Evening star., 1934-12-16

Continued From First Page.)
of finer and more expensive toys than
| ever before were brought in. There
| were wagons, mechanical trains, wind
up toys, games, puzzles, dolls, picture
books bats, balls, clothes-just about
everything calculated to bring Joy to
the hearts of youngsters.
At the toy shop, over which Mrs.
Loren johnson Is In full charge, aided
| by Mrs. Frank Parsons, members Of
the council and volunteer workers who
are gladly donating their time to the
cause, toiled far into the night, sorting
the toys and clothing and preparing
them to be delivered into the hands
Of needy boys and girls on Christmas
morning.
Response to Be Answered.
These gifts. according to the plan
of Mrs. Mary Edith Coulson, secre-
ltary of the Family Welfare and Rec
reation Committee of the Council. will
go to the mothers or families Of the
many deserving children who have
written or called in asking to be re-
membered. This will give the parents
or guardians of these children the
opportunity to play Santa Claus
themselves, or to make whatever dis
tribution of the gifts they choose.
The gifts will also be distributed
by the council to boys clubs and all
the settlements and charitable organ
lzations on the councils lists, includ-
ing the following institutions:
st. Johns IOrphanage, German Or
phan Asylum, Euclid Street Children's
| Home, Travellers Aid Society, GAL
linger Hospital Providence Hospital
Day Nursery, Providence Hospital
Children's Ward. Episcopal City Mis-
sions, Juvenile Protective Association,
American Legion Welfare and Relief
Department, Children's Hospital, Dis
trict Training School, Associated
Charities, Northeast Boys Club, Cath
olic Charities, st. Johns Church, Co
lumbia Hospital for Women, Juanita
K. Nye Council House and others, in
Guiding numerous private groups.
Trucks and Cars Needed.
! Faced with the difficult task of dis
tributing these thousands of toys to
the many children, families and in
StitutionS who are listed to receive
them, Mrs. CoulSon has issued an ap-
peal for assistance in this work.
Trucks and private cars will be need
ed to haul the many gifts to their
destination, and the council will b>
most grateful to any firm or private
individual who will come to its aid
In this respect.
The appeal for Washingtonians to
attend the Star-Warner Bros toy
matinees to provide gifts for the city's
needy children was emphasized this
year through a special moving-pic-
ture feature Of The Stars Expedition
to the far north in search Of Santa
Claus, which was shown in nine
Warner Bros theaters during 81 per-
formances, prior to the toy matinees,
and calling particular attention to
them.
The film was based on an airplane
trip made by Capt. Kleinschmidt,
leader of The Stars northern ex-
pedition, to find the actual home and
workshops of Santa Claus. Stories of
the progress of the journey sent by
wireless from the plane In flight and
at its base were published in The Star
on II consecutive days. finally an
nouncing the arrival of the film, which
was first shown here on Thanksgiving
day at the Metropolitan Theater.
Draws Record Crowds.
The film. which showed the first
scenes ever made In Stana Claus
Land, with thrilling shots made dur
ing the more perilous phases Of the
journey, and interesting views Of Arc
tic animals and Eskimos in their
native land, proved tremendous hit,
and drew record crowds of both chill
dren and grownups at every theater
where it was presented.
When the Christmas toy matinees
opened yesterday morning the lobbies
and entrances of every theater where
they were held were jammed with
| crowds waiting to get in. They came
from all parts of Washington, and
from many nearby Maryland and Vir-
ginia towns, each bearing gifts for
the city's needy children
Theater managers reported that
larger audiences than ever before
filled their houses at yesterdays toy
matinees. and that the gifts far ex-
ceeded in number those brought dur
ing the previous three years.
The downtown theaters reported
that many trucks from department
stores made deliveries to the doors Of
the theaterS from persons who had
purchased toys and gifts at the stores
for The Star-Warner Bros matinees.
At one theater alone, is such deliv-
cries, including a large number Of
| gifts, were received.
Theaters Report Crowds.
The Tivoli Theater reported that
more than 1000 toys had been
brought there by the 1,700 persons
who attended the performances. The
Avenue Grand reported a capacity
house, with many more toys on hand
than they had received last year. The
Metropolitan reported the biggest
crowd in attendance at any Christmas
toy matinee during the last three
years. The Earle Theater reported q
greater number of gift contributions
than ever before, and reports from
all other theaters where the matinees
were held told of record crowds.
Although the downtown theaters,
the Earle and the Metropolitan, opened
i their doors at $3.50 am. and the nine
neighborhood houses at $50 waiting
lines began forming long before OPEN
ing time. Toys piled up. And even
during the afternoon, long after the
matinees were over, additional con-
tributions kept coming in from those
persons who were unable to attend the
| matinees.
| The Warner Brothers had prepared
the finest programs ever offered at the
Christmas matinees, under the careful
| planning and supervision of Frank La
Falco, who gave much Of his time and
energy toward making the shows q
success, and through the cooperation
Of the major film companies which
donated feature pictures for the oc-
casion. These include: Warner
Bros, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, First
National, Fox, Paramount and r. K. O.
Qualification Warranted.
1t was a great day for Santa Claus,