The Washington herald., 1918-11-28

, tC0pynght. 1918. by the Wheeler syndicate, Inc,
| New York. Nov. T.-There is hotei
IN the Tenderloin district of New
York that is the rendezvous of the
high-class crook. There are other
guests of course, sprinkllnG OF
chorus girls, few men who 1--we py
nImble but safe-within- the-law wits.
But in the main the clientele is the
polished crook.
There is Cameraderie among tNe
crook that is best illustrated by the
poem that Is printed in old Roman
letters in the Hunting Grill of the
hotel. The grill has several famous
head trophies on the walls. fox
chase sprawls about the border and
every decoration is a symbol OF being
hunted. The poem reads:
| This is the law of the Jungle
| As old and as true as the sky,
| And the wolf that shall keep it may
| prosper,
But the wolf that shall break it must
! die.
! As the tendril that circles the tree
trunk.
/ The law runneth forward and back,
For the strength of the pack Is the
/ And the strength of the wolf is the
. pack.
I That is the law of the world OF the
crook. The Gray Ghost, that famed
J crook of fiction, was not Pigment
of vivid imagination. A reformed
confidence man met at the crook
/ hotel told me of The Wolf or The
Gray Ghost. or whatever he may be
! called.
| He is The Law among crooks.
| What he says goes. They do not
know him but the word comes down
! through various channels. 7 was told
that at times some celebrated crook
! suddenly appears out of nowhere and
gives himself up to the authorities.
| 1t is surprise. He has been told
! to do it and he fears The Wolf more
than the law so he obeys. There Is
some reason for it which he will
| learn later
| Who the man higher up is, among
| the better class CROOKS has long been
a subject Of speculation. The police
sneer at the idea-but the crook will
| tell YOU that he gets orders and when
! he does not obey them he is liable
to he found up an alley some MORN
! ing staring at the open sky through
glazed eyes.
J MUSIC loving Ne" Oik Is SHOW =
| ing great interest in Kos"ot Wv
ada. who is the leader of the Phil
/ harmonic Orchestra in Toxic. He is
| now in America. The other night
he gave a japanese dinner at the
| japanese Club. which was a success
| sion Of exotic dairties and ~" only
way for the guests to avoid hunger
was t. master the art of using the
chop sticks. Japan has music of
| its own. dCpeloped through CEN
turies. but the Western impulse is
| beginning to affect It. yamada Is
| here to study the Western music
and II possible create the beginning
of japanrs" opera.
Speaking Of music. there was a
! belief in Tin Pan Alley that the
peace news would affect the war
time popular songs. with no war.
+ why would people sing war songs
! However. there is no accountinC- for
! public taste in music. Tho three
ditties heard most up and down the
theatrical district are The Ross of
/ No Mans Land" "T Amt Got Weary
! Yet" and You'll Find Old Dixie
! land in France"
What is to become Of the war
play? That is the question Half
Of the plays on tn" boards IN New
( York are DcpuInr because of tn" war
/ thenn with the coming OF neacn
the problem that faces theatrical
managers is stunning one. It is
/ too oarIy to tell vet. but it Is not
heIic~"i that people will go to Sc"
war PLAYS. They want to forget the
war. The producers have thousands
: Of dollars tied up in the productions.
There Is a chance for the ambitious
] PLAYWRIGHT. TO- Dlavs are going to
! be in sudden demand.