Smyrna times., 1935-08-22
SIDE LIGHTS OF
NEW YORK CITY
Told By L. L. Stevenson in
His Own Immical Way
of DOings in City
INTERESTING SKETCHES

4 In the Bronx. Every day c0lOreQ
women, old and young, line up at
| Westchester avenue and Southern
boulevard and at Prospect avenue
and East One Hundred and Sixty
first street, to sell themselves into
/ temporary bondage at SO much an
hour. Ragged, down-at-the-heel,
hungry, they await the appearance
of possible purchasers OF their
services sometimes with chatter and
laughter but more often with grim
silence. There is no assurance of
employment and the walk to and
from Harlem is long, especially
when the stomach is empty and the
shoes so thin that feet all but
touch the concrete. The "slave
market"-those who line up and
wait supplied that name-is the last
hope. If the employer doesn't come
along, there will be more hunger
and possibly eviction, since Harlem
landlords do not care to wait for
their rent.
Those who make purchases at the
Islave market" are housewives of
the vicinity. Shrewd In bargain
ing, desiring to make every penny
count, their offers are always low.
Follows an auction of sorts. But
the one with work has all the ad-
vantage. Household tasks may
await another day but hunger-and
landlords-won't In the end, there
is capitulation since need makes 1t
seem better to take from 121h to Is
cents an hour for hard and heavy
work that In good times brought so
cents an hour, than 1t is to walk
back to Harlem penniless. Also
the employment Is only temporary
and there is always the hope-sel-
dom realized but hard to kill-that
there will be a change for the bet
ter.
One Of the biggest reasons for
the existence Of the "slave markets"
fs the fact that there are practi-
eally no jobs for eolored men. Jobs
such as porters. walters. washroom
attendants. messengers. etc., that
once were filled only by colored
men have been taken over by whites
since the depression. Harlem moth
ers and wives, as well as single !
women, have always worked. But
present conditions have placed an
additional burden on them. SO they
line up and wait at the "slave mar
kets."
Speaking Of colored people, there
was the little girl In the school out
Mt Long Island who told her teacher
her name was "Fee-mal-ee" Jones.
Asked to spell the first name, she
replied, Female" It seems that
when she was born, her parents
were unable to decide on a name, so
at the hospital the blank was filed
in (Female) Jones. The parents
taking that as official, from then
on called her. "Fee-mal-ee."
Related the foregoing to a friend
whereupon he recalled a somewhat
similar instance which concerns
woman quite well known among the
Seven Million. In connection with
birth proceedings. she had to OBJ
tain a birth certificate. Trouble en-
suing in looking it up. she explained
that her parents had first decided
TO call her Olive. But because she
was fair-complexioned, they had
changed the name to Lillian, after
Lillian Russell, the "airy fairy" of
that dag. And search disclosed the
fact that she was merely listed as
"Female."
Dealing a bit more with names.
Ii seems that bartenders, BARRIERS,
walters. pullman car porters and
others are generally called by any
name that comes to the mind of the
patron. lot of places in New
York have solved that problem by
neat plaques which announce
George now working" or whatever
the name Of the man behind the
stick may be. So when a patron
addresses the barman az. Mac"
he merely points to the sign.
One of those Seventh avenue 'ebar
and grill places" has settled the
matter of the sales tax-generally
known as "the nuisance tax"-in a
very handy manner that does away
with the bother Of coppers. A sign
In the window announces, "Cock-
tails, "a cents; sales tax, 1 cent;
total, 25 cents"
Noticed a headline, Bridge work
for $50 men," Into my ears came
the words, "Open just a little
wider, please" along with the sharp
buzz Of a drill. But it seems the
$50 are not to call on dentists. They
are to be given employment on the
new Triborough bridge.
c. Bell syndicate.-wNU Service.
The Three Musketeers