The Washington herald., 1920-06-08
New York City
B, o. @. Mcintyre

New York, June IA motor ride
out through the plains Of Westcnes-
ter or the hills of the Berkshires re-
vsaI some odd humanness In paint
ed signs. There are those who pro-
t.st against the signs that yell In
the most blatant. crude and vulgar
fashion but perhaps 1t Is the only
way to appeal to the ignorant INT
crate savages who have overrun TINS
part Of the country. And TO me
they are fascinating.
Ths aesthetic wouIc stop by the
roadside and photograph worn
stone bearing a blurred carving
six Miles to Ye cittye of London.
1t would be something to treasure
but he will revolt at a brightly
painted electrically lighted sign;
! "stop at Mikes Palace OF jazz on
Upper Broadway. wild LIZ. the
shimmy Queen, Shakes There Night
ly." .
! Great strides have been made In
/ the commercial announcements SO
marvelously set in the innocent
meadows. A half-mile away one
sees a beautiful Jersey cow being
/ led by a blushing milkmaid. stool In
hand. Up close the revelation Is
made that 1t is all OF tin and ad-
/ vertises some brand of matted milk
for invalids.
! Recently someone told me that an
insurance company's advertisement
on the Rock of Gibraltar was mere
ly advertising. That is deception
that most of we readers or maya
zine page advertising will resent. I
was quite sure II was there. IL
would not surprise most OF us to
see at night magic lantern great
colored phrases against Niagara's
sheet OF foam.
The signs hide. the shame OF
marshes and bogs They are forms
of rural vaudeville and give the
country fellows a chance to see
! touch OF high life. On barn near
a little white country church l sa"
a shockingly underdressed Partisan
girl sitting in champagne cup
smoking a cigarette. That would
/ be something to quip about down
at the store on lonely evenings.
/ Motorists get their ideas of sp-
| preaching towns from bill boards.
A snappy sign proclaiming the vlr-
! tues OF some meat sauce and perch
, ed high in the eternal hills, relieV-
ing the monotony OF green. is just
as pretty as a carnation in an un-
kempt slum street.
The conductor of a Broadway or
chestra in a burst of temperament
4 or temper-broke his fiddle over
the head of an erring player re-
Gently. He said later that he could
| not stand for the false notes any
longer. Something within him
snapped and then he snapped the
fiddle over the other fellows head.
Back at Rio Grande. near my home
town. a country band stopped in
the middle of a Fourth of July tune
and the leader found that his futist
and trombone player had their mu-
sic sheets mixed and were playing
each others notes all the time.
Change back. boys" he said. =
thought there was something
wrong.
New York has received word that
Uncle Walt Mason has pulled up
stakes and left Emporia. Kansas
nat. He has gone 10 Sdn Dieso "
live and left William Allen White
to struggle alone with the problem
of proclaiming Kansas the great
est state in general and Emporla
the finest rity In PARTICULAR. 1t Is
gratifyings however. to Ndiscover'at
least one writSr who. In moving
from one place to another place
does not come to New York. II
shows certain originality not
common in the writing profession
1t is said that at least fifty people
; burning with an ambition to write
come to New York every week In
the year. About two per cent re-
main. The others go into the sus-
} pender business or other more pro-
sale callings and they end their
days by having a fatter bank sc-
count. The beginners land in
Greenwich Village and soon as they
learn to write move out in a hurry
and then laugh at the village the
rest of their days.