New-York tribune., 1919-04-13
By Harriette Underhill

Ethei Clayton doesn't like to be in
terviewed-or rather she Is timid about
being interviewed, and says that she
is always fearful lest she say the
wrong thing.
So, of course, it happened to be poor
Miss Claytons luck that we should be
in frightful mood the day we went
to the Majestic Hotel to talk to her.
Not that Miss Clayton really blamed
us when she knew the circumstances,
but she is such quiet, modest, lady
like person that we felt sure before we
had talked to her two minutes that she
never would have acted so under the
circumstances
The circumstances were these: We
boarded an Eighth Avenue car. which.
after it passes Columbus Circle, gets
up-stage and becomes a Central Park
West car, and sat down next to an
innocent looking man.
We were wearing new black velvet
gown, which we tried to believe made
us look like Elsie Ferguson. What
the man was wearing we are not sure.
put whatever it was he carried large
bottle of whiskey in the pocket of it.
Qt must have been large because it
contained so much moisture) When we
left the car the air was redolent of
alcohol and we accused the man of
losing the cork out of the bottle.
"Ain't that darned sight worse for
me than it is for you?" he said, "and
amt you got all the whiskey?"
We had, but not where it would do
US any goodl Of course we had to tell
Miss Clayton, for we couldn't walk in
on her and her mother smelling like a
still and not say anything about it.
She sympathized with US gently and
told us where we could send the gown
to make it look like new. But we in
tend to keep it until after the 1st of
July and see what happens.
Don't you love clothes?" we said
enthusiastically after Mrs. Clayton and
Miss Clayton and we were all seated
around the gold centre table.
II haven't cared much about any
thing for long time" she said sadly,
and we didn't pursue the subject be-
cause we knew what she meant.
"But that is partly why I am in New
York now. I must buy clothes for nv
pictures, whether I am interested in
them or not. I do whatever l am told
to do. Everything is arranged for me-"
"Was this interview arranged for
you, too?"
ooh, yes. The publicity director
simply told me to be here at o'clock,
and l shouldn't have dared to be late
for anything"
Miss Clayton isn't bit enthusiastic
about life, and she is so beautiful it
seems a pity. She has very large blue
eyes, with long black Iashes, and light
red hair which is naturally curly, and
wonderful white teeth. When we men
toned these blessings to her she only
said:
"Oh, do you think I am pretty? I
don't. | hate blue eyes and red hair!
think Alice Joyce continues to be the
most beautiful girl on the screen. Her
eyes are so wonderful and her hair is
so straight and dark and plain"
So far as we have been able to no.
tice, the Creator might as we'll have
made all people plain, and they would
have been just as we'll satisfied. No
one ever seems to get any pleasure out
OF her own beauty. Fancy any one
with blond, wavy hair, and eyes like
sapphires, bemoaning the fact that she
didn't have straight dark hair and
brown eyes.
But we did learn Miss Clayton's
taste IN leading men. 1t comedies
with our own. She likes Eugene
O'Brien, Elliot Dexter and Tom Moore.
AS we were leaving Miss Clayton
she told me that she was on her wav
to China by way Of short vacation
"Chlna!" we exclaimed. ooh, aren't
you lucky."
Perhaps so. I'm not so keen over