The Washington herald., 1922-07-06
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a IMPRESSIONS By
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NEW YORK, July 5-Tin Pan
alley, like its lyrical refrains. has
its joys and sorrows. Obscure
youths with a flair for popular
ditties are suddenly showered with
gold. Broadway welcomes them
with open arms. In the dazzling
new world the cleaners of the
White Way are soon on the trail.
Four composers whose tunes
were whistled in every city and
hamlet have in the past few days
fallen upon evil days. Still an
other. the composer of fifty success
ful songs, died friendless In the
charity ward of the bleak Black
wells Island Charity Hospital.
II Is possible to count on the
fingers of one hand song writer's
who have made fortunes and kept
them The two most notable ex-
amples are Irving Berlin and Gene
Buck. The Society of Authors,
Composers and Publishers have
voted donations amounting to ST.
500 to INDECENT composers during
the past month.
Broadway has its hale fellows who
are ever ready to aid in the spend
ing. There are quite a few COM
posers and lyricists who have
dashed off a song in a publishing
mousse stan in single afternoon
and received royalties of more than
$780, 900.
Because of this miracle they be.
lleVe that they can do the same
thlng almost any afternoon they
gather around the piano. The
truth Is that no composer rarely
ever has more than four distinct
song hits. A hit. incidentally, is
not mere successful song. IL
means that the sales must amount
TO more than 100000 copies.
In a Forty-second street theate.
foyer after the show the other
night l recognized a composer VIII,
once accepted the bows with the
ibrettist of reigning musica,
comedy hit. He was wearning a
faded sweater and turnover shoes
and called out the song numbers in
the play, copies OF which he sold as
the audience passed out.
lHis sCnOol story is going the
rounds. There are many credits
for 1t but Frank Craven is said to
have told 1t first along Broadway to
F. p. A.:
Teacher: Johnny. how much is
J times 30"
Johnny: Three times , is g."
Teacher: Pretty good, Johnny"
Johnny: Pretty good. He'll!
that's perfect
The news that william McFee.
the writer OF sea stories, had been
sentenced to the Arizona desert Is
happily untrue. The confusion re-
suited from tale that Tommy
Jonkers. character in McFee's
"Casuals of the Sea" has gone to
Arizona. McFee. so his friends say.
is reeking with wealth.
In a building on Thlrty-fourth
street there are at least fifty offices
occupied by race-track tipsters.
They profess to have stable Sc
crets-real feedbox information
Their clients pay them from IS to
$40 for each tip. and as the tipsters
give out each horse in the race
some are absolutely sure to win
1t Is an old game and crooked
one. but the feverish track follow
ers still believe in 1t. They are
the most gullibIe people in the
world, according to an old Broad
way gambler. One famous Wall
Street operator, sent to prison
three times, started his fortune by
buying a page advertisement de-
claring that certain horse would
win on a certain day. The infor-
nation was offered free. The horse
won. He said afterwsrd 1t was a
mere guess, but the following week
his tipping bureau made more than
$4,000.