The Washington herald., 1920-09-03
New York City
By o, Q. Mcintyre.
Thoughts While stroIling.

New York. Sept. 2. - Thoughts
while strolling around New York:
Barclay street. Growing roosters.
Thick poultrymen. Street
urchins playing cards on top Of
crates. A seafaring tavern. Chairs
at the curb allied with pipe smoking
salts Pictures from the Police Ga
zette pasted in a tobacco store win
dow. And a wooden Indian, badly
battered, out front. 4 few steps
away is the most modern building
on earth-the woolworth Tower.
Little groups strolling toward the
ferries A luxury of the ferries Is a
shoe shine. And then a walk around
the upper deck. On the lower deck
the ragged old harpist and red nose
1 fiddler play ancient strains for va
grant pennies. A wildly dashing
mail wagon humping over the cob
BILE stones.
Those upper deck street cars look
cool. 4 little French girl carry
ing a huge milliner's box in one
hand, and gloating over a copy OF
La Vie Parisienne held in the other.
Lower Broadway has some queer
shops. Wholesale feather houses.
Lace stores. Kosher cafes. Metal
stamp factories. Everybody seemh
in their shirt sleeves.
Union Square. HundTeds of au-
! tomObiles in the parking space. Gay
banners floating from open air drink
stands. Park buns slouching away
| from a policeman. Blackboards
chalked with menus for luncheon.
} Folk come from the loft buildings
with ruddy appetites. And then
smoke Russian cigarettes until time
to 20 back to work.
The long sweep OF Fifth avenue
| seems like another world. The faint
wearing a fur coat begging And
it's 90 in the shade. The glare OF
the traffic lights-Orange. green and
red. Snuff-colored homes. Shut
tered and ugly.
Floating lines Of faces. A con-
stant buzz Of conversation.
drunk man lurching through the
traffic. Then a shrill whistle and
sudden halt. The whole avenue
stops. A rush of people and traf'
fic from the side streets. Always a
crowd of faces pressed to the win
dow filled with puppies. Diners AZ
the Waldorf looking out with bored
nonchalanCe.
There's a celebrated divorcee in
fOur-wheeler on parade. And her
parasol bigger than a No. cap.
Tall fellow in golf togs is De Vol
Hopper coming from the links. Now
for a long, cold sarsaparilla.
1t May Be True at That.
A group of diving girls at the new
Hippodrome show this year have
created a mild mystery After they
dive from a plank into the glass
tank in full view of the audience
| they do not come to the surface
again. One after one-perhaps fifty
in all-dive and disappear in this
strange manner A Park Row ma
from Charles Dillingham;. the pro-
| ducer. so he called him up on the
telephone
Mr.. Dillingham;" he inquired. "a
want you to tell me where those
diving girls go?"
Certainly" said the producer. eft
is simple. They go through a set Of
trap doors and across the street for
nut sundae. They are there now,
Run up and join them"
''BIack Smoke" Again Looms.
New opium dens are springing up
in China atOwn. These establishments
are almost ineradicable. While one
proprietor is in prison his successor
takes up the business and bv the
time he is arrested the former deal
er in fumes is out and ready to go
on. Black smoke" az opium suok
ing is known to the police. is show
ing new life. Opium smoking and
smuggling are on the increase, tho
authorities report. since prohibition
occupies the attention Of inspectors
There are more than thirty opium
dens in the cellar passa ageways, but
I they are so carefully guarded tina.
1t is almost impossible to reach
them. Most of the secrets are Cainr
by police keeping opium smokers in
( cells until the craving causes them
10 break down and tell what they
know.