Singing Governor

Members of the 1915 Constitutional Convention of the State of New York labored for weeks, only to have their works promptly frowned upon by the voters. Time, however, was kinder to them; now their major recommendations have become laws. Last week they celebrated these facts at a reunion dinner in Manhattan. Elihu Root, who presided at the 1915 convention, Charles E. Hughes, Henry L. Stimson, Alfred E. Smith and nearly a hundred others were there.

Just before the coffee, the orchestra struck up "The Sidewalks of New York." Governor Smith jumped to his feet. "Stop that," he yelled to the orchestra leader. "Wait a minute. Have you the music for 'The Bowery'?. . . Never mind. I'll sing a verse and you fellows [bowing to Messrs. Root, Hughes and the others] join in on the chorus." They did. Governor Smith's voice boomed forth in one of the stanzas:

/ went to an auction store. I never saw

any thieves before. First he sold me a pair of socks, then said:

"How much for the box?" Some one said: "Two dollars." I said:

"Three!" He emptied the box and gave

it to me. "I sold the box, not the socks," said he. I'll

never go there any more.

Chorus of 100 legal voices:

The Bowery, the Bowery.

They say such things and they do strange

things

On the Bowery, the Bowery. I'll never go there any more.