The Washington herald., 1920-02-21
New York City
BY O o, McIntyre

New York. Feb. ao.--Introducing
Charles Klenke. New York's most
exclusive flea frainerl With . group
q Park Row news hounds I visited
Mr.. Klenks In his flea-ery on Eighth
avenue the other day and I came
away happy-and scratching. Aside
from flea training, Mr.. Klenke also
engages In general expressing. ex-
pert dog clipping, expert cat killing.
bicycle instruction and farming.
| In fact no business card Is large
enough to tell of Mr.. Klenke's ac-
tivities. II would take a telephone
directory or something. When any
one in his neighborhood wants q cat
or dog clipped. washed or killed, they
call on Klonke. "F1ees are easy TO
train" he says. Some say my
method is cruel. but do not think
so. Want TO see mestrain one?"
All nodded at the savant in unison.
See here Is Fritz, my favorite flea"
and with that he calls one Of his
woody animals over, searches for
Fritz, but Fritz was out. So he found
a good sized frisky flearone with
mauve eyes. penciled eyebrows and
a giriish stare.
| He put 1t into a small aquarium.
once the home Of goldfish. but now
sans water. Even Professor Klenke
couldn't teach a flea to swim. Well.
anyway, not being highly educated,
the flea has not sense enough to-
know that a thick piece of glass
separates him from freedom. See
ing nothing except apparent space he
makes a wild jump to what he be-
lieves to be home territory. And bin
He lands on his nose up against
the side Of the aquarium. Then he
climbs up and Jumps for the other
side. He repeats this futile foolish
effort for some time until his nose
hurts and ofttimes starts to bleed
ing-then he realizes 1t is all wrong.
1t Is then that Mr.. Flea begins
learning the fine art Of civilization.
Now we have him out of the bowl
and hitched up to a wee chariot, such
as they pull around in side shows
The fact that jumping Injuries the nose
and sometimes makes 1t bleed has
penetrated into the skull Of the flea
and he is content to stand there nurs-
ing the sore spot. But Mr.. Klenke Is
on the job probing him with a little
straw.
And behold we have the trained fiea.
dashing madly around. pulling the
chariot behind him. Some of the
scribes were addicted to hoot-owl
glasses and couldn't see the fiea
but they believed Mr.. Klenke's
story for he seemed like such a nice
man.
As IL there weren't enough
things in the world already. Some
body has started the idea that in
order to bathe in any ocean with a
degree of seemliness one must have
a most elaborate wardrobe. 1t is a
treat to see the bathing windows"
in the big department stores along
Fifth avenue and other shopping
streets.
There is the bathing frock anu
the beach. costume and the beach
caps and hats and shoes and bags
for those fitting to Palm Beach.
Velvets and silks and duvetyns and
satine and colored woods and beads
are just few of the things which
are being taken into the water at
summery beaches this season.t
! A velvet suit, silk velvet Of course.
is Naid by the stores that sell such
necessities to be splendid for swim
ming under water-the wearer
comes up looking just like a nice
sleek seal. The batik silks are not
hurt by immersion II seems. 1t is
easy to believe anything about ba-
tiks-in their original glory they
resemble rainbow which has
run" in the laundry.
About next season should come
the bathing furs, the bathing gloves
and the bathing wrist watch-pub-
fishers may advertise the latest
best seller as absolutely non-get-
wetable.