The Washington herald., 1922-11-16
NelD York City
Day BY Day
By o. o. McIntyre.

j 81
snatching In Gotham shows no
signs sof let up. Greek pirates.
who pounce upon cafe patrons,
spurn the ten-cent tip. Nothing less
than a quarter will do. The power
of the padrone in the cloakroom
has become SO tyrannical that many
Of the supper clubs refuse admission
to those who wish to carry their
wraps inside.
1t is an un-American species of
graft that Is doing so much to dry
up the Broadway nocturnal cases as
prohibition. A coterie Of youeg
bloods. given to cafe spending, re-
Gently formed a club, whose mem
bers were banded together to resist
the HAT snatcher 1t died a few
weeks of inanition.
The other evening In a tour of the
bazaars decided to defend my per-
sonal liberty and fuzzy hat. The
first stop was In theater on Forty
seventh street. At my approach
the eldest son of Tarzan the Ape
reached out for my lid.
gently put 1t behind me- He
circled around in the back and got
hold of 1t. There was a little tug
or war, but he saw the ominous
| CLEAN in my eye. My wife says I'm
mastery that way at times. Going
out l think l heard the entire crew
hiss.
After the theater there was an ex-
cursion to dansant. Another one
| OF the Tarzan boys was on the job.
| He didn't look at me. He merely
reached out his gentle paw and /
smacked his wrist. Smack. Like
that.
Whats eatin' your he growled
in the throaty manner so peculiar
to the jungle. ! seemed to be get
ting on. At the top of the stairs the
| headwaiter started to usher us in.
He saw my hat and stick He clap
ped his hands for an underling
CHECK .Msoo's hat and stick!" he
| ordered. "Ill keep them" I said,
and he put us in a seat behind the
orchestra and under a stairway, the
| mean so-and-so.
At the next stop the news had evil
IDENTIFY circulated. for three swarthy
huskies rushed up to me. Back
| ! cried. Snatch this hat at your
| peril. 1t was like Lionel Hath
| away in the third act-so dramatic
| They didn't get the hat. Neither
| was I permitted to enter the dance
| room. And on my way home 10
seemed to me that all Of the laugh
| n It in Ia rinr
| me. I know now the heartaches of
| the lone crusader.
| For he first time in the history
| of Broadway a distinguished son is
| presenting his even more distin-
| guished father in play. At the
Empire Gilbert Miller is presenting
Henry Miller in a French drama.
| The elder Miller, by the way, has
| given up his romantic. swashb buck
| ling roles and has accepted a role
more suited to the dignity of his
! years. The Empire. the scene of
! practically all of the historic first
| nights. has been frightened by the
interior decorators art. 1t Is one
of the few theaters remaining that
has a spacious foyer. The modern
theater has its box office on the
| street. In fact. the lobby of a re-
Gently built theater was so small
that they couldn't get the office safe
| inside.
One Of the new ways of thinning
Fifth avenue vehicular traffic is
! causing a bleat from the taxi driv-
| ers. Corner policemen are not or
dering all empty taxicabs to turn
! into side streets at the rush nour.
| Only taXis carrying passengers are
| permitted on the drive.
| New York's most picturesque de-
tective is Barney Flood. He is the
| departments go Getter." He has
| been sent to London, Paris, Shang-
| hal. Nome. and other distant cities
to bring back criminals. Once he
arrested a man in Valparaiso, Chile.
| and carried him across the Andes
| to Buenos Aires. He distinguished d
himself in the world war and was
| recently given the Distinguished
| Service Medal by General Pershing.
/ He Is modest young Irishman. a
six footer. and an enthusiastic ath-
| letc. He has received big offers to
write his personal experiences in
| criminal hunting. but has stead
| faStlv refused