Bee
NUMBER 290.
Entered Secoad Claas at Omaha -Pottofflce rubliahed Weekly bj The Bee Publishing Co. Subscription, 2.50 Ter Year.
JAM'AUY 1, 1903.
The
Omaha
Illustrated
Gossip and Stories
About
Prominent People
Comfortable Pay.
HE appointment of General Miles
as adjutant (eneral of tha militia
of Massachusetts takes him from
Washington to Boston and makes
a substantial Increase In his In-
v2
coma. As adjutant general ha will receive
the full pay of a lieutenant general of ths
United States army. This Is $11,000 a year.
It carries with It $1,W a year, as commu
tation for quarters, and the privilege of ob
taining many supplies from the quarter
master's and commissary departments at
considerably less than retail prices. The
state of Massachusetts pays the adjutant
general S3. 600 a year. General Miles will,
accordingly, receive $15,700 a year for his
service.
The Dick bill makes provision for the
assignment of retired officers to duty with
tho militia of the several states. No state
has hitherto made application for a major
general or a lieutenant general for such
duty. There are nine brigadier generals
now engaged on such duty with various
stales.
Aa Early Navigator.
It Is an almost forgotten fact that
President Roosevelt's grandfather was the
"ret man to navigate a steamboat on the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Captain Roose
velt was a close personal friend of Robert
Fulton. Inventor of the steam craft. Soon
after Fulton's successful voyage on the
Hudson the captain conceived the Idea of
launching such a craft on what were then
western waters. In the spring of 1811 the
vessel was launched at Pittsburg and the
president's grandfather began his voyage
to the gulf. He entered the Mississippi
during the throes of the earthquake which
devastated so much of southeastern Mis
souri, but weathered the tumult success
fully and continued his trip to New Orleans.
' $
ChaHlaa; he Postmaster Ornrral.
Postmaster General Wynne, who used to
be a newspaper correspondent at Wa hing
ton was rigged a bit by the president
when he attended his first cabinet meet
ing, relates thr New York World.
. "How does It feel, Wynne," said the
president, "to attend a cabinet meeting
after you have spent so many years pn
the outside trying to find out what hap
pened at cabinet meetlngsT"
"Oh," said Wynne, "It doesn't make
much difference. I hsve been here so long
that I have seen a hundred cabinet min
isters come and go, and It doesn't feel so
strange after all."
"Well," said Secretary Wilson, "It la not
so much question of how Wynne feels
aa It Is how we feeL"
Wynne Is an Irishman, and a comeback
like that of Secretary Wilson's tickled him.
After the laugh subsided, he saldt -
"That reminds me of what Secretary
'Foster said when he took charge of the
Treasury department. I was his private
secretary. One day he remarked to me:
'Wynne, when I first came to Washing
ton as a member of the cabinet I gascd
In awe at the distinguished men who were
my colleagues and wondered how I got
there. After I had been In the cabinet
three months I wondered hew my col
leagues got there.' " ' '
For Bias; to the Front.
Alderman Francis J. Stlglbauer, a promi
nent member of the Milwaukee olty eoun
cll, has been admitted to the bar. This
' case Is noteworthy in that ha never at
tended a law scbool. Although now en
gaged In the real estate and Insurance
business, he formerly was a mall carrier.
He then began the study of law without
Intention of practicing. Three years ago
last spring hs was elected to the oounull.
He at once began a serious study of law
with the object ot taking the state bar ex
amination. For over three years he
studied eight hours each day, unknown te)
his associates in the council or te any ex
cept his closest friends.
No Past Tense la Polities.
Representative Sydney E. Mudd of Mary
land, who . has coined, many expensive po
litical phrases, has Just coined a new
one, according to the Baltimore Sun. A
young man wanted Mr. Mudl to Indorse
him for a minor position. "Do you live la
my district?" Inquired the representative,
"No, I live in Baltimore, but have lived
In your district." "Well, youi.g man," te
torted Mr. Mudd, with a smile, ' you should
know there Is no past tense In , politics,
politics dtals only with the present and
the future. However, I will violate the rule
In your case and write you a letter of
recommendation."
A Frightened torapper.
Congressman Van Duser of Nevada holds
that about the most strenuous coiuust last
fall was that waged In his district. His
political enemies engaged a New York
pugl.Ist to scare him out of the campaign,
and the man made haste to announce thai
he Intended to "wipe Van Duser off de
ear?." The candidate arrived In Reno
Ignorant of the fellow's existence and was
welcomed by a lot of friendly minora Two
of them, each of them over I feet tall and
neither afraid of anything, walked with
him to his hotel, where the fighting man
was waiting. The miners passed Mr. Van
Duser Into his room and then went over to
where the "scrapper" stood. Hs looked
them over carefully and then backed awsy.
The next train east carried aim cut of
danger.
A Strong; Indorsement.
Henry B. Blackwell, lunching with a
party of friends recently, told this story
of William Lloyd Garrison. When he was
publishing the Liberator It was hie cus
tom to give favorable notice to articles
sent Id to the editor, and en one occasion
wrote this regardrag a bottle of medi
cine: "We can recommend It from personal
expertenoe, because we have taken It our
selves. It diffuses a genial glow and
cheerful warmth through the whole sys
tem." The Item waa shown to a physi
cian, who exclaimed: "No wonder Garri
son waa pleased with the cheerful warmth.
He never before knew tha genial influence
of a glass of rum."
- -
Mains; Halve ef aa Emperor.
The Emperor Francis Joseph has a rule
of life which greatly perturbs some mem
bers of his court. He dtnea every day at
I N, and he has done thta since the be
ginning of bis reign. . Aa that boor deea
act suit everybody, It follows that the
personage) who are honored with I wvt La
te dine with tha emperor find It
very difficult to muster an appetite -tor
dinner at tea time. They suffer In silence
for the most part, but It Is said that a cer
tain great lady resolved to act.
She waa Invited to dine with the em
peror, but she sat at the table and ate
nothing. The kindly sovereign feared aha
was Indisposed. No, she was quite well.
Then why did she send every dleh awayf
"Sire," she answered, "I never eat be
tween meals." The repartee has had a
success In Vienna. But the emperor still
dines at 6:30, without the society of that
great lady.
Southern Men la the Cabinet.
Apropos of the more or less general de
mund that a southern man be appointed by
the president to All one cabinet position,
the record of southern cabinet officers Is
recalled. Montgomery Blair of Maryland,
Edward Bates of Missouri and James Speed
of Kentucky were members of Lincoln's
first cabinet, and Mr. Speed continued to
serve In the second cabinet. In Grant's
Ilrst cabinet were Creswell of Maryland and
Akerman of Georgia, and In his second
were Brlstuw of Kentucky. Creswell of
Maryland, and, for a brief period, James
W. Marshall of Virginia. Hayes had among
his advisers Carl Schurs of Missouri, Goft
of West Virginia and Key and Maynard of
Tennessee. Garfield called Hunt of Louisi
ana to ths Navy department and Arthur
was served by him for more than a year.
Harrison had the advice of Elklns of West
Virginia and Noble of Missouri. Gary ot
Maryland and Hitchcock of Missouri sat
with McKlnley and Hitchcock Is sitting
with Roosevelt. ,
Admiral Dewey's Owi Starr.
As early as 9 o'clock Admiral Dewey
walks Into his office In the Mills building,
diagonally screes from the Navy depart
ment, sits down at his dssk and gets to
work with the name precision that he might
use If stl'.l aboard the Olympia. In the cor
ner opposite his desk Is a cedar chest which
was made for the admiral la Manila. Ha
pointed to It and said:
"In that chest will be found the real reo
ords of the battle of Manila, never yet pub
lished. I hope to p epare them for publica
tion and that they will be made publio after
my death."
Russia's t tf Minister.
Prince Mlrsky la a man of tine military
bearing, a type of "the soldier In civil em
ploy," says Harper's Weekly. He Is only 47
and Is thus still In the season of hope, In
every way a contrast to the grim winter of
hie tyrannous predecessor. Von PieJive.
About middle height, he la of fair complex
Ion and' wears a pointed beard, cut In tha
atyle made fashionable by King Edward
VII. He baa rather melancholy, thought"
ful eyea, and his whole expression Is on
of gentleness and kindness, yet with much,
underlying strength. Perhaps the beat re
cent testimony to bis unspoiled nature
comes from a , subordinate employe whom
he had known it. early years, and who vis
ited him shortly after bis appointment as
minister ef the Interior. "He Is just as
kind aa he used to be!" exclaimed tha em
ploye, coming out ef the minister's cab
inet, with big round eyes ef wonder.. This
temperamental sympathy Is the real motive
power In his dealings with the Russian
press, with the Zemstvee," with the tmuch
endurlng Russian Jews, aa It was tha secret
of his success while ha was governor gen
eral of White Russia, on the frontier ef
Poland, with Its many national and re
ligious wounds, so easily Irritated, yet aa
easily soothed. He seema endowed with a
rarely happy disposition, in face of grave
and srious difficultlea
Cllnars to Natlva Dress. '
Sir Chentung Liang Cheng, Chinese min
ister to the United 8 la tea, dings to the
dresa of his native land. He addressed a
Philadelphia audience a few days ago, a
heavy snowstorm raging at the tlma He
made one concession to the Inclemency of
the weather In the shape of a pair ef rtrb
bet leggings which came down over his
Chinese aheea This eccentricity of ap
parel was strikingly Impressed upon Sir
Cbentung'a audience when at the con elu
sion ef his address he sat down, folded up
his typewritten speech and, calmly lifting
the robe of hla long gown, deposited the
manuscript In one 'of his leggings. The
audience roared with laughter and tha dip
lomat gased at them with' an expression
that plainly betrayed his Ignorance of the
fact that he waa the cause of the outburst
of mirth,
Washington Irving.
Mrs. Roger A. Pryor tells a story of
WasMr.ion Irving, whom she knew aa a
very old man. "One would never think
him old." she says, "so keen and alert
waa he, but for hla trick of suddenly fall
ing asleep for a minute or two in the mid
dle of a conversation. A whisper, ah-b-h.'
would pass from one to another, 'Mr. Irv
ing Is asleep'; and In a moment he would
wake up, rub his hands and exclaim, 'Well,
aa we ware saying,' taking up the oonver
aation Just where he had left It.
"My little sister worshiped Mr. Irving.
"Only let me see him,' she pleaded; 'ooly
let me touch tha band that wrote the
"Sketch Book.' I repeated this when I In
troduced her and ha said 'Ah, yea, yeal I
knowl . I have heard all that before. And
just aa I am getting happy over It, here
comes a young fellow, some whipper-snapper
who never wrote a line and (mimicking)
It'a "Good evening, Mr. Irving. I am glad
to have met you." ' "
It happened, . however, that Mrs. Pryer'a
sister did not bear these remarka A par
ticular friend of tha little girl bad just put
In an appearance In another part of tha
room and Mr. living's worda fell on deaf
ears. "She was already distrait," says
Mrs. Pryor. "8he aa onoe echoed, "Good
evening, Mr. Irving. I am glad to have
met you,' to the old gentleman's Infinite
delight and amusement"
Aa Bye-Opeaer.
Success tells of an ancient mendicant,
long known ta those who go through Vessy
street to the North river ferries, New York
City', who has lately laid away his "Pity
the Blind" sign and his wheesy little or
gan, and now helps pick up wat paper
and fruit skins, In ths Pennsylvania rail-
road station, Jersey City. His excuse la
convincing. "You see," - be says, "times
goc so hard I Just had to keep my eyes
open to do any business at alL"
I
V'' ,' ''
Pot Pourri of
Antics of a Political iteoiter, '
ENRY CASSON, sergeant-at-mrms
H
m
of tha house of representatives,
was connected with the spe&ker'a
bureau ef the republican congres
sional committee In the late cam
paign, and his friends out In his home dis
trict, the .Second Iowa, asorlbe ta him all
the credit far the republican sweep In the
nation last November. To express their
sentiments they aent hla the largest, husk
iest, moat sonorous Plymouth Rock rooster
that ceuld be faund In the whole Hawkeye
state.
It arrived before congress adjourned far
the holidays, and signalized Its liberation
by letting out a crow that sounded like the
crack of doom. Cassen hastily confined It
In a barrel and secreted It In one of the
corridors In the basement Then he forgot
about It.
Ttii Iowa chanticleer, however, .had been
sent ta Washington ta crow over the re
publican victory, and intended to fulfill his
duty. It took him some time ta get out
but he finally succeeded, and the clerks ta
ths house postoffloe were apprised of his
presence by an ear-splitting uproar.
First thsy tried te catch him? and then
they threw things at him, whereupon the
misunderstood fowl disgustedly left, and
visited the bouse Judiciary eommltteel
where he found an Iowa man In the person
af Assistant Clsrk MoNeely. His clarion
demonstrations ot pleasure over meetings
colleague so worked on the nerves of Mc
Neely, who was busy, that ths bird barely
escaped with his life.
After waking the echoes In the deserted
corridors the rooster turned up In Speaker
Cannon's rooms and sang a Jubilee song
about the late election. The speaker was
not there, however, and the rooster, dodg
ing several wouldbe kidnapers on the way,
proceeded to the ways and means commit
tee room In search of Sercno Payne.
"What In paradise la thatT" exclaimed
Colonel Hepburn. "Shoo that blessed bird
out of here! How can I reorganize the gov.
ernment of Panama with that thrlce
b'.essed, murh-admlred uproar going on?"
"It's sn Iowa bird. 'colonel," explained the
clerk of the committee on Interstate and
foreign commerce, "end It belongs to Cas
son. It wss sent here to celebrate the re
publican victory."
A scandalized .messenger darted In with
an agonized "Shoo." but the bird eluded
him, fled squawking down the als'e. flut
tered up on the desk of General Bingham,
the father of the house, and let out an
other shriek, and then escaped to the
apecker's desk. Here, perching In Mr.
Cannon's rhslr and looking out over the
scene of grestness, he began to hold forth
In Indignant accents to the spectators In
the gallery when a hard hand cloaed on his
nsck snd he waa borne protesting sway,
leaving the galleries In convulsions. Wash
ington Letter In New York Times.
Politicians Daaee In Wyomlnsr.
"Wyoming has the most Joyous political
campaigns of sny state In the union,' says
Mr. F. M. Brandon of Cheyenne In' the
Washington Post.
"Ths country people are never so hsppy
as when the candidates for public office
out our way are making their rounds of the
counties for vote-getting purposes; It means
a season of excitement snd Innocent pleas
ure to them, which forbids all thought of
acrimony and Ill-feeling no matter how
tightly partisan lines msy be drawn. The
chief factor In this pre-election gsyety Is
that whenever there Is to be a spesklng by
the asptraats to office It 1s always ths cus
tom to bsve a dance that same night.
Hundreds of people turn-out to bear the.
spellbinders, not because they love the ora-
Successful Theatrical Manager
jr.. ip-"- .
,-'- v---'V rr 'VV ' -
- -VVV
- ' '
WILLIAM 7. BURQCSS, .
Good Ones on
tory ao much as that they are keenly bent
on the terpslchorean festivities that come
after the shades of night have fallen.
"And these dances; what glorious carni
vals of fun they are! Young men ride from
twenty to fifty mile tv attend them, and
there la not a girl In all the neighborhood
missing. To cap the climax of their Im
portance, all the candidates, from United
States senators and governors dawn to con
stables, are on hand, and everyone of them,
by the unwritten law of the land, must take
' his -partner for the dance. Any politician,
. no matter, how exalted hla efllce, who
flunked when the time came ta trip It on
the light fantastic toe would be forever
persona non grata with the electors of
Wyoming." '
A Costly Handshake.
"A ' handshake once cost New Mexico
statehood." said Bernard 8. Rodey, terri
torial delegate, wbe la working day and
night ta have the land of cacti admitted ta
. the union.
"It was In 1874, when the bill was up giv
ing ttatshood to New Mexico and Colorado.
Senator S. B. Elklns of West Virginia waa
then delegate from New Mexico. He was
younger than at present and not so widely
known, snd, naturally, he wanted friends.
Senator Burrows of Michigan then repre
sented a Michigan district In the houle.
One of thoae hated force bills was up before
congress and Mr. Burrows had made a hot
speech In favor of It. Mr. Elklns was In
the cloak room, and did not know what
Mr. Burrows had been talking about, but
he did know that the Michigan man had
been making a hot speech, for he had heard
the applauss. When Mr. Burrows had fin
ished Mr. Elklns rushed out of the cloak
room and meeting Mr. Burrows warmly
shook both his hand.
"The southern members had been listen
ing snd were In no very happy mood after
the lashing that they had received. They
knew what Mr. Burrows had said, and they
saw Senator Elklns extend his effusive con
gratulations. Now It hsppened that Sen
ator Elklns needed Just fourteen southern
votes to have his statehood bill called up,
and he had arranged for them. In fact,
they were going to call up and pass ths
Nsw Mexico measure and lot the Colorado
measure watt. A southerner walked
straight up to Mr, Elklns. It these are
your sentiments, Mr. Elklns, your territory
can remain out of the union until It rots
before It will come In with our votes,' said
the Irate representative. Sixteen others
from the south who had been formerly well
disposed seconded the declaration of their
colleague. And they kept their word."
Mr. Rodey says that New Mexico has
been knocking at the door of congress for
statehood since I860. It made an effort
when California became a state. Later a
claim of Texaa to a portion of the terri
tory prevented New Mexico from landing.
Tha United States bought off Texas for
$10,000,000. but It prevented New Mexico
from getting into the union. Washington
Letter In Baltimore News.
Flocked Calpepev Conaty.
"The recent ' election was quite a
catastrophe to some of the folks In my
county," said Major Stops of Culpeper
county, Vs.; "quite a catastrophe.
"You see, there Is an old chap In Cul
peper who before election had almost K.000
In cash and announced that he Intended to
do nothing with the money but drink lt
up. This didn't concert the folks much,
provided the aid fellow did hla drinking
decently and In order, but they were scan
dalised a few weeks before election when
he came up to the village one morning and
. -1K." '""""V'-i.'' "'..jtT IS -.-k " - ' mmmymmmmmmmMTm
the Politicians
announced that President Roosevelt would
be elected, and elected by the biggest sort
of a majority.
"Most of the folks In Culpeper ara demo
crats. They listened te his claim and then
went away and said: 'Poor chap, he's
losing his mind.' Next day he came around
again and made the same announcement
and offered to bet en It He made tha
most extravagant claims most extrava
gant, I assure you. Hs said Roosevelt
would carry Missouri and other extraordi
nary things like that, and to make this
sort of talk worse he shook lils S,0u0 In our
faces. 1
"Now, the folks In Culpeper thought
It would be a shame to take the eld man's
money, but after consld ring the matter for
a few days, during which time he became
more and more offensive, they decided It
would bs just aa well ta rid him of hla
conceit and keep the money far home con
sumption. He announced he would take
any bet that was offered. The folks were
fair with him. though. They didn't mean
to rob him. They gave him the preval.lng
odds and let him have as high as 10 to 1
on his Missouri proposition. He accommo
dated all' comers, loudly proclaiming that
the people of Culpeper didn't know any
thing abeut what was going on, that they
were a lot of Ignoramuses so far as poli
tics were concerned. He even went so far
as to call, them fools.
"They rose In their wrath and bet him,
bet him until his $6,000 was all up, and,"
sighed Major Stope, "he took ubout 115,000
out of that peaceful community and the
surrounding territory." New York World.
flow a Senator Loet a Job.
If there waa one thing that the lite Rich
ard J. Oglcsby of Illinois diallked while
serving his only term In the United S atea
senate It was to be kept In evenings by
'callers. The senator's room In Washing
ton were at 1304 F street, near the rooms
of Senator Booth of California, who lived
at the northeast comer of Thl trenth and
F streets. If pglesby could slip over to
Booth's after dinner, before the crowd be
gan to gather In his rooms, hs was lost
to visitors, unless they happened to oaten
him on the run home about bedtime. The
aerators were great cronies, both '4its.
with many atorles of tha early daya of
California to swap.
In the last year of Senator Oglnahy's
term a stranger found h m .it hi rooms ona
evening, after many prior attempts to
capture him. There had been the uual
throng of politi lam, news gatherers and
perhaps an unusual number of office s ek
ersi At any rate, a long and tedious ses
sion had resulted, leaving the senator Irri
tated. He turned around In his chair and
to the modest young man In waiting to
present a letter said:
"Now, what In hell do you want?"
"Nothing, air, from yeu," said the young
man, and walked out.
It happened that ha came from a town
In southern Illinois In which dwelt a state
senator of great Influence, who urxm learn
ing that the young man was about to visit
Washington as a sightseer had aked him
If he would like a letter of Introduction to
Senator Oglesby. The young man accepted,
with the result already told. And ah;n tha
state senator back In Illinois heard It be
swore vengeance. He circulated the Inci
dent all through his town and the ad
joining legislative districts, till then Ogles
by's strongholds, and when the members
of the It filature were lined up In Jan
uary following General Logan waa elected
a United States senator, and Senator
Oglesby, much to his chagrin and disap
pointment, wa left out. New York Bun,
Climbing Up the
Ladder
Of the Box Office
Haiti the Watchword.
I AKD work and careful attention
H
to business is the si ere t of the
success attained by Mr. W. J.
burgess In the theatrical business,
tie expressed It a trine mote
. "1 had to hustle, and I hustled.'"
said jur.. Uurgusa one day when the matter
was up between himself and a close friend.
Personally he Is one of the most moOi-st
and unassuming of men. His tastes are
simple and his ways are those f ths
open-handed, frank man of experience,
whose contact with the world has only
served to brighten his good qualities and
to warm his heart. He Is energetic, kean
In his business and thoroughly alive when
his interests are concerned, but lie has
never forgotten the days whsn he didn't
occupy the position of Influence and af
fluence that Is now his, and so he always
has an ear for tha story of the "show
man" in trouble, and If he has ever failed
to extend his help when needed, the case la
not recorded. Now, it muwi't be Inferred
from this that he Is "easy," for he Isn't.
He simply has learned to discriminate,
and while he Is willing to help the honest
and worthy in any way he can, he can say
"no" to the lmposter and sham in a way
that needs no Interpretation.
Two Koyal Haadi,
It wasn't a royal road that "Bill" Burgess
traveled to success. He worked for every
thing he has, and worked pretty hard for
It, too. His start was as humble aa oould
well be expected, for he began right ut
the bottom, gallery usher in the eld Bea
De Bar theater In St. Louis. This Isn't so
long ago, either. His tlrst real good posi
tion in a theater was "un the door" at the
Tabor Grand In Denver, when that mag
nificent playhouse was opened to the publio
by Tabor & Bush In 112. From Denver
he went to Salt Lake City, where he was
Hated among the managers, having control
of one of the several theaters in the capi
tal of Zlon In those dear old days of "la
dependence," whan tha strife between road
and company managers waa always on and
always fierce. Fire drove him Iroirr Bait
Lake City, and L. M. Crawford aent him to
Omaha. This waa In 1890, when Crawford
got control of the eld Grand Opera house,
at Fifteenth and Capitol avenue. When
Crawford secured the old Boyd theater,
after the opening of the new Boyd, In ls'Jl,
Mr. Burgees waa put In charge of the new
house aa manager and rechrlstened It
the Farnam theater. Fire drove him out
of this theater, and as the Grand had been
destroyed some time before, the future
magnate of the theatrical business of the
west waa compelled to find other employ
ment He waa at work In a shoe store at
the time the syndicate began tha building
of tha Crelgbton theater, and the firm of
Paxton ft Burgesa was formed to manage
the house. It waa now that he had reaohea
that point where bis real climb began.
Early Steps la Career.
During ' his years of preparation Mr.
Burgeaa had been accumulating experience
which he could now turn to good' advantage.
At tho tlma the Crolghtoa theater waa be
ing opened tha present great booking firm
of Klaw A Erlanger waa being formed. It
waa then C. B. Jefferson. Klaw 4c Er
langer. Will J. Lavls and Al Hyman
were rivals for the control of a suing sf
theaters reaching from the Atlantlo te the
Pacine. They were both striving ta se
cure tha Boyd theater. Tom Boyd and
Poo Haynea were then In control of the
Boyd. Aa sosn aa Burgess knew that hs
was to be the active manager ef the new
theater, he pat out for New York, securedt
the bookings ef the Jefferson, Klaw &'
Erlanger attractions, and was ready for
the campaign. His local rivals were
caught "asleep at the switch," so to speak,
and tha future of the business In Omaha
waa decided by. that trip. It didn't look so
at that time, but the logic of events has
more than justified the Judgment then ex
pressed by Mr. Burgesa
Bitches TTp with Woodward.
just about thta time another event oo
ourred that had a great deal to do with
the future ef the young manager, who was
Just coming to the front. The manager of
a "ten-twent-thlrt " company came over
from Council Bluffs one morning In 1105,
the spring after the Crelghten opened, and
told Mr. Burgess his company was
stranded In the Iowa town. He wanted
help to get his people and bsggage across
tho river and a plscs to show. Burgess
oouldn't give him a place to show, for the
Cretghton theater was "booked up." but he
told htm If he could get the Boyd theater
he would help get the baggage and com
pany over. Ths stranded manager suc
ceeded In renting the Boyd theater for a
week and Omaha waa given Its first op
portunity to see the drama by a stock
company at rates that since have become
well known. This was the turning point
In tho career of O. D. Woodward, too, for he
waa the imnager. Out of that little
"snap" and that bit of kindly assistance
has grown the Woodward ft Burgess
Amusement company, that now controls a
first-class theatsr In sach of three of the
best towns of the United States, Omaha,
Kansss City and Sioux City; that haa a
second theater In Kansas City, and la
booking for a fine little list of houses
through Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, with
business constantly growing. The firm
hae a company on ths rosd, and Is In ths
business "light," to use a csnt expression,
with Its enterprises growing more extensive
each aeason.
Hot Look All the Tin.
It hasn't all been luck with these men,
either When they went to Kansas City
It was from Denver, where adversity had
overtaken them, and they had relinquished
the lease on the Tabor Grand theater, they
took over the Cuates theater. Thl had
always been a loser In Kansas City, but
the new firm pushed It to the front and
when It burned about four yeare ago it
was the most prosperous theater In Kan
sas City. At the time the Coates burned
the firm had the Auditorium and the New
Century under leaae. Neither of these ful
filled the exact requirements of a strictly
first-class theater, and with characteristic
push they Interested Colonel Willis Wood
to ths extent that he built for them one
of the most beautiful theaters In America,
tha Willis Wood. When tbs Orpheum com
pany cam to Omaha and rented the
Crelghton theater over the heads of Pax
ton A Burgesa, they had Just concluded a
lease for the Boyd, and went on with the
business uninterrupted. And the Boyd
ha been a success In every way under
their management ' Shortly afte this
change waa made, about seven yeara ago,
Mr. Paxton retired from the firm and tha
Woodward A Hurgesa company waa
formed. This season the New Grand at
Sioux City was added ta thnlr houses, and
so far It has enjoyed a season of pros
perity that has been In line with tha other
ventures of the company.
A Goo dStory om Him,
One of the stories Mr. Burgees tells Wa
friends, when he gets reminiscent over a
cigar. Is about hla experience as a manager
at Dodge City. Kan. That waa In the good
old daya, when daya and nights In Dodge
City realized all that the poet had In mind
when he sung of "days of danger, nights
of waking." Burgess had gons out there
and opened aa "opera house" and Induced
a traveling company to come and give a
performance. The eow punchers walked
by ths doorkeeper without paying any at
tention to him, and when he expostulated
with one he got a rap over the head with
a six-shooter and the show went on with
out him. The audience didn't Ilka tha
play or the players, or something, so It
simply shot the lights out and made the
closing moments of the performance tho
liveliest ever pulled oft In a thester.
Burgess knew that wouldn't do, so ths
next day he hunted up Bat Maaterson and
employed him aa doorkeeper and asksd him
to employ a few ushers. Bat was on hand
ths next evening snd every man who went
through the door had a ticket Each at
tendant was escorted to a seat by a "gen
tlemanly usher," and ths performance went
off as quietly as a prayer meeting. Burgesa
and Bat met afterwards In Denver and
had a good laugh over the days when Bat
took tickets at the "opera house" at
Dodge. Leadville afforded the coming mag
nate some Interesting experlsnce, as It waa
a great town for "theaters," and some
of the leading lights of the comedy world
ow were then doing turns at one or tho
ether ef the muslo halls of the "Cloud
City." In Denver he met H. A. W. Tabor,
who waa busy spending the money ha
made up In Cal.'fornla gulch In transform
ing the camp at the mouth of Cherry
creek Into a metropoliten olty. Later, when
Burgess was mansger of the Tabor Grand
and tha old senator was wearlag out hla
days In povsrty that wasn't any too gen
teel, this acquaintance ripened Inta friend
ship, and It Is ons of Burgess comforts
now that he was sble to show soma favors
to the man who appeared to have all thai
man could wish for when they first mat
I
Phoenix Oat of four Firo.
Four times burned out, twice In Omaha,
onoe In Gait Lake City and once In Kansas
City, Is his record, and thla may be taken
aa a guarantee that Jhe houses ha haa
under his personal management ara made
aa safe aa human Ingenuity can provide.
Each fire has ssen him come back with
a better house, until now the United States
haa no better theatera than those con
trolled by the Woodward V 'Burgees com
pany. The Importance of the firm In tha
amusement world la recognised by tha
men who have their money Invested Id
amusement enterprises, and this prestige
Is dally growing. Their theaters are In
the direct line of trevel for all companion
that go on teur la the country west of tha
Alleghanles, and the result Is that their
patrons get the best that can be had.
4
Mr. Burgesa la still a young man. so
young la fact thst he can reasonably look
forward to many years of useful activity
yet Ha haa Invested much of his prollts
In real estats, prudsntly making provision
against a day when there may be a lull
In the patronage at the theaters. He ta
married, but baa no children. Hla homo
Is In Omaha, and ha directs hla share of
the firm's steadily Increasing business front
his office at tha Boyd theater.
How Lolly Lost His Job
The manager of the Pacific coast branch
of tbs Cran company, a great manufactur
ing concern, la alleged to have reulgned
hla place, said to be worth $30,000 a year
to him. rather thaa aubnilt to what ba re
garded aa an Indignity.
Tha circumstances as reported are briefly
these: The Crane company aome montha
ago Installed In Its San Francisco bouae a
time clock for the purpose ot registering
the Incomings and outgoings of Ita em
ployee and Issued Instructions that all
persons on the pay roll should push tho
slectrlo buttons provided for the purpoae
when entering or leaving tha establish
ment. Every employe registered except tha
manager. It did not occur to blm at first.
It seems, that the company which valued
hla services at' $20,000 a ysar .desired to
place him In thla respect on a level with
the Janitor and the office boy
Hs soon learned his mistake. A letter
.from Chicago reminded him that no regis
tration Indicating his entranoe or exits
was to ba found upon ths time clock reo
ords sent to the parent house. Ha paid
no attention to the reminder. Another
reminder followed the receipt of the sec
ond month's clock records. Then Mr,
Lally rep'.ted, protesting against the In
dignity. A third letter Informed him that
he must either push the button or resign,
and he resigned.
It would hsve tsksn very little of hla
time and cost htm very little trouble, no
doubt, to comply with the company's de
mand. The mere touching of an electiia
button le a very smsll matter. It will
probably strike some that Mr. Lally waa
very foolish to throw up hla handsome
salary when he might have held It by
making such a trifling sacrifice.
But was the sacrifice he waa asked to
make trlfllngT Was it ons that a self,
respecting man could make without an
effort? Had hs made It would he still b
able to rea-ard hlmsnlf a deserving of the
great confidence placed In him or the hana
soms sulnry paid him?
The Crane company, as we all know, la
an enterprising and sn expanding Indus
trial concern. In the management of Ita
business, doubt , It Is necessary to en
force rigid discipline among employes. Hut
there Is a limit. Those who would willingly
wear tags might object to collars. ' Man
ager Lally, perhaps, had to put up with
some things thst wers distasteful to him.
But he would not put up with tbs electric
push button and the time clock. And be
cause he would not put up with this ba lost
his floor Job.
But he has his self-respect with him stilt
II did pot lose that. Chicago Inter Ocean,
