The Washington herald., 1918-07-22

New York. July N.-As Samuel
Pepys would record in his diary: Up
early and hear to my great content
my Cincinnati school fellow, S. Hast
ings is safe landed in France. And
came Mr.. Kugle who told of Sir John
Drew. the play actor, being out for a
cataract of the eye and will regain
his sight. For a walk through the
town and there met a fellow lately
befriended with moneys and he passed
like a rash, proud cuxcombe without
speaking.
I find all the town leaving for the
season. the coaches and gasoline wag-
ons being full of people going to the
country and I am thankful to stay in
the city. To a war meeting in a great
hall and there met Thomas A. Edison.
the inventor, brave scientist and full
Of vigor and much younger than /
pictured.
Much glee in Park Row, hear. over
the arrest of an editor in pay of Ger
many who went to his task like a
doting fool. to do no good, but pro-
claim himself an asse albeit there Is
much sympathy for the journal that
was made his tool.
MY wallet DelIlS at nome, CdlleO on
John Barnes Wills, the singer. and
by skillful maneuvering forced him
to act as host at a noble inn run by
a Frenchman and after a mess of
good broth we had a chine of beef, as
good as ever I ate. And there came
Burt L. Standish, the scrivener. newly
arrived from Maine with a wife.
The weather is so cold than on the
avenue were many in great coats and
Bertop Braley, the poet. did say wit
tly that he hath great pity for the
poor stenographer who wore her thin
coat all last winter so that she could
purchase summer furs. And now 1t Is
so chilly she can not wear them.
In the afternoon to West Thirty
fourth street to see the old mansion
in the Chelsea district that Raymond
Hitchcock has purchased and the talk
is that many actor folks are to move
to the district. the traffic there being
light and very little noise.
Home early to master some new
tunes on the harmonica, and my
wife, poor wretch, had guests to
tea "a China drink). and all very
merry and I to my room alone. In
the evening to see the strange
painting, The Shadow Of the
Cross" an Oil piece which in the
dark shows a luminous cross, and
the chemical analysis shows no
trace Of any known light-giving
substance, and yet the cross has
been visible for twenty-five years.
And So home and to bed.
1t used to be that when a man
made a business call in New York
and at the moment was persona
non grata, the Office boy informed
the caller that the person he want
ed to see was out. But that was
some years ago.
Now the excuse Is conferences"
Whenever a busy man does not
wapt to see the caller, he finds him
in a conference" have run UP
against this conference gag myself
several times.
Mentally I pictured a CONFER
ence." I saw a great long mahog-
any table, with stern, resolute men
grouped about 1t. Nobody smiled.
Serious history-making business
was at hand. Perhaps some mental
giant was saying: We'll, now that
we have finished that question,
what will we do with Russian"
The other day I was in the pri-
vate office of a man of large affairs.
The office boy: slid in and deposited
a card in front of the man. He
looked at it Tell him I am in
conference"
The moment had arrived. I was
in on one of those Conferences"
It was a disappointing affair in
deed. At that particular period of
the conference he was asking me
what I thought of the little blond
one, second from the end, at the
Winter Garden.
A ride atop q Fifth Avenue bus
has a Charlie Chaplin film beaten
fifty ways for genuine mirth. One
of the sights is to see a woman
wave for a bus. She knows that
1t will stop at the mere lifting OF
her hand-but not one exercises
this simple gesture. Invariably the
women. as the bus approaches. will
hop on the curb into the street and
begin frantica11y to wave their
arms like a chicen with its head off.
To pay more than fair price is to
pay penalty tax-not tax arising
from war needs. but q tax on your