Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-15
Skid Row.
Los Angeles
Explained
East 9Th Street Creased
Way Of JobIess
BY DAMON RUNYON

~
" and Fifth street as il de-
pouches off Main TO the east
ward represent a sort of kasbah
Of the City of Angels, as we
understand it, though we hasten
TO assure our lady that they are
unlikely TO find Hedy Lamar or
Charles Boyer there as they did
in the picture "Algiers."
Hedy and Charles live out
Hollywood way. as far removed
from Fifth and Main as all the
other members of the cinema
colony including the picture
makers who select remote To-
Gales for the same color and
atmosphere that exists right
under their noses, as you might
say.
East Fifth street in Los An.
geles is known as Skid Row."
title that is applied to certain
sections Of several other western
cities, including San Francisco,
we believe. Mr.. Woodland, the
able assistant managing editor of
the Los Angeles Examiner,
Wednesday told us that he had
heard the name was derived
from the fact that East Fifth
used to be the seat of numerous
employment agencies and that
the unemployed would go there
to be "skidded out" on jobs.
Now every other door in East
Fifth seems to be gin mill or
lodging house, with occasionally
the inevitable billiard room. We
never saw city in which the
old pool table is kept as busy as
in Los Angeles. skid Row" is
the haunt of rumpots and idlers
and perhaps at times even more
sinister characters. though Whef,
we saw it there were so many
cops around that we judged any
character would have difficulty
being sinister. at least in public.
The wagon kept coming up and
loading in characters and TAX
ing them off to the moan-and-
wall.
WE ARE told that generally
w there used TO be a king of
the Main Street skid Row.
region and that the king often
took tithes of sin and such, but
like everywhere else the office
of king became unpopular in
Los Angeles.
The kings were chased over
the hills or sent to college and
now the job is reputed vacant,
though some experts we inter-
rogated on this point seemed
slightly disposed to skepticism.
That is one of the things
wrong with this world. Some
body is always disposed to skep-
ticism. We saw the first lady
BARRIERS in Skid Row" that we
have clapped eyes on since we
left Larimer street i'm Denver.
We also saw some lady bar
tenders, but we were told that
a lady must be connected with
an establishment by marriage or
ownership to tend bar.
We are sure the ladies we saw
were within the purview of this
provision. The customers were
paying strict attention to their
beers.
WE SAW other ladies in the
w gin mills of Main street
and Skid Row" who seemed to
be functioning as entertainers.
vocally and otherwise. We were
told that the gin mills used to
have lady attaches whose sole
duty was to solace lonely hearts
and who were known as
"B-girls," presumably a short
ening of bar girls"
But that now the rules pro-
Ill1lA-Al1E-t-ilt ffftftt- tt fdtffCS
who cannot give off song or
other form of advertisement. in
that role, they may also lend
the sunshine of their smiles and
CAB 10 a forlorn wayfarer and
mayhap. split magnum of
brandy with him.
II is only fair TO the ladies
TO state. however. that most of
them have an arrangement with
the bartender to give them tea
in lieu of brandy unknown TO
the bloke and while the tea may
be charged for at this same rate
as the stronger fluid, should a
lonely heart carp at the lady's
request for her stomach lining
while he is receiving the JUNCTION
of her solaces? We think no.
men, especially when we may
throw in song for lagniappe.
When we were younger. we
always loved a song with our
Solace.
Copyugh, 1871 by King Features
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