The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-11-06
In New York
By PAUL HARRISON

By PAUL hAhhlSON
 New York-The mock war be- tween the Park Avenue exhibition ists and the professional models of Flatbush, has been providing no end of innocent amusement and lots of dandy publicity for everybody involved.
 The clothes horses, or Allies, of both society and the working classes are pleased to find their pictures in most of the newspapers and magazines, together with neatly phrased opinions, attributed to themselves, concerning the al- leged ruthlessness of wealthy post debs who are cutting professional mannequins out of jobs.
 It has all reached the silly stage at which representatives of smart shops engaging society models (with or without pay) are tele- phoning the professionals so that they may organize picket lines when fashion shows are being held. Result: crowds, police, excitement, and everyDody's name Gncluding the names of the shops) in tile papers.
 Propaganda
 Fact is, too that the whole con- troversy originated in the agile mind of fellow named Bert Nevins, who is press agent for mannequin school. Under the sly goading of this propagandist, the work-a-day models decided with fetching indignation that the blue blood gals were stealing the sables o fftheir backs, if not the cavior from their mouths.
 And as we have some one of those incongruous situations in which the enviably idle rich are sternly reminded that they had better remember their place-re- maining, if not rich, at least idle. It strikes me, anyway, that the motive of working society girls have been misinterpreted long enough. We've been told that they have wearied of purposeless lives and giddy rounds of pleasure; that they wish to justify their existence in the busy world. and do big, constructive deeds for the benefit of mankind. Wealth does not mean happiness-and so on, and on. Achievement-that's what these dewey darlings crave.
 Fun In Work.
 All that, if I may say so, is | just so much pate de fois gras, or goose liver. The harsh truth is that the debbies have observed that wage-slaves have fun. And they do have fun, these models and night1club singers, | secretaries, smart-shop clerks and | department-store buyers. Some of them get tickets to all the shows. and unchaperoned business trips to Europe. They meet lots of in
 teresting people-people one does-
 mt meet in drawing rooms-prize- | fighters. movie stars, scandal tinged playboys, snappy Broadway comedians and college heroes.
 Poor Little Rich Girls.
 So it's little wonder that the pampered, hampered Park Avenue
 lasses believe that it must be just
 too, too devine to have a nice little I job all one's very own. And q l lucky apartment of ones own, with
 acquaintances of ones own choos-
 ing.
 You see, there are negative con-
 alterations. Formal balls can he pretty dull. Dukes and princes can be paunchy or bald, or both. | Blue blooded bachelor millionaires
 can be stupid. Seldom in a life time do really good catches come along-such as Bill Plankington, who has $5,00,O00 left from a mid
 west packing fortune, and who dances the rhumba; or Jimmy
 Burden, who besides being rich ana affable, is friend of the Prince of Wales.
 Even when good catches do ap-
 pear, they become so adroit at I logging match making mamas that
 they usually wind up in bewildered
 bachelorhood. That was an idle
 threat the mannequins made about
 stealing the socialitess boy friends if the socialistes keep on talk
 ing modelling jobs. The profession al models don't want any Park
 Avenue boy-friends thank you.
 Members of New York's Four Thousand have been contending plaintively that they need the
 money from jobs quite as much I as do the regular models. Maybe so. Marjorie Oelrichs almost sup
 ports herself. Mrs Langdon Post gives part of her wages to char I ity. So does Eve Symington, a
 blue -blooded night-club singer | Mary Taylor has earned enough
 to pay for drama lessons. And
 Lucille Brokaw has done suffi- ciently we'll to continue with her
 painting and sculpture. Could bad
 old mannequins call painting and
 dramatics 'luxuries,' when poof.
 little debbies' souls are starving for expression?