Evening star., 1922-07-16


eyebrows and soft curls escaping from
permanent wave. 1t led the un-
thinking to assume that there must
be a good deal behind It. 1t was a
smart. ultra a-sophisticated, expensive
looking magazine dealing with So
ciety. the stage. the screen. with the
most sensational developments in
modern painting, with the most dis
cussed of the new books.
Readers. buying the latest copy Of
the Footlieht on a newsstand in At
ianta, Duluth. Denver or Spokane.
saw its dashing cover-a fame and
gold parrot against a dull velvet
night. or something OF that kind-ad-
mircd it's portraits of Broadway's
lovely exotics. its reproductions of the
newest impressionist paintings. or the
tapestries in Mrs. Santer Van Horns
new place on the sound. read it's ar
ticles. which were evidently written
by sophisticated men and women who
knew not only art. but also life. and
marveled. The Footlight seemed a
large-staffed. large-officed important
undertaking to these readers
AS matter of fact, the Footlight's
office was about ten by twenty feet
and boasted one straight-back chair.
two swivel chairs and two roll-top
desks. At these desks sat David
Lockwood. editor. and Janice. assistant
editor-the Footlight's entire staff.
This staff was as little as possible
like what it's readers would imagine.
Janice seemed scarcely less a person
to be connected with the Footlight
than did the editor himself.
He was a friendly looking, hard
working young journalist. wfo was
up his sleeves during busy hours. He
occasionally donned a green eyeshado
which made him look like copy
reader 1t was Only when. the days
work over he rolled down his sleeves,
Gtraightened his necktie- and put on
his very well tailored coat, that he
looked in the least the way the Foot
lights readers pictured it's editor as
locking. Seen then. quitting the
large office building, it must be ad-
mitted that he had the careless assur-
ance Of a man who has known some
thing OF the world. man who could
be counted on not to tell the waiter
to bring his coffee with his dinner.
Nearly all the Footlight's arti-
cles. Of course, were purchased from
outside contributors. OF these, the
articles signed by Lawrence Ballard
Flint. appearing every month, were
perhaps the cleverest. the most sophis-
ticated Mr.. Flint was a sort of
man about town. He attended the
first fighte at the theaters. went to
the Authors League banquet. the ex-
hibition of Independent artists, to
professional teas and the big prize
fight. His department in the Foot
light was an informal chat about all
trese events about whom he had seen,
what he thought of the new Barrie
play or the new impre essionist painter.
clever bits that he had said to John
Barrymore or that Mary Pickford had
said to him. 1t was a department
that made school teachers in Topeka,
kans., and bank clerks in Dallas.
Tex. feel that they were Keeping in
touch witt all that was newest and
best in art and snappiest in metro
politan gossip.
Most of Lawrence Ballard F1int's
readers pictured him a sophisticated.
pleasantly cynical bon vivant. AS a
matter of fact, until two months ago
the real Lawrence Ballard Flint had
been a meek, nervous little hack
writer, whose real name was Sam
Smith He looked like a cartoon of
the common people" He wrote his
first draft by hand and chewed the END
of his pencil; but his articles. when
finished and typed, were
as easy reading, as clever, as any to
be bought in New York.
He loathed writing them, however.
and when. in a wilder plot than he
could have countenanceo in a fiction
story, he became the amazed legatee
of a wealthy unknown relative. he
pushed his battered typewriter out of
the sixth-story window of his room
at the Y. NJ. c. A. in his life's one
dramatic gesture. Lockwood then
suggested that Janice take over Law
renee Ballard Flint's department.
Janice. who up to now had been
doing mostly editing and rewriting.
was appalled,.
"Oh, 1 couldn'tr she gasped.
"Of course, you could. You've taken
hold wonderfully well. You can write.
and you know the kind of thing our
readers like"
"Oh. I couldn't,'
Lockwood smiled quizxically.
That's what 1 thought" he OBJ
served, when the political editor of
the Tribune-Dispatch died, and 1 was
ordered to Chicago on a half-hour's
notice to cover a national conven-
ton"
But I'm not a real New Yorker;
Mr.. Smith had lived here ali his
life
'The best New York news letter il
written by a man who came here
a few years ago from Cincinnati"
But 1 don't know any Of those ia
nous people that Mr.. Smith talked
To-"
"I fancy. Sam wasn't very chubby
with them all. You know most of
them by sight. don't your"
why, yes. good many of them.
But I couldn't talk to them; they
wouldn't say clever things to me-
Make 'em up" was the editors
laconic suggestion. You can write
good, snappy conversation"
Make them up-out of whole cloth?
What II the people said said them
should see the articles?'
"pll take the responsibility of any