The Washington herald., 1920-09-12
New York City
BY o. o. Mcintyre.
The Midnight Froiic.

miers of this nocturnal institution
sounds clarion call for who's who
in social and stage circles. 1t is the
opening of the county fair back
home in platinum and diamond set
tings.
Not even the horseshoe circle at
the opening of the Metropolitan
Opera House has a more represen-
tative gathering. 1t Is fiamboyant.
feshy, ultra. The very small roof
makes for exclusiveness just like
the tiny cafes of Paris.
After the theater the procession
arrives. The gowns represent the
last word in the dressmakers art,
and there is 4 billowy wave Of white
shirted men in silk hats and white
gloves. The tables are grouped
about dance floor which is in front
of the stage. Ringside tables must
be secured months in advance, and
even the balcony tables go weeks
before the opening.
There is an hour of dancing be-
fore midnight when the curtains are
parted and the performance is re-
vealed. Mr.. Ziegfeld's success has
been founded on his selection of
and scenic effects.
At the opening this week there
wer, very few present who have not
gained more or less fame in the
public eye. At one table was Mrs.
Lydig Hoyt, who has just been Sc
leCted as one of the most beautiful
women in America. The one time
Mrs. Vernon Castle, now Mrs Rob-
ert +. Tremain, was the Cynosure Of
all eyes. Her husband, remindful
OF the late Vernon Castle, was with
her.
During the dancing a voice sing
ing to the dance music was heard,
and Instantly recognized as that of
Nora Bayes. Then again there was
another voice. 1t was the great
Cart so himself. And, of course, the
dancers stopped to applaud. And
the tenor suffused with bushes,
whirled rapidly out of sight with
Mrs. CaruSO.
At another table sat the peren-
rially youthful Miss Billie Burke
With her was her husband, Mr..
Ziegfeld. the producer, and Miss
Phyllis Walsh, one of sOciety's best
known tennis stars. J. Louis ReplOgle
ami others. Ann Pennington. the
diminutive dancer. was there too. in
a chic black and white gown; and
Winnie Shcehan, who used to be a
reporter before the movies claimed
III i'm i'm Il
irg magnate.
The Omnipresent Walter Kings
ley, dean Of the theatrical press
agents, surrounded by a bevy Of
beauties, was in the fore. Sailing
BaruCh, looking like an r. Phillips
Oppenheim gentleman of leisure; :;
Theda Bara, June Elvidge. Com
stance Talmadgc, Mr.. and Mrs. Car
ter de Haven, FranCinc Larrimore,
Maryillan Miller, Gene Buck. David
RelascO, Mildred Harris Chaplin.
RlaLCh Bates, and host Of other
stage folk were sprinkled through
the assemblaEGr
The FroliC has a real surprise
for even the blase this year in a
horse race called the Metropolitan
Handicap. Sixteen beautiful girl
jockeys line up at the barrier on
mechanical hOrses-hOrses that gal
lOp with all the dash of Kentucky
thOroughbreds-and race around
the dance floor. bringing the audi
ence to its collective feet with a
hurrah.. Nothing quite like it has
ever been seen before in this the
atrical capital.
He Needed the Money.
An old white-whiskered patriarch
was standing on Fifth avenue the
other afternoon trying to sell four
fluffy white puppies. two of which
he held in his hands and the other
two peeped out Of his side coat
pockets. He didn't want to sell
them. he told me. for he loved dogs.
but he needed money for himself
and his wife. An hour later
passed him and 4 policeman was
leading him away to a patrol wag-
on. 1t seems he did not have
license. He was trembling and
gasping for breath. but he stroked
the puppies nervOusly and seemed
more interested in what would hap
pen to them than himself l tried
to be d Good Samaritan and help
the old gentleman by asking the
policeman if there wasn't some way
the old fellow could be sent home
felt certain he did not understand
what it was all about. The reply
was that if l minded my own busi-
ness l would get along better in
this world-and no doubt he was
right. But l still have a painful
memory of the old man and his
white pups.
Glass Lost His Job.
Montague Glass. the writer,
landed in New York from England
at IS and went to work as a clerk
in a law office. In his odd mo-
ments he wrote humorous short
stories which at that time would
not sell. He was writing one day
during the lunch hour and his en-
ployer caught him at it,. He raised
"a row and told him not to write
at the office.
A few days later Glass was in
g barber shop having his hair cut
when his employer stepped in. saw
him and said. Why don't you get
your hair cut in your own time?"
To which Glass replied: TT grew
in your time, didn't it?" And after
that incident he had to become a
writer-for he didn't have any job.
Robbing Vaudeville.
Nearly everything from steel to
silk mills has been hit by the
scarcity Of labor. but now comes
the vaudeville theatrical field
Vaudeville boOkers assert that
there is little or no new material
on hand. They seem to think that