The Washington herald., 1917-01-15
New York, Day by Day
BY o. o, MCINTYRE.

Special Correspondent Of The Washington Herald
New York, Jan. H.-New York theaters
are gradually learning that the public
must be considered little bit. Now they
have adopted the military idea, which
was introduced first by s. 1. RothapfeI,
of the RiaIto.
1t was he who began the military idea
at the Strand and II is now in vogue
at the Hippodrome, Palace and Globe.
The ushers are in military costume. as
are the doorman and other employees
And they stand at attention at all times.
At the Casino the ushers nave little
signs on their backs on which are the
words flashed in electric lights: Follow
me-" There are very few girl ushers
any more.
/ The greatest need, however, is for
courtesy in the box office. The most i'm
pertinent employees to be found in New
York are in the box offices and as 1t is
be the most polite.
The Harris Theater has taken the lead
in insisting upon politeness at the box Of
| fice. There Is a sign there so ticket buy
ers may read. The sign welcomes the
prospective purchaser to go into the the
ater and see where the seats are before
they are purchased.
| The Hippodrome has an unusual set of
ushers. There are about seventy-five in
all and they march upon the stage at one
period and sing song, drill. execute a
dance, swing Indian clubs and do some
splendid acrobatic stunts. 1t is a real
surprise from the front.
| The passing on of George c. Boldt re-
moves from the commercial life ofsNew
York one Of Its most conspicuous figures.
As head of the Waldorf-Astoria, Mr.
Boldt was probably the best known hotel
man In the world
He rose from a humble oyster opener
to man Of millions His faculty for re-
membering names and faces was almost
uncanny. He knew most of his guests by
name and he never forgot a face. He
was kind and human, but a strict dis
| ciplinarian.
Many Of his employees have grown rich
with him. His son, George Boldt, jr.,
| takes over the management. He pos
| sesses many of the traits of his father
The only time I ever saw Mr.. Boldt was
at q dinner given to Copeland Townsend
at the Hotel Majestic a year ago.
He sat to the right of the guest Of
honor. When he got up to talk he re-
| ceived an ovation that lasted for many
minutes. And when he talked he had
something to say. Probably no man was
ever more beloved by his competitors.
They looked upon him as their guide and
friend.
They gave a dinner the other night to
Corse Payton, the worlds best bad actor
and wit The festivities were held at
Jacks. When he was called upon to
speak, Corse said: my name is neither
Coarse nor Corpse. My art is too great
for pictures and monographs. l am
here to be admired and not to be in
suited. When a man tells me he is a
Democrat and asks me what 1 am, I say
I am sorry And pull the same line II
he says he Is Republican. which shows
how I can, with nonchalance, invent re-
versible jokes. There are those who laugh
when I drink coffee out Of saucer, but
/ have never been able to drink out of a
cup. The spoon always gets In my eye"
Lillian Lorraine, Of the raven hair. has
refused to be q vampire. She has turned
down, an offer to vamp in the movies.
She wants to be dairy maid or swing
on the garden gate at sunset. She says
that vampiring is going out of style and
that she is not going to step up and hold
the bag. She says the only real job In
movie now is to do the sugar things
that make people write for autographed
photos