The Washington herald., 1920-01-16
NEW YORK CITY
By o. o. McNTYRE

New York, Jan. 15.-Thoughts while
strolling around Manhattan: There's
q touch of gloom about Second ave-
nue.. Little patches OF parks for the
children. Most OF them FROM north
eastern Europe. Illyrian atmosphere.
There St. Marks. Has an incande
cent cross at night. Stoops crowded
with wide faced Swedish women with
jagged teeth. Muii.hle as you pass.
Makes me creepy. Paper flowers In
the fiat windows.
Polish girls with full busts and slen-
der thighs wear limitations OF Fifth
avenue STYLES. Row of hunchbacks in
front of an Orthopedic Home. Women
pushing baby cabs look young. Hus.
bands drag along putting cigarettes.
Someone called them the baby-a-ye :"
mothers. Little cheap shops noisy
with Slavic gutterals. Little cares
have multigraphed hand-written
menus pasted in the windows. Queer
greasy dishes.
A bald-headed ladies' tailor sewing
in his window and puffing away at
narghile. Looks happy and content-
ed. Glad Christmas is over. Every
body fears they will get some OF that
queer liquor. Fifty years hence the
NlCllIIlS may oc vi tdSACAS as hA@A -
to fanaticism. Who knows? Rich
people are leaving their fortunes to
servants.
Girl schools ought to turn >at first
class lady's maids. There's a real ca
reer for any girl. Fifth avenue mis-
tresses paying some of them $40 a
week and board-and cast-off clothes.
And the last item means something
these perilous days. Ruddy faced
man bossing a gang of workmen
looks like a preacher. Maybe he is.
Lot of them going into the trades.
Still have the movie thrillers over
here. Dirk and pistol. Gagged wom-
en-. Silken mustached Williams. like
villains myself. Think III be one.
Still 1 don't believe my wife would
let me. Push cart peddlers huddle
over little charcoal fires. Never seem
to smile. Think I'll so UP on Broad
way where there's life and laughter.
A crap game was one Of the existing
episodes in a newly launched play on
Broadway. The critics had unfortu-
nately gone to the smoking room for
a few drags at their cigarettes and
missed 1t. But the second night
critics-the magazine men-declared It
was the most exciting bit OF drama
seen this year. Woman in evening
gowns in the boxes. applauded enthu-
siastically.
1t was a thirsty crowd Of Americans
who left New York on a big French
liner a week ago. When they got out
far enough for the bar to open cham
payne popped and ice tinkled merrily
in highball glasses. As a result the
third day out they had drunk the
ship dry and only those who had
brought their TASKS could get a
single drop. Bartenders at the high
class hotels who made $50 a week
and about $40 more in tips are said
to be making $4,000 a week on liners
leaving this port.
An old-time theatrical man of the
Rialto declares that commercializa-
tion of the stage has stripped it of
it's ancient superstitions. 1t used to
be that to whistle the music from
Macbeth" meant certain disaster
and the profession was filled with
''jonahs" and "mascots." fortunate
for some and unfortunate for others.
A well-known American actress had
to give up the stage because she had
been through two or three disas-
trous fires. The mascot" was never
out of a job and as rule he had no
ability. Even Harrigan and Hart
had a mascot and they would not
risk an engagement without him.
About the only superstition left Is
the refusal of almost every member
of the stage to accept 81 bills.