Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-10-21
Lights Of NewXork
BY IL. STEVENSON

OlISu GUESSING tHe various pTIu6SS
that span the East river, almost al
ways have seen painters busy on
the great steel structure. They
may be working high up on the
towers or cables, or they may be
down under the roadways with hui
mainly, street cars, subway or ele-
waited trains, motor trucks, auto
mobiles, horse-drawn vehicles and
push-carts passing above them. But
they seemed to be always on the
job. Inquiry developed the fact that
bridge painting in New York is a
continuous process. Being contin-
uous, no one knows, for instance,
how many coats Of paint the Brook
lyn bridge has received in its more
than half century of use. But the
materials used weigh many tons
and the work runs into thousands OF
man hours. There is reason for
keeping the painters busy. The
bridges are steel. The waters they
span are salt. The air deposits salt
on the steel. Chemical action re-
suits in which steel gets the worst OF
it. So the protective covering has
to be kept intact.
At present, the under roadway of
the George Washington bridge,
which is the connecting link be-
tween New York and New Jersey
over the Hudson, is undergoing its
first repainting job since it was
opened to the public in 1881. It's
quite drop from the underworld Of
the bridge to the river, it being so
far above the water that, at high
tide, the largest ships can pass I'M
der without scraping a spar. So to
minimize the danger to the paint
ers, a great steel net has been
stretched beneath them. Motorists
crossing the bridge have been star
tied by seeing men in white overalls
climbing the railing. Their alarm
was needless since the men were
merely the painters going to their
work.
AS is the case with the East river
bridges, painting the George Wash
ington bridge is continuous job.
Painting the underworld was begun
on the Jersey side some time ago
and by the end of summer, the CEN
ter will be reached. Next summer,
the start will be made on the Man
haitian side and again the painters
will brush their way out to the cen
ter of the bridge. The painters get
an excellent view of the boats going
up and down the river. But /
wouldn't want to trade jobs with
them. But then maybe they wouldn't
like this one.
Speaking of painting, there seems
to have been quite change in bar
room art since days before prohi-
bition. In old times, a well-fed
blonde, clad strictly for summer
weather, satisfied the esthetic
yearnings of most patrons. Nova
days, the blonde is gone. In her
place have come all kinds of scenes
In one midtown establishment the
drinker looks at characters from
the works of Charles Dickens. In
another, his eyes rest on what might
be early Egyptian. In still another,
everything is modernistic. AS for
the cocktail places, frequented
largely by the dear sex, they are
just too ducky for words. That re-
minds me. In the old days when
liquor was illegal, the powder room
of Greenwich Village speakeasy
was decorated with pink elephants.
George Gershwin has passed on
but his memory fingers. Broad
wayites were discussing the COM
poser and his works in the grill of
a midtown hotel and Arthur Boran
happened to recall a story Gershwin
told him when he asked how he hap
pened to write "Swanee. Gersh-
win said that he and Irving Caesar,
the lyricist, were riding on a bus
up Riverside drive in 1920 discuss
ing ideas for songs. Caesar sug-
gested "Swanee" as a title and
Gershwin could hardly wait to get
to piano and set it to music. When
he did get started, he finished the
song within an hour. 1t was first
sung in a Ned Wayburn revue at
the opening of the Capitol theater.
Though liked, it didn't become pop
ular until Al Jolson sang it year
later. Then it Travelled the world.
Lady Cliff sang it in London and
Harry Pilcer in Paris.
Speaking of music, one of the
towns best known orchestra lead
ers, after hard nights work, lay
down to get some much needed rest.
He couldn't get to sleep, however,
because of the loud playing of
photograph next door. Unable to
restrain himself, he got up, dressed
and banged on the adjoining door
angrily. And imagine his embar-
rassment when he found that the
selections being played were his
own recordings and that the offend
er was one of his most ardent fans
@ Bell Syndicate.-WNU Service.
Ask Too Much
Reddinp Calf IF KirL car