The Washington herald., 1919-12-11
NEW YORK CITY
By o. o. McNTYRE

New York, Dec. 10.--There Is a
low toned, dank aired Chinese res
taurant,-a narrow hole In the wall
between. two frame buildings on
Tenth avenue that 10 the rendezvous
for Broadway opium smokers. The
buildings arc all old and leaning
| in the block and the street lamps
burn low, making faint lozeuges Of
light.
There Is a sombre. heavy odor
about the place. The only glitter
IL the shiny top Of the marble
| tables where chop-suey. many times
revamped. is served with scorching
brews~ of hot tea. No opium Is
smoked in the place, but the devo-
tees of poppy come there after de-
bauches to wait and dream Of the
time they will have money for the
next fantasy of sleep.
Men with towzled clothes. blink
, ing eyes. trembling hands and rad
died skin talk TO ashen-faced
women in loose clothes over the
Chinese stun that passes for food.
Let q stranger come into the place
and there IS quick silence that Is
lethal like In its stiffness.
| Furtive eyes take in every aspect
OF the stranger. There are sneers
and softly whispered words. Only
steel nerved men can go there
without a shudder. Slippered Chi
nese walters move silently about,
putting down their sales with noise
less effort.
Now and then some creature with
tangled nerves will laugh-more Of
a cackle. Rat faced young men
with cigarettes hanging from loose
lips and wearing caps, play crib
bage. During the evening a po-
liceman may stroll in, look about
and depart. for the place is always
orderly.
sat at one Of the tables the
other night. Two young girls. with
pathetic attempts at Fifth Avenue
style. sat nearby. They were chew
ing gum and drinking tea
My head. dearie, it is splitting"
said one.
Watch yourself. you're heading
for the shakes" said the other.
grinding stop in Times Square.
The crowd surged in while the
guard shouted Let 'em on" until
he was purple faced. A fat man
was the first in and his New York
training asserted itself at once. He
pre-empted the only vacant seat. In
| five minutes he was sound asleep.
Two tired shop girls en- route to
Brooklyn finally sat down-one on
each knee of the fat man until they
reached 4 station in the interior OF
| Brooklyn. And all the while the
! fat man snored on.
Burlesque is the incubator for the
principals of the SO Broadway musi-
cal shows. There are. five recruits
from burlesque in the present Win
ter Garden show. They are Jim
Barton and his wife. Tessie Bar
ton. Joe Opp. frankie Heath and
Lon Haskell. They have been play
ing at a burlesque theater on Sew
enth avenue for years. It is the
same way in vaudeville. The
Courtney sisters were burlesquers
for years. Leon Errol, Don Bar
clay and James f. Cooper came
from ourlesque. Right now bur-
lesque is becoming a real rival of
the musical comedy.
| A little shiny hatboS of a barber
shop on Nassau street. where Wall
Street brokers so for quick shaves.
was the setting for a romance last
week. A little girl named Mae
no manicurist spells II with a final
| 'y"-has been shining a certain
brokers' nails for several years.
The other day he proposed and she
accepted. Before they were mar
ried the broker bought the shop
for the girls father. who was in
cidentally the head barber. The
girl will go to live in a fine duplex
apartment on upper Madison ave-
nue.. And her sister takes her
manicure job. Next?