The Washington herald., 1918-11-16
Special couspondeu. Of IN. w..hinston Herald

special Correspondent Of The Warrington Herald
New York. Nov. l5.-If it had not
been for F. p. AS column in the
New York Tribune, Walter Prichard
Eaton, essayist and dramatic critic.
would never have been known as
poet. Eaton had been writing verse
ever since he was a school boy, but
nobody would print 1t. so he gave up
in despair and stuck to dramatic
criticism and chocolate drop fiction.
The man who says he doesn't write
for print is like the one who says
he doesn't like onions-generally
liar. Along came F. p. A. and his
Coming Tower and. 10! a hundred
poets burst into song. including
Eaton. F. P. A. is Capt. Franklin p.
Adams now and the Coming Tower
was abolished
Poets, fashioners of where's. essay
lists and novelists in the making sigh
ed for a daily column that would be
an outlet for their offerings. F. p.
lightful outlet in the land, because
1t insured a large group of friendly.
keen readers and because its stand
ehANoa even OI Nht liShNtst itohSShSSr
were exacting.
And then one day recently there ap-
peared on the back page of the Trib-
une column called ships. Shoes
and Sealing Wax" a jinkle-jumble of
bright contributions. It was unsign-
ed at first, but later at the bottom
appeared the initials IF. F. ""
A new columnist was born-a
worthy successor to the pungent par
agrapher F. p. A. The new column
did not tarry long on the last page.
1t was switched to dignified position
on the editorial page and in few
short weeks has been the talk of the
literary circles.
"F. F. "" in real life is F. F. Van
De Water. a newcomer in New York's
journalistic fields. He was born at
Pompton Lakes. n. j., and is not
ashamed of 1t. He is a graduate of
Columbia. starred on the gridiron.
owns a dress suit, has practically no
money, smokes a foul smelling pipe.
has a keen literary perception and
delightful sense of humor.
During the early hours the chief re-
write man on the Tribune and along
when the city is being lulled into its
first sleep he grinds out his column
with the aid of his enthusiastic con-
tributors.
With Roy X. Moulton batting out
his merry column for the Evening
Mail. Don Marquis singing sweetly
for the Evening Sun and F. F. V.
poetizing and pressing for the Trib-
une, New York is offered daily a
happy surcease from the sordid news
OF the hour.
Up in the Bronx there is a well to
do grocer who has offered the hus-
bands of the world a cure for nag
ging. The grocer has an iron-jawed
wife who never gave him a moments
peace from the time he got in the
house until he left. The other day a
pile OF lumber was dropped of in his
back yard. Later a force of carpen-
ters began work erecting a cozy lit
tie one-room shed. 1t has a telephone.
a bathroom and many other comforts
and is electrically lighted. The gro
Ger lives there now and expects to
stay. His wife is growing quiet hut
he will never go back to the old nag
ging life.
The New York police pot is boiling
The police and the district attorney
have locked horns. An assistant dis
trict attorney and a police inspector
passed a Broadway resort where the
excise law was being violated.
why don't you raid him." asked
one.
why don't you? It's your job"
said the other. And they passed on.
amicably sneering at each other.
The crooks, gunmen, pickpockets
and riff-raff of the underworld love
these department quarrels. 1t gives
them wider latitude. A good many
things lately point to the possibility
OF an explosion and when it comes
perhaps another police commission
er's head will be Topped off. The new
commissioner has shown signs of be-
ing on the job and that generally
means in New York that he will soon
lose his job.