Evening star., 1922-11-12

| catty, for Barry wasn't the only one
who had guessed wrong on that event
/ Alsot here was more or less bluff &c
! the rest of my bold talk, for I had nc
! program mapped out at all They d
| egged me on. though. with theil
! hints that 1 used my head mainly to
wear hat on. until I'd made a noise
| like a campaign manager giving out
press statement the night before
election.
Barry just hunched his shoulders
Come now says he. What do you
think you can spring on Eey York
| that hasn't been tried?"
ooh, might put a movie feature
without sex triangle in it," says
! /. "or bid In the hot-dog privilege at
grand opera, or organize a company
to furnish guides in the Grand Central
| station for non-commuters who get
! lost trying to meet incoming friends
on the lower levels. l could dig uE
| any number of cute little notions like
that which would go big"
"Huh!' says Barry. Indicating that
he thinks I'm kidding.
/ But really" l goes on. sit isn't
such trick to show New Workers
a new one. OF course. they think II
| is, because they have the notion that
| all the Solomon Wiseheimers in the
| world already have their names in
the telephone book and have done
their stuff for the benefit of Broad
| way. And yet every now and then
somebody comes strolling in from the
bush with an act they'd never
dreamed about. Maybe it's small
town druggist from the middle West
who puts a chocolate coating on a
slab OF ice cream and gets 'em mob
while he collects fortune in royalties
before the novelty wears off; or in
drifts a hungry bunch of Russian
refugees with a foxy manager, and
the next thing you know he's play
ing to capacity at music revue prices
Easy! Honest, Barry, all you have to
do here Is to flnd something just~a
shade different and you can sell 'em
the idea on sight"
+ X X x
n ND yet. when it came to putting
IA my hand into the bag and produc-
ing the goods I did stall around
a bit. In fact. for two or three
prove that wasn't merely a clinging
vine. That is, unless you count un-
packing three trunks, and cleaning
up the studio with the help of a
60-cents-an-hour scrub lady, and
putting up new window curtains. and
having hot session with landlord
who was deeply insulted when
asked for a few repairs.
wanted pane of glass set, and
a clothes hanger rod put in one of
the closets, and new washers in some
Of the faucets, and few other little
Jobs done. Most of them I might
have managed myself, after a fash
ion, If I'd had the proper tools. Any
way, I'm sure made 1t clear to that
landlord just how much of a hard
boiled egg he was, but that didn't
get me anywhere.
Say, miss" he comes back at me
"all you want is that I should send
up a carpenter and a plumber and
a painter and maybe glazier or two,
and they would every one of 'em
stick me for half q days work at
union rates. which would take the
best part Of months rent. And If
I did that for all my tenants I'd soon
be standing on the corner with a tin
cup holding out package Of lead
pencils"
Don't! says /. Il have a brittle
heart, and rather than see you driven
from riches to rags I'll make those
repairs at my own expense"
1t was an eloquent gesture, as they
say, but nothing more. Perhaps
you've tried to get odd jobs done in
New York. or any other city. An in
teresting indoor sport, isn't it? At
the end Of the third day had found
q painter who thought he might get
around . week from Wednesday. but
he couldn't set any glass, and he