The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-05-10
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NEW YORK. April s.-Flung out
from the facade of an old brown
stone front in the Forties Is a peb-
bly, gilt sign heralding The Stage
Door Inn" 1t Is the last stand of
the chorus lady. Here with wearied
eyes that catch no sparkle from
myriad blazoned lights she stands
white-capped and white-aproned
part of waitress.
About the dining-room Is the rapid
hum of diners, mostly stage folk
And girls who valiantly hide
twitching lips and struggling tears
wait on tables for small salaries
and tips. The inn Is co-opera-
tive scheme to help jobless stage
folk butterover lean days while
waiting for better times.
The menus try to make the girls
feel they are not serving maids and
announce the names at each table
as hostesses. Every day there is
an entire new crew and the wait
ing list runs into the hundreds, CIV
ing an idea of the depiorable lack
of employment in the theater.
The hat check girls. the cashiers
and the kitchen helpers are all girls
who have had their dazzling hours in
the glare OF the spotlight's flood.
They come to work in melting fur
coats and last seasons shabby finery
and bring their Pekes and Poms.
Many men they serve have waited
for them at stage doors I'm the past.
80
the table I occupied was in the front
row of musical hit last year. 1t
was evident hat she was trying to
be brave while nursing the uncon-
querable hope. "I don't care, Just
so the folks don't find II out They
think I'm leading lady. and. the
only thing l lead is Fiji. my dog"
she said.
In the basement OF the house Is
a shop where they sell needle work
made by the jobless girls. On the
Moor above the inn are manicure and
hair-dressing parlors. The evening
| was there I saw Daniel Frohman,
David Belasco, William Fox. Arthur
Hopkins, Mary Nash. Tessa Costa.
Geraldine Farrar and Leonore Uric.
Special Attention Paid to other
Girls Fellows" is the invitation ex-
tended by downtown manicure
parlor. in large letters, on a sign
that Is being carried about the
streets.
Frederick F. Vande Water, the
New York Tribune's columnist, has
written book of true adventure,
which tells the story of New York's
state police. As Honorary MEM
Der" of the force. Vande Water had
exceptionally opportunities to OBJ
serve the grey r!ders'-the title
the book assumes incidentally-in
action. The rural police have
problem more difficult tina the in
tensive work Of city police force.
Their charges are far-fung. The
criminals whom they pursue have
territory the size of a Balkan king
dom in which to hide And the
grey riders" are few in numbe-
There are only $50 men patrolling
by horse and motor vehicle a pre-
cinct that runs from New York
City's limit to the Canadian line;
from where the State reaches the
furthest westward to the New Eng
land border. Yet in 1920, this hand
ful Of quiet grey horsemen arrested
some 1000 persons, an average of
about fifty per man. In the same
year the New York City police, fond
OF hailing themselves as the
tncst, made an average of twenty
-FOUR arrests per man per year.
Each day in City Hall Park some
long distance walker arrives with
paper for the mayor to sign to
prove safe arrival. Ten walkers
from distant points came to town
last week. They are bee, ming SO
numerous that the mayors private
guard now refuses 10 usher them
in the presence Of His Honor. So
they wait for him on his nightly
stroll across Brooklyn Bridge.