South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-12-05
RICH AND POOR
SQUANDER MONEY
IN ALL EUROPE
Report From London Shows
Everybody Has Money
to Burn.

LON DON, Dec. london today
is the capital city Of the world, and
the premier in the art of spending
money. Everybody. apparently has
money 20 burn. The theaters are
packed. The cenema palaces are filed
trimming over night not a spare
The dance halls have not a spare
ticket The restaurants, first-class
and third, big and little, cater night
~ for more people than ever they
have seated before. And the people
pay without a murmur
Much Amusement.
II is Gladys birthday. Right. Tea
at Rumpelmayer's dinner at the
Ritz, stalls at the Gaiety, supper at
Scotts or Hatchett's or the 'Troc"
anywhere so long as there is light
and fun and music, the pop of
champagne corlzs and the crash Of
tazz bands. Bills brother comes
home. The same programme-with
slight variations. Somebody has
backed a winner. Same again. But
these are merely small, isolated in
stances. Thousands Of people are
doing these same things night after
night, irrespetc of whether Gladys
celebrates her coming into the world
or Bill has got back home. London
has fun and life TO provide-at SUI
per-war prices. Good enough. The
people pay
London Primps.
Take a stroll up West End in the
early hours of the evening. London
is painting herself and pOwdering
her nose for the nightly splurge.
Watch outside the big restaurants
between and 9 o'clock. A steady
stream OF glittering landaulette mo-
tor cars draw up to the gay entrance
deposit their cargo of jewelled wo-
men and opera-hatted men-and
roll on. The cars are wonder car
riages. The cost of the very cush-
ions inside would keep a Serbian
family for a month or more.
Move a little farther Here is a
theater queue a hundred yards long.
The people forming it have for the
most part DIRE q hard days work.
tapping typewriters, straining OYER
lt dgers. 'phon'ng. writing. running
messages counting money in banks,
selling gloves and hats and knives
and mbulatOrs-woTking in fact,
for their living You would think
they would scurry home TO fee and
rest Not they. London calls them
London with its joys. its lights and
delights, its never ceasing fountain
Of pleasure. They. too, pay.
Restaurants Crowded.
Step inside this restaurant-over
here, TO this table.
A young fellow is dining with two
girls. on the table, with it's cut
glass and glistening plate, is a mag
mum of grapes hit for a king-the re-
mains of "A dinner ordered by the
head waiter himself-and soon to be
paid for. What has it cost? A mere
ten pound, perhaps. That is one Ia
BILE Now multiply this one dinner
by two hundred for this one restau-
rant add TO il some thirty other
similar establishments, multiply the
the number of tables by five hundred
and you will be we'll short of the
price paid for first rate dinners any
hour on any London night this
month, as ever was, 1919.
So much for the restaurants.
Take the night clubs. Here men
and women gather in swarms. They
dance. In between dances they drink
green and red and yellow colored
, liquids each or which costs three
shiIlings a glass. IN between drinks
they dance again-and of course at
the end of the night they pay. That
is the great point They pay. If you
could hear the voice of London to-
day, that voice would be one large.
long. loud tinkle. the rattle of money
on salvers, on desks, across counters,
on trays. into outstretched hands.
Dance Halls Crowded.
Not only is the West End given
over 10 an army OF payin AMI play
ing. East. north, south il is just the
same. In proportion the money
spent here is every bit as great as
up west in Picadilly. - nee tickets
! For the hundred and umpty-hfth
Victory Hall" in the garden sub
urb may be but four shillings, the
claret cup which does duty for
champagne but a quarter the cost
Of the real gilt-topped article-out
the people pay just the same. They
pay. What matter if their income
tax is due. their bills stacked high
in the art nouveau" writing desk
in the drawing room? Let it go.
Who cares: