Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-26
NIGHT CLUBS Wall
BECOMES LOUDER
Padlocks and Iniunctions lust
at Christmas Time Is Held
DIRTY Outrage"
BY Consolidated Press.

ny Conson0Sted Prese.
NEW YORK, December 25.-Pad
locks to the right of them, padlocks
to the left of them, impeded the prog
ress of wanderers in the Broadway
night club district, who sought their
Christmas cheer in easily gurgled
fern this week.
Prohibitions blight upon the Gay
White Way has stirred note OF
complaint that out-wails the wall OF
saxophone. answering the savage
attack of the Federal authorities with
their padocks and injunCtionS. BY
New Year eve the walls will become
a roar.
The night clubs are spending no
time in idle tears. Out of a maze of
rumors comes the more or less in
formed prediction that the reply of
the night club owners will be political.
rather than legal. Although this is
distinctly a Federal drive. with Pro.
hibition Administrator Mills slapping
on the padlocks, the jazz magnates
are passing the word to Mayor Walker
that they expect him to do something
in their behalf
Dirty Outrage at This Time
Walkerswrote that song. will you
love me in December as you do in
May" said one outraged cabaret own
er. I'm telling him we won't. unless
he can call off these hounds. Walker
can do lot TO stop this if he wants
to. It's a dirty outrage to pull this
at Christmas time"
Mayor Walker has already shown a
bit of Christmas spirit by ordering his
commissioner of licenses to allow
night clubs and CabaretS to remain
open until o'clock in the morning
after New Year eve. instead of en-
forcing the o'clock closing law.
Which becomes operative January /.
Although the owners have retained
some of the best lawyers in New York
and have been advised that their bat
tie is against the Federal Government.
ana not the New York police, the
result has been a IRENE Gus stirring
In political circles, and all sorts of
omlnous threats are reaching the
Government and city authorities.
Mills has been steadily dealing out
padlocks and injunctions all week.
although acknowledging that he does
not expect to dry up Broadway. The
degree OF success attending his efforts
could be judged only by a few dark
doors here and there in the calcium
district. There was the usual army Of
hilarious "hippers" at the cabarets:
vaudeville entertainers fashioned little
rhymed pleasantries in which "Mills,
rhymed with stills" and life went
merrily on.
Club Owners Worried.
But the nieht-club owners are seri.
ously worried over the new attack.
particularly over the Injunction phase
"A mere paddock is something else
again. They can remain open for 20
days. in which they can prepare a. de-
fense-legal or eXtra-legal. But the
personal injunction closes them IN
with a bang, and it is against this
that they have been marshaling their
army of high-priced lawyers.
Among the IL or Is exclusive"
clubs there is-actual or pretended
great indifference to the activities of
Commissioner Mills. According to the
managers of these clubs, a Sunday
school is rather a low and question
able resort in comparison with these
cases of sweetness and light. They
cite the names of the socially i'm
peccable and illustrious ones on. their
register Of visitors; they hint at power
and sanctity on their lists of financial
supporters. The hapless "Hotsey-
Totseys" are looked upon merely as
social entrepreneurs-just ordinary
honka-tonka, if you want to know
and there is no reason why anybody
should worry about what happens to
them.
There was vast curiosity about the
identity of the socially eminent"
woman who co-operated with Commits
sfuner Mills in procuring evidence
against the clubs. The rumor grows
that the dl'ys have launched a care
fully organized campaign of social os-
tracism for frequenters of night clubs
and for persons suspected of having
financial interest in them.
Out of all the legal. political and
social complications one fact emerges.
1t was a green Christmas for the flask
vendors. In department stores, cigar
stores, novelty shops and jewelry
stores TASKS were showed to the front
as the one most alluring Christmas
gift.