece; "Auntie, do you know what
you're sitting on% Auntie: 81 reckon
| ought to know, for I've been sitting
on it for the past forty-fve years"
This is very mild and elegant speci-
men in comparison with some of
the things which are put out to amuse
both young and old, and it actually
seems often if the dialogue is not
spiced with something little off
color, the people won't 60.
New York is getting to have al
most a language of its own, and you
have to be here some time in order to
understand all the people say. The
great multitude of foreigners, espe-
cially Jews from various parts of the
world, have left an impress upon the
English that is spoken here. The
word twenty is called "twuntee," and
paper is called a "poiper,' while a
lady is a "loidy" or a "lidy." If one
street urchin says to another: "Pipe
dat guy wild de swell banner on i'm;
he's tryin' to put one over on de bloke
OATS wild 'im," he means that his at
| tention is called to fellow with a
loud necktie on, who is evidently try
ling to get the best Of a rather simple
fellow that is with him. If man
says Il didn't do ting to 'im." it
means that he did the fellow up in
great shape. Fine! Finer with a
sort of nasal drawl, signifies that the
thing supposedly praised is of no val
ue at all. Go to ltw is advice to
take up a task and do your best.
| The cheap restaurants also have a
language all their own. No we'll
posted New Yorker will call for pork
and beans. 1t is simply beans and"
If he wants ham and eggs, it is ham
and" Putting on the extra words
would simply insult the intelligence Of
the hash-slinger. A fellow sauntered
into a Bowery hash-foundry one day,
ito feed his face" as he said. along
with friend. and said, as he took
). his seat, to the waiter: Two rubber
tires and one in the dark" His friend
did not understand, but the waiter
, did, and soon appeared with couple
of doughnuts and a cup of black
!, coffee. Now" said the other, 81
will make an order, and | defy you to
twist it up like that. | want two
poached eggs broken on toast.
Without a moments hesitation his
: friend turned to the waiter and said
in pure Manhattanese: Adam and
Eve on raft, and them wrecked
| And broken eggs and toast were soor
. brought. OF course, lingo like thai
, is not current at Delmonico's and sucl
: places, where the walters are mostl,
! French or Greeks, and only straight
English is customary.
You can get a fair meal here foi
twenty, five cents, IL you want to g,
to a very cheap place, for example /;
0 beer saloon and restaurant combined
e Fifty cents is the common price for
: square dinner at a cheap restauran
of the better class; seventy-ive cent
will get a really good meal at a goo,
. place. For dollar YOU can dine in
u Hungarian restaurant or wine celia
e down among the casks, while swee