The Washington herald., 1918-02-02


chorus men, vaudeville performers on
the big and little time lost valuable
friend in the death Of Junie McCree.
McCree was himself an actor. His
one of the best bits ever contributed
TO the American stage. Back OF his
humor there was engendered a SYM
pathy for the drug addict that per
haps has done more than much well
intended propaganda
OF late years Junie wrote vaude-
vile skits, supplied Jokes and stage
business" for the Thespic world. He
made big amount of money, but he
couldn't keep Il. No stranded actor
wilds of a tank town without getting
a ticket by return wire to New York.
His working desk was Uttered with
/. o. us A chorus girl or a chorus
man in trouble went to Junie McCree.
He always had some way out He had
fund OF cherry philosophy and his
sketches of Happy Nicely. a piffaw-
mer" keenly portrayed the theatrical
boarding house life.
He was born in Toledo. Ohio, and
like Fred Stone, started his stage ca
reer by running away with a circus
He knew the night life of Broadway
and its pitfalls and stood always with
q helping hand.
He got his material for The Dope
Fiend" from a character in real life
that browsed about a famous all
night drug stare in Eighth ave-
nue.. The dope fiend was a brok-
en- down actor who slept all day and
at night he amused the drug store
loafers with his fanciful dreams
So far as the police vagranCy rec
ords go there is only one Chinese
mendicant in all New York. He is
known as Old Horse and Wagon and
is a character of the Bowery and
Chinatown. Years ago a Chinese cry
ing Horse and Wagon! Horse and
Wagon!' painted into a police station.
The sagacious police sensed luna
tic and the stranger was sent to Bell
| evue's psychopathic ward. There 1t
developed that his horse and wagon,
his means Of livlihood had been stolen.
and he was merely trying to tell 1t
as best he knew how.
He was set free with the name
Horse and Wagon" securely attach
| ed. He has never worked since and
for years has stood outside Barney
Flynn's Chatham Square Saloon, TAX
ing his toll Of cents and nickels and a
| free drink every now and then.
She keeps a little, shabby-genteel tea
room on Madison avenue. The room
| occupies one floor of a sad old home,
whose high ceilings, gorgeously ro-
| setted, an deliberately patterned par
| quetry floors, soiled now into uni
| formity, giving token Of dead grand
| eur.
Her dinner cost 40 cents-has cost
| that for many years. The war has
come and other tea rooms have raised
their prices but her price is the same.
| She hovers, a slight, gray-haired figure
in skinspy black over the stand where
the cakes and pies are dispensed
She has been asked sometimes why
she does not raise her prices. For
answer she mods her head toward one
| or two or three old couples who sit
dining frugally in the dim gaslight oil
| her hospitality. They are old Gus
toners" she says, land cannot anord
to pay more" Food profiteers might
learn a fine lesson here.
That indefinable thing known in the
yernacuIar as the "hUsch" is not
| alone observed in sporting circles.
| There are many records of big 'busi-
ness men obeying this strange mental
urge. The other day a group of New
York hotel men started for Chicago
to attend a banquet on private train.
At the station one amazed his com
panions by declaring that he was not
going. They pleaded, cajoled and
threatened but he was obdurate. Fiji
| teen hours later the train was reported
lost in a Western blizzard and not
one of the travellers got TO attend
the banquet.