January 7, 1947
Hello all –
I guess
this city has seen its days, [but] the boom is over. During the war years the
old French Quarter was a gold mine. Everything was running wide open, day and
night.
There’s a
new mayor in office now and he is really clamping down. He already closed all
hard books in town. To make a bet on a horse you have to go to the race track.
There are a
few bookies sneaking bets but they get knocked off in a hurry. You should hear
some of the business men in Vieux Carré sobbing – they
say [that] since they cut out all forms of gambling, the tourists and the other
suckers don’t go to the French Quarter any more and that the business men on
the mainstream get all the play. There’s nothing much left to attract them to
the old spots.
When I
first came here, all the night spots were crowded, [but] they are starting to
look sick now, and I heard one owner say [that] in six months half of the
joints will go out of business.
During the
war there were a couple of army bases here, [and] plenty of GI’s looking for
thrills [that] you sure could get in any form. Now they’re gone to the ship
yards and the docks are either shut down or laying off.
At one time
money was so plentiful it was a paradise for all the race track touts,
hucksters, hustlers and red light roses. A guy who hustles is one who makes a
living without working too hard for it, and if you think they aren’t making
money you got another thought coming.
Take those
rubber balloons that cost about 2 cents each. They sell [them] to the kids from 25 to 50
cents. One guy told me on a Sunday [that] he used to make from 50 to 75
dollars.
That’s not
counting the 5 or 10 bucks the cops would shake him down for letting him
operate.
Then there’s
the flower for the button hole or for the girl. They cost about 15 cents to make, [but] they
were getting 2 dollars a piece.
Then there’s the hot tamales guys. They would park their little wagons on the
sidewalk, one guy to every 6 blocks. These tamales sell 25 cents a dozen but
the guys would use an angle – they would paint 25 on the wagon but not the word
dozen.
So when a
drunk would buy [some] they didn’t know if one cost 25 or what. All they made
was only about 50 bucks a night.
And the red
light rosies: they really
made it. Proposition them and it cost any place up to 50 bucks. Right now they’re
selling property at 10 dollars an acre.
Well I
still haven’t found a reasonable place to eat at. Rents are high and food and
the wages are low. I can’t figure this town out. Street car and bus fares [are]
seven cents, transfer free. The movies [cost] from 15 cents to 85 cents. Right
now “Blue Skies”, “The Jolson Story”, and “‘Till the Clouds Roll By” are
playing.
There [are]
no burlesque shows, but there is a vaudeville show, and this week on stage Max
Bair and Maxie Rosenbloom
are playing.
The movies
close at midnight. Beer joints, restaurants and pool rooms are open all night,
[and] in every block they have poker clubs open day and night, limit 25 cents
and up.
When the
charter runs out I guess the mayor will close these spots up. There are plenty
of pin ball machines but no slot machines. There is a beautiful race track
here. The first day I went out, I met a fellow I know slightly. He was talking
to a trainer, [and] I asked him if he had anything burned up, but he wouldn’t
talk in front of the trainer.
Later on he
said he tried to wise me up but he couldn’t get away from the trainer. Well to
cut the story short, the horse won and paid $124.00 for 2. I was mad for a week – I bet on a stiff.
That’s all for now - you’ll hear from me later, maybe the first of the month. You know that I mean?
Bye –
Pete
P.S. Unless I pick a horse that runs in front.