Evening star., 1946-01-03
BY HARRY MACARTHUR.

By HARRY MACARTHUR.
You never know, when you board
Washington taxicab. Just what is
in store for you. You may en-
counter one of those driver -comedi-
ans who tries out his routine on
you through the entire trip. You
might meet one of those glum types
who only grumbles, so that you
never know whether he caught the
destination when you mentioned it
or even cares what it is. Or you
may meet one of those never-say-
yes drivers who forms double set
OF doubtful opinions on various
topics of the day every morning, SO
he can always take the opposite side
in any discussion, thus giving all
his passengers the salubrious tonic
OF winning an argument.
A friend Of ours feminine, hailed
cab uptown the other evening.
Whether the driver happened to be
one OF those rare ones who will stop
Tor anything less than a crowd Of
flve or thought she was a repre-
sentative Of the hack inspector Of
nee, she never knew, but she hailed
this cab and asked to be taken to
the Madrillon.
"Madrillon," he said thoughtfully.
You going to one of them night
clubs alone?"
We'll, not exactly" she replied,
trlcked into confidence. I'm meet
ing a friend of my husband there"
"H-m-m-m. Your husband trust
you?"
We'll, yes. I guess so. That is,
l suppose he does"
Hail" hah-ed the driver. I'm
81 years old but the old woman
would be a fool to trust me in
night club"
One of the greatest contrasts in
the world is that between the scene
at any night club on the night of
December 81 and the scene at the
same place "a hours later. On the
night OF January / the gayety and
the Joyous noise are gone, replaced
by lethargy and the deadly 'ush that
means people are afraid to speak
too loudly for fear of jarring their
skulls. At the Duet, for instance, on
Tuesday night, Frank, the head
waiter, was wishing he was still
home in bed, scanning a small,
deSultory group of ringsiders, decid-
ing he might just as well be home.
Bob Knight, the orchestra leader
was alternating his time between
hot tea and soft, very soft, music.
around the corner at the Madrillon,
the holiday spirit had come and
gone, leaving even Parker in let
down mood. At the Lotu, all was
quiet-quieter even than that spot
has been since the last pre-War
Monday night. Up at the Troika
most OF those scattered around the
ringside awaiting the midnight
show seemed to be long finished
diners, impelled by inertia to sit
there because they didn't have the
energy to go anywhere else, like
home. Mischa was confronted by
man who had a $720 check to pay
and discovered he had only $500
in his pockets, an impasse which we
did not remain to watch. At the
Mayf1ower, Teddy had the air of a
weary man who was very glad after
the night before that only a few
people came out to dance quietly
on January l. George, who greets
you at the Balalaika, was philo-
sophical, as he looked up from an
inspection of the advertising pic
lures in Harper's Bazaar to survey a
sparsely populated room. You
can't do anything all the time" he
said. You can't even drink all the
time. People got to rest sometime
and I guess they need it tonight. u
He was not so philosophic when a |
party OF six began to order dinner
at midnight and he realized he
would not 60 home early that night.
Up the street at the Old New Or
leans, Sasha Lucas had very much |
the air of a man who wished he
were Frank Sinatra, as he almost
visibly tried to figure out how to
play O. violin and hang on the
microphone for support at the same
time. A young couple ordered
drinks, sat and looked at them
wearily for a moment, then left
them untouched and wandered
wearily out of the Sazerac Room. A
Government attorney, who appar-
emily had not stopped the celebrat-
ing he started the night before, ac-
costed us and maintained he had a
story for the column" 1t was
something about an Englishman
who came here for the San Fran
cisco Conference. Being accustomed
to the distances in the British Isles,
this man stopped the conductor
every three hours on the jaunt |
across the continent, asking if they
were not almost to San Francisco.
Finally the conductor said, yes, it
would be about two hours. Chris
topher Columbus discovered this
country, didn't hep" the Briton
asked. Yes" said the conductor.
We'll, don't know why that made
him famous" the Englishman
growled. He couldn't have missed
it." That's how it was Tuesday
night in the town. Very quiet.
Addenda Eddie Jane Poin-
dexter, the Madrillon's singer, who,
never touches the stuff, thought
she'd join the New Year eve fun
and celebrate with an eggnog, nom