The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-07-31
In New York
BYPAUL HARRISON

New York-Odds and ends: The most realistic play now in Broad way-in fact, that ever was on Broadway = is Tobacco Road" For example, it has several tons of earth right on the stage in which the poor-whites do their groveling. It also has a scene in which the cast is supposed to eat raw turnips. And the cast EATS raw turnips.
 Last spring it wasn't so bad, because a 'well-aged winter turnip is not as strong as, say, a winter onion. The cast begged for a chance to eat something else for a change, but the manager said no, it wouldn't be fair to run in apples disguised as turnips. Re- gently the supply of 1883 turnips ran out, and the property man bought a bushel of hot, peppery spring turnips. The performers gasped and sputtered and wept when they bit into them, and were unable to pick up their lines gasping, but it's all very realistic. Tag Game
 Up to the time of prohibition repeal, large, west-side speaheasy had issued Identification tags to more than 19,000 trusted custom CTS. Each tag carried the street ad- dress of the place, and a serial number. Besides showing this tag at the door, each patron was re- quired to give his name and birth date, and these were checked with l. ,toL l,I., ~,Ie
 Well, you'd be surprised to know how far 19,000 people can scatter in short time, and how much Maine to California, police have telegraphed those tag numbers for identification of criminals, few pauper dead, and at least three suicides.
 The scheme doesn't always work, though. Not long ago tag found on a body taken from the river almost brought an an- nounceemnt of the death of well-known lawyer. He returned from a fishing trip in the nick of time and explained that he had been robbed of his keys and the tag by hobo.
 Ghosts Walk
 With appropriate libations, and as many contemporary celeb rites as could be gathered for the ceremonies, they've revived the "Amen Corner" of the old Fifth Avenue Hotel. It got its name from the time when Tom Platt, republican boss, sat there every day to be yeSsed by his hench- men. There, too, gigantic deals were made and broken, huge in- dustries were born. The presi- dential candidacy of U. s. Grant was planned there. And the Penn sylvania oil craze, comparable to more recent years of boom specu- lation, received a flying start from conferences in the Amen Corner.
 Most of the great figures in many fields were habitues of the spot. Mark Twain and William Cullen Bryant might be found chatting with Edwin Booth. Jay Gould, Jim Fiske, Cornelius Van derbilt and Hamilton Fish talked finance. Horce Greeley formu- lated some of his opinions and pol. icies there. Henry Ward Beecher dropped around occasionally, but uO Film Fables
 Broadway enjoys nothing so much as. stories about Holly woods mistakes and extrava- gances. The rialto likes to be- lieve that it knows everything about show business, and of course it's more than a little jeal- ous of the lavish way screen ex- ecutives are supposed to toss mon- eny about
 There's the yarn, for example, about the movie concern which called across the continent by tell ephone to ask a certain theatrical producer whether he would sell the rights to a play for $35,0O0. "Pd like to do it" said the pro- ducer. "But really don't want to rob you. Two years ago sold you movie rights on that show for $25,000, and you already have made and released the picture un- der a different title."