The Washington herald., 1921-09-17
|Meu'26nkGH
'.Ouy By Day
impressions:
bACOeMsmtw,e
.fBie1I;ffp.Idli(!.:1a 4

New York. Sept. 1e.--on upper
Madison avenue is New York's new
ghetto-the overflow from the
lower East Sides crucible. Life in
this new world. a few blocks re-
moved from the grandeur of de
luse apartment houses known only
by numbers, prawls over an area of
half dozen blocks. Newly ar
rived foreign born herd together in
dumb amazement.
The asphaited street is gay with
carts, drink stands and peddlers
who carry new world gimcracks,
mothers, big with child, sit brood
ing in darkened doorways like vir-
ginal Vestas. Their chiIareL, ham
pered only by loin cloths. make the
cutters their paaygronnds.
Street contortionists in spangles
hollow out spaces by beating tam
bourines to perform for pitched
pennies. Yiddish. Russian and
Arabic signs splotch the murky
windows of dim lit trade shops.
Old men in long alpaca coats. waist
length boards and skull caps parade
the pave in little groups-mumbling
quotations from the Mishnah and
Gemara.
The hurdy gurdy man, the stroll
ing harpist and the 'Heiser arbas"
merchant make their daily rounds.
'Heiser arbas. heiser bubas" shouts
the latter in Yiddish calling his hot
peas and hot beans" One cent a
dish and a filling meal it is.
The Turkish lemonade man in
his red cap carries his cask of
Lemonade on his back. 4 hand
waves from a top window and he
climbs the weary flights of stairs
obliIingiy In the evening the
sawdust sprinkied cafes-labeled
kosher-take on their evening
brightness.
The coffee houses with their
marble topped tables filled with
youths learning to initiate the
American customs by wearing cheap
rakish velour hats-and even canes.
In the shadows are the older men
putting at narghiles, silent and ex-
pressionless. The movies are lurid
and their fronts are criss crossed
with banners hectic with tense mo-
ments of melodrama. The hub-bub
of street noises lasts far into the
night. The children sleep on the
balloon bedding of the fire escapes.
A strange camarederie exists in this
new ghetto-a stranger feels out
of place there.
Mary and Doug were quartered
at the inn where / also reside, be-
fore sailing for Europe. Josef, my
walter, who has a Weberfieldian ac-
cent also attended to their wants.
Life ran high on our floor. Guests
were constantly peepinE through
slits in doors to see the movie
stars go and come. And Josef
would drop plate of hot soup any
time to reach the hall when the
coming by that mysterious magic
of hotel telepathy. Josef has con-
fided to me his histrionic ambitions
anu lndl ne as
means of exploiting his talents. l
| don't know movie requirements.
| but Josef moves his lips when he
reads and can wiggle his cars so
he may have a great future.
Incidentally, Mr.. Fairbanks and
Miss Pickford were the despair Of
theatrical companies along Broad
way. They attended several first
nights" and the people turned
| watch them more then they did the
performance.
At Broad street and Exchange
place gambling bootblack has
made his appearance. His Gus
] toners are mostly brokers who
have the sporting instinct so Tony
matches coins with them and il he
loses they don't have to pay. Along
| City Hall Park where a hundred
or more bootblacks have stands
business is reported better than it
was year ago. They claim that
men looking for work get a shine
/ every day whereas formerly they
rarely became customers.
IN - > X