The announcement - "that the! Southern Railway is shortly to electrify the whole of "its line to Brighton and provide a much more frequent service on that line, has been hailed with wild enthusiasm by the bigger Brighton brigade. One fof the local Councillors has express fed the opinion that he expects the' population of Brighton will soon be trebled as a result and become suburb of London. The population' of Brighton is-already over 135,000) and, as about $000 of these regularly travel up and down from London every day of the week to their work, it seems that the prophecy of the Councillor is quite Iikely to be realized. There is a great attraction to the business man working. in the City to know that he can: spend his nights by the sca and many people only hesitate to do'so at the moment because of the: expense. Some Brighton lovers have very reaching changes in the distribation of England's industries.
Applause in''Theatres So far, England has been mereifully immune from the curse of!
applauders in the theatre, ut, with the increase of foreign' performers in the music-halls, the plaque," as it is called in France, i becoming dangerously commonplace. There was recently a case where an Amerieah performer turp at one of the large music-halls ended with an audible relief from the audience, accom panied by a wild outburst of clapping from the paid enthusiasts. Another aspect of the matter is well brought out by an American actor who states that, shortly after his arrival in London, he was proached by a gang of men who told him they had temporarily given up. their avocation of greyhound! racing to act as "claque" for him it. They demanded £100] for services and became threatening when he refused. The Variety Artists Federation are said to be taking-the matter up and it is to be hoped that they will put a stop to the practice which so spoils the theatres in Paris, Vienna, and other continental cities.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.