The Washington herald., 1919-05-22

New York. May 21.-The back.
nres of war reached over and
scorched Broadway. The most de-
spised type of the pre-war days 10
dead. He was known as the tango
lizard-or the couch cootie. the par
lor cobra and q variety of quickly
coined names. He called himself q
professional dancer.
The perfumed and brilliant young
man was q professional leech. He
tango-smiled his way into the graces
OF vapid women. who made after
noon teas a daily ceremonial They
paid him to dance with them and to
datter them.
Sometimes they were blaclcmailers;
but always their prey were the un-
happily married women inclined to
by hirtatious. Every dansant en-
,ployed the professional dancers, for
regular he-men rarely go TO after
noon teas. Many Of them were drug
users and agents OF the procurers.
They wore the snappiest clothes.
picked mp few drawing room man
ners and sat around with half closed
eyes pufiing at cigarettes from 3 un-
til midnight. Then the draft came
and very few of them escaped. Those
who did found that women were not
dancing-they were doing war work.
So they marched away to the train
ing campo and under the rigid disci-
pline the ianguid bodies stiffened into
muscles OF steel Patent leather hair
was substituted for the closely shaven
head.
silk shirts were discarded for the
army shirt. The professional dancers
are drifting back now and SO many
things have happened that they are
unable to describe the cataclysm-
Most of them Will not even dance.
They seem heartily ashamed that they
ever led such a chiffon life. The gilt
ter of the cafes, the Jazz. the saxo-
phone-it pals. Many Of the old pro-
fessional dancers are remaining in the
service and those who are getting out
are taking a farewell look at Broad
way before trekking for the West
The back to the soil lure calls them
Broadway declares there will never
be any more tango teas-those drunk
en- orgies of the prewar days. The
banished highball, cocktail and rick
eys fed the fires for those revels.
And -ow with prohibition-or at least
the 275 per cent beer era. the big
crowds never drank beer. 1t was
the kick they craved, and the kick
could not be found in s per cent beer,
so there Is little anticipation in Elihu
Roots famous beverage.
In playing around New York one
sees some odd costumes. In one Of
the ultra-quiet places springing up
n- NH<nF
the bourgeoisie-I saw a rotund. pink
checked gentleman wearing SILK
shirt with embroidered rosebuds and
violets, and he wore his watch chain
hanging around his neck. The pearl
gray derby, with purple bands, Is
seen very frequently IN the Longacre
Square district. And-a couple OF
horrors-a perfume shop for gentle
men only has been opened up in the
Forties.
The East Side "schlsppers" have
gone on strike. They are the creatures
who evict the poor tenement dwellers
when the rent is unpaid. They are
striking because they are not par
ticipating in the general prosperity
OF the rent gougtng landlords-the
miserable profiteers who have tripled
rents of the poor in a few weeks
time. The "schleppers. demand
higher pay and lunch with beer. The
head of the striking ''schleppers' Is
Moses Schwartz, the 'stearcher" who
is so strong he can carry a stove
down from the sixth floor of tene-
ment house in one hand. Hitherto
the regular fee for those who do the
actual work of eviction has been from
30 to Is cents a room. The new union
! rate is $3.50. 1t Is in the winter time
that the "schleppers' work is the
most heartless. They remove furni-
ture out on the sidewalk and the
tenants must stand out in the cold
| to guard their only possessions.