The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1920-06-01
New York City
BIZ o. o. Mcintyre

New York, May 31.--chit Is a Gen.
trial office detective who honors mo
with his friendship and at times
small condolences. Chit Is no SILK
gloyed criminal hunter. He Is the
typical headquarters dick" Of fc-
ton, wearing a seal brown derby at
jaunty angle. square toed shoes
and. a lodge button In each lapel.
He is given to speech out of the
corner Of his mouth when angry.
He roams the East Side scaveng-
ing for the human fungi Of the cell
lars, the moldy teneShents, the
cheap pool rooms and barber shops.
He knows Mulberry street with It's
honeycombs OF fire escapes as wen
as Mott street where shuhling hG-
ures are given a background OF
white drugged faces peeptng from
, unwashed windows.
His world is a strange world OF
veiny nosed men. burned to the butt
end OF sordid lives; bury figures
who appear only after nightfall.
young girls pursuing the oldest pro-
fession in knee high skirts. older
women who bedeck themselves with
rhine stone jewelry hoping family
for new conquests. 1t Is world
acid-eaten with evil.
1t Is a high adventure to stroll
through the East Side with Chit.
He Is conscious of his power. EN-
eryone seems to know him and he
appears to notice no one-but he
! has eyes that record as faithfully as
| the camera. I walked with him the
other evening just after dusk. The
gas flares in the cheaper stores
! were burning.
The little curbstone groups had
gathered and on the stoops sat the
dark-eyed tenement mothers peren-
nially big with child. From every
window protruded several heads
jabbering a medley of a dozen
tongues across the narrow streets.
Old men with whiskers were smok
! ing their final pipes. The push cart
vendors were shouting above the
din OF everything. And half naked
babies crawled about in the dirt.
And then we came to a corner
| where good sized crowd was
laughing at an cld bag afame with
rot gut whiskey. 1t was just good
nstured haranguing. old Sophy"
they called her. She never drank
until two years ago" conflded Chit.
Then came the particulars. She was
a scrubwoman in one of the ornate
hotels frequented by a fast set.
One night while her rheumatic
fingers were welding brush
crowds OF late midnight diners were
leaving tho cafe. All we're flushed
| with wine. One beautiful young
girl. a public dancer. passed the
squat figure on the floor. Both
looked at each other at the same
moment. The girl turned quickly
away. drawing her velvet coat
high. The next day old Sophy"
her daughter.
The wholesale and retail harness
business district is confined to
Chambers and Warren streets In
the days gone by It used to be a
f1ourishing industry. When at the
Cornelius Vanderbilt. Jr.. wedding
the other day the wedding couple
dro e up to the church in car
rage drawn by a spirited team. the
only horse drawn vehicle in the
long line of magnificent convey
ances, the news was gratefully re-
ceived in the harness district. De-
spite the growing use of the auto
and motor truck there is still a big
business for the harness makers
Last year was til" best in ten
years. Horseback riding is becom-
Ing more popular than ever. 1t is
more fashionable now to have a
riding horse than an automobile.
Some believe the horse is coming
into fashion again. 1t takes twice
as much money to keen a team of
horses as the finest auto-conse-
quently horses denote class and
that means much in Manhattan
The Curbstone diamond brokers
who led a furtive sort of existence
on the fringe of Longacre Square
have walked into evil days. A bear
market and tight money have
caused their undoing. They were
merely touts for pawnshops and got
any commission a purchaser would
give.