Page:The New Yorker 0003, 1925-03-07.pdf/4

This page needs to be proofread.
2
THE NEW YORKER


have been expected, immediately arranged for the re-writing of scenes in “Ladies of the Evening and clamored for the closing of “Desire Under the Elms.")

Shortly after the appearance of the columns in which he differed with the World, Mr. Broun was summoned to Mr. Swope's office and informed that he would have to stop airing his differences with his paper's editorial policy. It was the opinion of the editorial council, he was told, that it not permissible for a World employee to dissent from the opinion of the World, after it had once been formulated by the paper's editorial council. (The editorial council includes Messrs. Pulitzer, Lippman, Krock,

Swope, John O'Hara Cosgrave, John H. Heaton and Florence White, the business manager.)

Mr. Broun had entered upon his World job under the impression that articles written in a column headed' "It Seems to Me" were to be inspired by whatever seemed to him. So, the following day, he repaired to the World offices to discuss the matter with Mr. Pulitzer. He learned that the publisher did not agree with this interpretation of his freedom of print. The opinions of Messrs. Lippman, Krock, Swope, Pulitzer and of other members of the editorial council must be accepted as orthodox. It was the chief's opinion that Mr. Broun had been permitted too much liberty. You have so many things to write about, said Mr. Pulitzer, so why must you write about censorship? And so, one thing leading to another and back again to the original point, Mr. Broun served notice that the he desired to leave the World immediately. Mr. Pulitzer was unwilling to agree to this, which left Mr. Broun with the single alternative of quitting his work when his contract expires, or in about sixteen months. Since then, through further conferences and the growing realization by Messrs. Broun and Pulitzer of the impossibility of the situation, a new arrangement has been made. It is understood at this writing that Mr. Broun is to be free to leave the paper at the end of the current season.

Park Row, and the uptown centers of the newspaper world, wait with avid interest Mr. Broun's departure, being anxious to learn whether the circulation gained by the clean plays campaign will offset whatever loss his going may involve. Siste Viator

Call "Beekman 2,000"

TO achieve the news pages of the Times and the rest of the papers, call "Beekman 2,000," which is the telephone number of the American. becoming a settled formula for ladies who love, perhaps not too well, but wisely. Mrs. Stillman discovered the method. Mrs. Budlong continued its suc-cessful application during that exciting week when she was subjecting her husband's linen to public washing.

She telephoned "Beekman 2,000" on the evening of her return to her husband's twenty-two room apartment and the American, always gallant, responded with a copyrighted story on its first page the next morning, Saturday. The copyright line did the trick. It roused professional jealousy. Just as soon as they could learn what was all about, the city editors of the more dignified journals opened their pages to the self-imprisoned lady, keeping them open for a week, until Mrs. Budlong disappeared into the void whence she emerged, via another exclusive and copyrighted story in the American And the facts were all so dreadfully simple:

Mrs. Budlong has lost, in the Rhode Island courts, her suit for separate maintenance,

Her husband, following the advice of his expensive counsel, wrote a formal letter requesting her to return to what the old vulgarians referred to as "his bed and board." The lady ignored the communication. A year passed. The lady became worried. She consulted Max Steuer, an effec-tive if not wholly original procedure.

"Go right up to your husband's home," Mr. Steuer advised. "You've a perfect right to live there. Go there and stay a short time."

By "a short time" Mr. Steuer meant overnight. The eminent counsel dropped out of the case forth-with, and Mrs. Budlong played safe by interpreting phrase as meaning a week at least. So, after telephoning "Beekman 2,000" and being turned over to "our Mr. Helm” by the city desk, she locked herself in and withstood a mild seven days siege by some of William J. Flynn's operatives, who were employed by Mr. Milton J. Budlong to assure no more first page publicity's being created than was absolutely unavoidable.

Gentlemen with Wall Street connections and mar-ital difficulties nowadays are keenly reminiscent of what was done to Mr. James Stillman by every news- paper in town after Mrs. Stillman had telephoned "Beekman 2,000" and had been referred, in that instance to "our Mr. Fowler."

It was a merry farce, that week of beleaguement. Reporters waked alarmingly the aristocratic quiet of East Seventy-fifth Street, led in their prowling by the ubiquitous Hearst men-Helm of the American and Markowitz of the Journal. The detectives relieved each other in shifts and took turns reading to Mrs. Budlong, through her locked door, such excerpts from the daily newspaper accounts as might show her in an This is unenviable light.

Mr. Budlong, frantic as he watched the story spread from the blatant American headlines to those of the