The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-09-02
WHO'S
NEWS
THIS .
-
WEEK
By LEMUEL F. PARTON

NEW YORK.-Many years ago,
~ this writer, quite unintentional-
ly, aided in making DR.. Ben Reit-
mann of Chicago the first king of the
hoboes, by some
Btndfe Fefe newspaper stories
Seeks Hobo written with no
KINGS Head partisan or politi-
cal intent. For
some reason or other, my name got
on the hobo mailing list as ''jungle
Judge" or "shack" or something
and, from time to time, there comes
fraternal greetings, campaign liter
ature or news of the order. The
latest, from one ''Bindle Pete" is
quite violently prejudiced against
Jeff Davis, the present king, and
says he is to be deposed because he
rode to Europe on the Queen Mary
and because he has been working
at Hollywood, helping coach the di-
rectors in studies of hobo still-life.
This department has been quite
Indifferent to the hard luck of kings
in recent decades, but it would seem
too bad if King Jeff Davis were de-
throned. He has been a ikeable
monarch, bald and genial and dill
gent (perhaps that's the trouble) in
the interests of his kingdom, and
not making any trouble for anybody.
His father, James Davis, was a
journeyman of newspaper mechani-
cal trades in Cincinnati, and young
Jeff took to the road at the age of 10,
covering more than 100000 miles
in his subsequent 40 years of ram
bling. He assails radicalism in the
hobo brotherhood and says he will
keep it 100 per cent American. He
made more than 1000 speeches on
Americanism during the World war.
How could hobo ride these slick
new chromium trains with the cat
fish faces? King jeff probably is
working on that.
wv HEN she was bad, she was
w very, very good, and when she
was good she was horrid. Not ex-
actly, but, in a rough general way,
that was the story
Bette IN of Bette Davis.
Scarlet Hence, while other
Marathon stars shy away
from the hell-cat
Scarlet O'Hara, as not their type,
Bette Davis may take her on. Early
in her career, Miss Davis played
charming hellions with great effec-
tiveness and didn't seem to mind.
She was Ruth Elizabeth Davis,
Massachusetts school girl, changing
her name to "Bette" at the age of
IL in preparation for her stage ca
reer. She later changed her hair
it is brown-and her general make
up. Entrance to the theater came
easily, after course in dramatic
school. She went to Hollywood in
1892. Her first play, "Broken
Dishes," brought few cheers, but,
with coaching by George Arliss and
better casting, she hit the upgrade.
Trying a break-away from War
ners in London in 1886, ruthless
British court condemned her to con-
tinued servitude at top salary.
She is one of the few actresses who
like unsympathetic roles and she
plays them well.
Until recently Franz Lehar was
" living in Vienna. The news that
he is rewriting "The Merry Widow"
makes one wonder whether he finds
Vienna still merry
Lehor N0W whether young
Rewriting writers still write
Merry Widow their plays in the
cafes along the
Kurftenstrasse, as he did in 1905.
The world has wa1tzed along quite
a way in the interval between the
original and rewritten versions.
Herr Lehar got $500, 900 from his
overwhelming New York success in
1907. He waltzed it all right into the
stock market and babe it good-by.
He returned to his native Buda-
pest, lost another lump sum of $75,-
600 and then became a good bust
ness man. His thirty or more operet-
tas, five of which have been pro-
duced here, have made him rich.
He is, or was member of the
Vienna Rotary club, attending
luncheons faithfully, singing club
adaptations of old tunes, wearing a
two-inch button with his name on it
and engaging in friendly back-slap-
ping-big and gregarious, 68 years
old, with his lush mustache touched
with gray. He was ''knapsack
child" as he put it, the son of a
wandering musician. He was child
violinist. Dvorak persuaded him to
hang up his fiddle and take to COM
posing.
g Consolidated News Features.
WNU Service.