Evening star., 1931-12-20
TWO TOY MAT|NEES
ASSURE HAPPINESS.
2,200 New Toys Given for
Capital ChiIdren-Distribu-
ton Under Way.

Now that Washington has answered
the TOY matinee" challenge with
bright avalanche of gifts, efforts will
be made to see that each present
reaches the hands of a child who m ght
otherwise have walked to an empty
stocking on Christmas morning.
Almost 1900 new to's were tumbled
into the tills at the Metropolitan and
Tlvol Theaters yesterday, where
Christmas gift to the poor was the price
OF admission to performances arranged
by Warner Bros. and The Star.
Already plans are under way by the
Council OF Social Agencies to distribute
the toys as widely as possible among
sick children, crippled children, under
privileged children in all parts of the
city.
Check for Implications.
The gifts will be placed in deserving
homes under the supervision of Miss
Edith CoulSon, director of the councils
Christmas distribution bureau. who for
several weeks past has been compiling
lists Of children in need of help this
year.
Names will be checked through the
Social Service Exchange to eliminate
applications and insure that no child
Is overlooked because a present went to
another already served by some charity
agency.
Virtually every toy through this
means will go to a child who might
otherwise expect nothing but a heart
ache on Christmas day.
A crowd of 800 thronged the orches-
ira floor at the Metropolitan, where the
feature nictJ1rn Co,
The Tivoli, showing Jackie Cooper in
"Skippy," drew more than 1900 per-
sons. Three-fourths of the total num-
Der were children, many of whom were
brought by their mothers, although
there was a surprising number of adults
IN both audiences.
Public Put 1t Over.
j. ]. Payette, general manager for
Warner Brothers in the Washington
area, expressed qualification at the sue
cess Of the benefits. 1T was a fine
showing" he said We did what we
could, but it was the people of Wash
1ngton who put the idea oyer l take
this opportunity to thank the patrons
who made the show a success, and to
wish merry Christmas to the young
sters who benefited"
The first patron to arrive at the
T1voli yesterday was little girl, scarce
ly years old, who presented herself at
the lobby doors just after daylight,
while the janitor was in charge of the
theater
Il wanted to bring the first present"
she said timidly, extending a small
china dog in the palm of her hand.
The janitor, grinning broadly, accept
ed the gift and told the child that if
she would come back in five hours he
would ask the management to give her
the best seat in the house.
Foremost in the crowd waiting for
the Metropolitan doors to open was a
4-year-old boy, clutching at a red
scooter taller than himself. Give this"
he admonished the doorman. Ito boy
about my size !" or a little bigger.
maybe" he added when the doorman
grinned at his efforts to hoist the
scooter into the Santa Claus hamper.
Marked for Children.
Some of the gifts were carefully done
up in Christmas wrappers and tied with
bright ribbon. others loosely bundled in
newspapers or brought direct from the
toy shops-only few, however, were
second hand
BY far the greater number of gifts
were shining, new toys, personally Sc
lected and purchased by the donors and
marked for girls or boys of a certain
age.
Several hundred persons who could
not attend the performances because of
illness, age or some unavoidable en-
gagement, brought or sent toys prior