The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1942-09-04

by u. l.. STEVENSON
AS the dim-out regulations con-
ttinue night after night, more and
more apparent becomes the change
brought to Broadway by the army
order issued for the protection Of
the lives Of our men of the merchant
marine as well as ships of the
armed forces. With all the big
signs extinguished for the duration,
with no lights above 18th floors, with
stores going dark as soon as closed
for the night, Broadway has lost its
distinctive character and has be-
come just another street. There are
still, nightly crowds in midtown.
But they seem more subdued, less
animated, less gay even though they
are composed largely Of diversion
seekers. Also Broadway throngs
melt away much earlier than they
did before Pearl Harbor. New York
by no means has as yet turned into
nine o'clock town. But many New
Workers are getting much more
sleep than they did in the past.
Just what effect the dim-out is
having on the night life of the city
cannot be determined as yet. AL
ways at this season there is a slump
and clubs that have been lettering
on the brink fold up in numbers
while others continue to struggle
along. But indications are that this
year the end will come far soon
er than it would have in the
past. That applies chiefly to the
plush places with the carriage
trade" Broadway places with no
minimum or no cover charges and
with popular prices, continue to be
thronged. But some of the swank
east, side spots have more tables
than customers. Theater business
does not seem to be affected more
than ordinarily though the season
produced no Darmatic Critics Cir
Gle or Pulitzer Prize winners.
Midtown traffic officers have light
er tasks these nights than in the
past. Decrease in wheeled traffic,
of course, is not entirely due to the
dim-out since there are even more
important factors. But the fact re-
mains that many New Yorker who
in the past was driven to the theater
or some club by his chauffeur, now
takes taxi or rides in the subway
Other car owners, chary of both
tires and gasoline, also use common
carriers or stay at home. The num-
Der of taxis, however, seems as
great as ever though there is no
longer the old familiar traffic con-
gestion. Nevertheless, Broadway
without lights is not nearly as at
tractive. as it was in the past.
New York's roof gardens are op-
Grating, or will operate, as usual
despite the fact that many are above
the 18th floor light limit. Blackout
curtains solve their problems and
air conditioning takes care Of the
matter of ventilation. The Astor
Roof, being only 10 floors above the
street, is well below the limit. But
by means of special shields, no
glare-,is cast upward and it cannot
be seen from the skies.
.
The dim-out has brought a prob
lena very minor one, true-to
those of US who dwell above the 18th
floor. Air raid wardens keep watch
through the night and light escap-
ing because of a forgotten shade,
brings quick and sharp reminder of
regulations and. what will happen if
they are not obeyed. Drawn shades,
or blackout curtains, mean lack of
breezes Of course. So there Is the
choice of sitting in the dark or in
an unventilated room. With the
coming of hot weather, that will be
decidedly inconvenient. But per-
haps the problem can be solved with
electric fans. We're not complain
ing. Our men at Corregidor didn't
think of convenience.
A young woman car owner lis
tened to the troubles of the owner
Of the garage where she stores her
motor. He was sure that the gaso-
line situation would soon force him
out Of business because most of his
patrons would lay up their cars in
some barn. So. instead of taking
her car out and storing it in the
barn of friend, as she had planned
to dc she paid another months rent
in 40. nee.
Just learned that in New York
there are between $500 and 3,000
apartments that rent for $1,000 or
more a year. Also that there is a
wake up service which will ring
you at any hour you may designate
and keep right on ringing the tele-
phone until you answer, for So a
month.
Bell Syndicate-WNU Features.