Evening star., 1934-02-18
Gotham Plays, Cafes and
Restaurants Are Doing
Increased Business.
HOTEL BUSINESS B0oMS;
REPEAL GIVEN AS CAUSE
N. R. A. and c. W. A. Also De.
clared to Have Contributed
to Upward Trend.
BY THOMAS COMPERE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, February 17.-Com-
mercial entertainment, barometer ex-
traordinary Of either rising prosperity
or the hysteria Of dependency. has
experienced a greater upward surge
along Broadway during the last six
or seven months than during any
similar period since the Nation be-
came groggy with paper profits dur
ing 1928 and 1929. 1t Is generally
conceded that people become grimly
gay during the height of despair, pro-
viding they have the commodities and
the money with which to purchase
them, and that they spend freely and
pleasantly on entertainment during
an upward movement Of the pros
perity cycle.
There is no doubt now about the
increase in spending for entertain
ment-theaters, moving picture shows,
liquor. books, good restaurants, etc
In this section. There now are more
than twice as many legitimate shows
oIOdoWdy L11dh year
ago. What Is more, the majority Of
the shows now running are making
money in a big way, while last year
the show that paid OF even was un-
usual. The palatial movie houses Of
the Times Square and Rockefeller
Center districts that seat their Gus
toners by the thousands are doing
q profitable business-something that
few of them have done since the
cvclonic days Of October, 1929.
Hotel Business Booms.
Another phase OF this movement,
which is actuated by the wider cir
culation Of money and the increase
Of men and women on pay rolls, is
the tremendous gain in business being
experienced by hotels in the metro
politan area. Many Of the hotels here
were losing money before last August.
The upward trend for them started
mildly with the induction OF the
N. R. A. and it became a rocket with
repeal. Now most of the major hotels
which lost money by the avalanche
after the stock market collapse are
making profits that are astounding.
The three major reasons for this
are repeal, the N. R. A. and the
c. w. A. OF course, repeal Of the
eighteenth amendment is the most
important from the short sighted
view in this analysis of the tre-
mendous advance in the hotel busi-
ness, but without increased salaries
and the addition Of from $4,000 to
400, 900 persons to regular pay rolls
in this city, even that would not
have brought this Midas offering to
the hostelries here.
Many Go to Theaters.
This same factor operates In rela-
tion to the increase in attendance at
legitimate theaters and moving pic
ture shows. If the people did not
have the money they could not go.
During the last few years great mass
of people here have had no more than
enough money to exist. Now hum
dreds of thousands OF these persons,
starved for entertainment, find them
selves with some spare cash and regu-
lar jobs. Their natural reaction Is
70 nANc some 1un- 1Acy are lAco Va
sitting at home and playing cards.
The answer is that they are spend
ing money for observation-disclosures
ters, movies. hotels, restaurants, liquor.
In the main, 1t Is an excellent sign
because the movement bears the ap-
pearance of q search for relaxation,
rather than desperation.
Compared with year ago there has
been a gain of 1876 per cent in en-
ployment and 20 per cent in pay rolls
In factories in this State, according to
an analysis made public several days
ago by Elmer F. Andrews, industrial
commissioner. This sharp gain was
made despite loss of 90 per cent in
employment during the month Of De-
cember Is to January IS. However,
during that same period, which usually
means q sharp decline in both en-
ployment and pay rolls, the pay rolls
gained .06 per cent. The average de-
cline in employment for the Deem
Der to January month for the 10
years from 1915 to 1893 was II. The
employment index for factories in New
York now Is 65.6 and the pay rolls
5l.6. These index numbers are COM
puted with the averages for the three
years, 1925 to 1927, taken as 10o..