Chicago, May 24.
Friend Al: What do you think Florrie has pulled off now? I told you she was fixing to land us in the poor house and I had the right dope. With the money I give her and some she got somewheres else she has opened up a beauty parlor on 43th St. right off of Michigan. Her and a girl that worked in a place like it down town.
Well Al when she sprung it on me you couldn’t of knocked me down with a feather. I always figured girls was kind of crazy but I never seen one loose her mind as quick as that and I don’t know if I ought to have them take her to some home or leave her learn her lesson and get over it.
I know you ain’t got no beauty parlor in Bedford so I might as well tell you what they are. They are for women only and the women goes to them when they need something done to their hair or their face or their nails before a wedding or a eucher party or something. For inst. you and Bertha was up here and you wanted to take her to a show and she would have to get fixed up so she would go to this place and tell them to give her the whole treatment and first they would wash the grime out of her hair and then comb it up fluffy and then they would clean up her complexion with buttermilk and either get rid of the moles or else paint them white and then they would put some eyebrows on her with a pencil and red up her lips and polish her teeth and pair her finger nails and etc. till she looked as good as she could and it would cost her $5.00 or $10.00 according to what they do to her and if they would give her a bath and a massage I suppose its extra.
Well theys plenty of high class beauty parlors down town where women can go and know they will get good service but Florrie thinks she can make it pay out here with women that maybe haven’t time to go clear down town because their husband or their friend might loose his mind in the middle of the afternoon and phone home that he had tickets for the Majestic or something and then of course they would have to rush over to some place in the neighborhood for repairs.
I didn’t know Florrie was wise to the game but it seems she has been takeing some lessons down town without telling me nothing about it and this Miss Nevins thats in partners with her says Florrie is a darb. Well I wouldn’t have no objections if I thought they was a chance for them to make good because she acts like she liked the work and its right close to where we live but it looks to me like their expenses would eat them up. I was in the joint this morning and the different smells alone must of cost them $100.00 to say nothing about all the bottles and cans and tools and brushs and the rent and furniture besides. I told Florrie I said “You got everything here but patients.” She says “Don’t worry about them. They will come when they find out about us.” She says they have sent their cards to all the South Side 400.
“Well” I said “if they don’t none of them show up in a couple of months I suppose you will call on the old meal ticket.” So she says “You should worry.” So I come away and went over to the ball park.
When I seen Kid Gleason I told him about it and he asked me where Florrie got the money to start up so I told him I give it to her. “You” he says “Where did you get it?” So just jokeing I said “Where do you suppose I got it? I stole it.” So he says “You did if you got it from this ball club.” But he was kidding Al because of course he knows I’m no thief. But I got the laugh on him this afternoon when Silk O’Loughlin chased him out of the ball park. Johnson was working against us and they was two out and Collins on second base and Silk called a third strike on Gandil that was down by his corns. So Gleason hollered “All right Silk you won’t have to go to war. You couldn’t pass the eye test.” So Silk told him to get off the field. So then I hollered something at Silk and he hollered back at me “That will be all from you you big busher.” So I said “You are a busher yourself you busher.” So he said:
“Get off the bench and let one of the ball players set down.”
So I and Gleason stalled a while and finely come into the club
