Evening star., 1945-03-22

4io1iJ. oN ~ A"hoJ VA Ao
Guardia of New York.
Mayor La Guardia did accept it
but having found that he does not
like it, has now rejected it. On his
own authority he has changed the
closing hour in New York to l am
Midnight closing, he explained
caused traffic snarls. resulted in
rapid drinking" and tendency
toward unlawful sale of liquor. Ir
other words, it was just too much
bother.
The Mayors action is in frank
defiance of the wishes of the Fed.
eral Government, as represented by
the Office of War Mobilization and
Reconversion. This agency had
asked the country to curtail its
night life as a means of saving a
little coal and aiding a little toward
the solution of the manpOWer prob
lem.
Made Law in Some Places.
AS presented by Director ByrneS,
1t was only a request. 1t was re-
ceived with good grace not only by
the public in general, but by those
businessmen directly affected. the
operators of places of public enter
tainment. On midnight of March l
the lights went out all over the
land
Meanwhile, in many cities Director
Byrnes' request was converted into
law by city councils and police au-
~
York, where a city ordinance was
enacted at the Mayors inStigation
What authority ne has now for
setting aside the ordinance is for
the city of New York to decide.
The effect on the rest of the
country would be decidedly whole
some if the decision should be that
the Mayors action is in itself illegal.
Mayors of other cities, nearby and
distant, resent it, since New 4orkS
withdrawal from the solid front has
aroused discomfort on the part Of
their own tavern keepers and the
customers of same.
Defenders of New York's night life
talk a good deal about the boon it
provides for members of the armed
services enjoying their leave in the
great metropolis. The inference has
been that the paying customers in
the night spots are principally these
Youngsters That's a little hard to
believe, having in mind the size of
the soldiers pay check and the size
of the check one pays in the popular
night spots. There appear to be
plenty of people possessed of the
kind of money that lasts past mid
night in New York, but these can
hardly be the rosy-cheeked boys and
girls of the armed services. We soon
will be able to tell, since an order
has now been issued by the Army
and naval commands in the New
York area to counteract the Mayors
ukase. This order puts the wet spots
out of bounds for servicemen after
midnight.
Eager to See Sights.
The eager lads and laSsieS who
come to Washington on leave, and
they come in great numbers, seem
ready to go to bed at a reaSonabl
hour. They turn in dog-tired from
touring the Nations Capital. but
roll out full of beans in the morning
wanting to see all the things they
missed the day before. Maybe the
young sailors and soldiers who look
me up when they come to town are
sissies. but they don't have that
appearance. In any case, what they
want to see is the Monument, the
Capitol, the White House, the cherry
blossoms, the Smithsonian Insti-
tution-amazing how many want to
visit that place.
New York must have some places
of interest that the boys and girls
would like to see. The Mayor might
solve his midnight traffic snarl if
he found ways to keep his young