Be Seated!

Grover Aloysius Whalen, new and news worthy Police Commissioner of New York, rigged up last week an observation post in the Astor Hotel, which stands plunk at the Broadwayest part of Broadway (44th St.). It was theatre time, and something more than 150,000 people were proceeding with various speeds in Mr. Whalen's general direction. But almost before they had time to discuss him (as most of them did) they found themselves seated before curtains, twitteringly awaiting visions of fair women or the croak of tragedy. This unprecedented condition--the theatres filling on time--was caused by Commissioner Whalen's having resolved "to solve the traffic problem."

In doing so, he seemed to have commandeered most of the power of New York. Long lines of policemen snapped their fingers on the crossroads of the theatre district. At 45th Street, 25 policemen held back the North-South cars and pedestrians while the East-West bound passed.

Elsewhere, onlookers jeered and cheered as cars parked at forbidden hours in forbidden places were trundled off by wrecking crews. The principal Whalen innovations were two: 1) "spectacle dramas" (girls) to begin at 8:30; other productions at 8:50; 2) No traffic turning whatsoever in the district.

Mr. Whalen was much less successful in meeting the challenge of crime to which he owes his office. The murderer of Gambler Rothstein remained at large; for every speakeasy closed, many remained prosperously open; the city's purlieus were by no means disinfected. Mr. Whalen made threats against 996 "nests of crime" listed in a recent police report. At the Chelsea Methodist Church he declared his opinion that "known criminals have no Constitutional rights." He also blurted out that any who questioned his methods "are not good citizens."