The Washington herald., 1922-10-10
Nel, York City
Day BY Day
By o. o. Mcintyre.

NEW YORK, Oct. s.-Poor Broad.
way! II seems to be singing it's
swan song. There is a touch of the
pathetic in the "Give a thought to
Broadway" movement for those
VINO knew 1t as a modern Appian
way-the dashing boulevard that
was once the wonder of all hemis-
pheres.
Several years ago its decadence
set in. And of late II is slipping
with a rush to mere tawdry
street where the dog-faced boy
vies with the bearded lady for the
White Way accla m. Museums.
gim-crack shops, synthetic orange
drink stands and the like give IL
Bowery flair.
Once the promenade of the great,
1t is now the place for the yokel
To puy sneeze bombs to annoy the
boys down at the store. Chain
drug stores and pastry shops stand
wheree famous hostelries raised
their facades. The Knickerbocker.
the Claridge-but why name them
are no more.
Yap wagons line the curb where
once the resplendent brougham
stood and instead of a smartly-
dressed crowd one sees only wom-
en- of painted charm and men of
bored puffiness. Even now peo-
pie are referring to old Broadway
as "Gyp Alley" on account of its
come men, strumpets, bootleg
gers and yokel-yankers.
1t is only at night that Broad
way Displays its old-time flavor.
Whatever may be said of 1t, 1t is
still the worlds theatrical capi-
tai and the best and finest must
go there for their amusement, but
they come and go hurriedly and
do their d ming on Fifth and Park
avenues.
To one who has watched this
changing world of Broadway. 1t is
easy to see that Fifth avenue will
in time become Broadway and
Park avenue will be the old-time
F fth. Fifth avenue Is already be-
eing given over to trade. Signs
are going up on buildings and some
! of the smartest shops in town. have
moved eastward to Park avenue
1t was only the other night that
on Fifth avenue / heard young
rouged maiden say. I'm so thoisty
and do'ty l could commit a moi
dahl" That is the beginning of
the eclipse. 1t was the same when
Tenth avenue moved over to Broad
way and began the Boweryization.
Percy Hammond, the erudite
critic of the drama, pens his sor-
row at having been inflicted with
the name of Percy in the Tribune
III
Gilead. There was one day when
hope sang in his heart. 1t was a
report that the haberdasher clerk
from the Middle West who mount
ed a trench in the Belleau Wood
and shouted to his tagging COM
rades, Come on. damn you, do you
want to live forever" was named
Percy. Mr. Hammond later learned
that the herO's name was Cuthbert
and that he was a soda water clerk
in Altoona.
New York flappers are hitting
the hookah. At least that Is the
whispered gossip in the dansants.
Hitting he hookah Is merely smok-
ing the Oriental water pipe instead
of cigarettes. A group can gather
around and try out the taste of the
long distance smoke from a glow
ing bit of charcoal and a pill of
Pers an tobacco kept burning to-
"ether at the top Of the narghile
| rhe smoke comes through the bot
| tie of water and is said to be pleas
ant and refreshing. There are
| more than 10000 narghiles i'm
| ported to New York each year
| but. of course. most of them are
| sold to the miscellaneous North
| Africans and .Levantines.
Over in the Cherry Hi district
the other afternoon l passed a row
| Of tenement houses occupied most
/ ly by cOlored folk. From the
! street l could see into the front
room of one home. There was no
carpet on the floor. pictures on
the wall or a single bit of furni-
ture except a player-piano. which
was running full tilt. ! stopped to
chat with the white Janitor. He
told me the family had stripped
their home to make the first pay
ment on the player-piano. Those
folks will deny themselves every
comfort for music" he added.