i
How the Ak-Sar-Ben Shows
Are Made Up and? Put On the
Actors and "Es prit du Corps"
i i ' H ..r - , ,.,
Behind the Scenes at Rehearsals In the Den Women's
Parts All Taken By Men Famous Strike for
More Wienerwurst arid Stronger Cheese.
Thousands who have witnessed
the initiation and, musical show at
the Ak-Sar-BeiHn, north Twen
tieth street, have little orno idea
of the vast amount of detail work
liecessarj to stage an enterprise of
mis magnitude. . uunng ine rtK-Sar-Ben
initiatory season, which
runs usually from about Tune .1 to
September 1, thousands of out-of-
town men are entertained at the
den, Vnd they are unanimous in
singing the praises of Omaha's fore
most local amusement feature.
The.se initiation and amusement
sessions are attended only by men.
- Women are permitted at the Den
only on the occasion of the annual
grand ball which has become a so
. ciety classic. Fair maids and
matrons of the realm don their most
gorgeous attire to see and be seen
amid a scene of bewitching light
and coloreffects.
Would Surprise Women.
Omaha women would be surprised
if they knew of the high character
of the musical shows presented at
the Den, season after season, every
show being different, and every
female role being taken by "mere
men," who disport themselves as
"chorus girls" and stimulate other
.female characters with remarkable
success.
The Ak-Sar-Ben musical show
has resolved' itself into something
of an- institution. The cast changes
with the passing of the years, some
remaining . for several seasons and
; then dropping out for a rest. But
' there is an esprit du corps which
can be appreciated best by those
who have witnessed the snappy en
tertainments presented every Mon
day evening during the season.
These entertainments have aroused
the admiration of men of national
prominence.
Roosevelt Enjoyed Himself.
The late Theodore Roosevelt en
joyed an evening at the Den, and
the late Chauncey Depew likewise
. said he was amused and entertained.
The late Col. V- F. Gsdy and
former President W. H. Taft were
among the distinguished visitors
who wore Ak-Sar-Ben buttons.
In the musical show of this sea
son there were 60 Omaha men, all
actively engaged in their everyday
work, but with time, inclination and
talent for this kind of divertisement.
The show is rehearsed and staged
with all the care given a regular
professional attraction. Last spring
Ben Johnson began training a
" chorus of 48 men - for the show,
which was named "The TraiPbf the
Wandering Juice." While the
chorus was learning its part the
principals were busy with the dia-
logue and the lyrics.
Work of tputting the show to-
gether, instruction in make-up, fit
ting of costumes, and other details,
followed,, until the production was
ready for the opening. During the
hot weather the men appeared faith
fully every Monday night to give
the show. It was hot 'work some
times in the dressing rooms, but it
was a' labor of love, and that is the
answer. Every man was a member
of Ak-Sar-Ben, and had paid the
regular membership feepf- $10 for
the-year. . Incidentally," the perform
ers received the benefit of the train
ing and the experience, which they
regarded as some compensation tor
their efforts.
List of Characters. .
Oscar Lieben and Frank Nelson
had charge of the work of instruct
ing the actors in the art of making
up and appearing chic in the female
roles. ' Mr. Lieben is recognized as
a pastmaster in the art of dressing
a man as a women in a manner that
deceives the critical eye.
The leading characters of the
show given during the initiatory
seasoa recently closed, were: Henry
W. Dunn, Mephisto; Frank Laten-
ser, Bacchus; ueorge .Long, .Nep
tune", Kenneth Reed, Gambrinus;
Micky Gibson, bartender to Nep
tune: Oscar Lieben, Nicotina:
Walter Adams, Terpsichore; L. M.
Harvard $15,000,000 Drive
Holds Promise to Science
New York, Sept. 27. To prevent
the loss to posterity of many inval
uable works in all branches of hu
man progress is one ot the prime
motives of the $15,000,000 campaign
whicH the Harvard - endowment
fund committee will wage through
out the world early in October.
' A large number of inventions, dis
coveries and priceless works of art
and literature have been given to
the world by the college laboratories
I - t ,
e. . ana me- proiessors siuaies. 1 ne
world can ill afford to have this
contribution to humanity curtailed
but such a fate is imminent in Amer
ica unless the public is aroused to
.a realization of the necessity of
providing resources to carry, on and
extend the work of the past.
It may be the fortune of an in
, structor in one of our colleges to se
cure power from the sun s rays for
the use of humanity or to jharness
the ocean waves for industrial pur
; poses, or to perfect a perpetual mo
tion machine, or to establish com
munication . between the earth and
Mars, or to give to the world some
still undreamed of scientific contri
bution. To further this work the
, public, however, must awaken to
K the call for funds to permit the
teaching profession to give of its
time' and energy to research and
experimentation. ,
. Under the scale of salaries paid
instructors and professors at Hary
ard since 1906, these public servants
.Jiave been compelled to forsake the
classroom for commercial life ' or
spend their leisure hours in outside
work, so that their income will more
nearly correspond with the greatly
increased cost of living. This condi
tion of affairs is likewise true of
every other higher educational in
stitution in the country and is prov
ing a great handicap to 20th cen
tury advancement.
More than one-half of the fund
sought by Harvard university will
be invested to return approximately"
$600,000 to raise the salaries of the
teaching personnel SO per cent.
ounce, keeper ot the winery;
Charles Docherty, head clerk; E. C.
Fagt, grand mufti; B. F. Thomas
and Arthur Rosenblum, assistant
grand muftis. Charles Gardner ap
peared during the season in several
of the leading roles.
' Gus Renze, general director of the
Den, exercised a supervisory inter
est over the actors and the initia
tion crew. . It was up to Gus to see
that the show was ready when the
curtain "was rung up, and it may be
said that the show was always
ready on time. During one Monday
night of the season, however, there
was consternation behind the
scenes. Kenze ran around in cir
cles, exhibiting more temperment
than his closest freinds beJieved he
could generate.
Strike for Stronger Cheese.
This back-stage outbreak occur
red at the time when the .actors in
Chicago and New York were going
on strike. The Ak-Sar-Ben actors
threatened to walk out. It was
five minutes to 8 ' and a large
crowd was waiting for the show to
start. '
"How did. you get that way?"
asked Renze of the actors.
Henry W. Dunn appearing in his
forbidden costume of Mephisto, re
sponded as spokesman: v
We demand more wienerwtirst,
more near-beer, and also stronger
cheese. Do we get our demands?
he asked, with an air of finality.
Renze readily consented to com
ply with the demands of the actors,
but under his breath he called them
a bunch of bolshevists, realizing,
however, that he was tip against a
serious situation.
Tom Brown, famous 'professional
saxophone , player, witnessed the
show last summer while on a visit
here. He asserted in all seriousness
that, with a little lengthening out he
believed the Ak-Sar-Ben musical
show would make a real hit on
Broadway .
Riding Devices Popular :. With Both Young
arid Old om the Fall King's Gay Highway
iMiiiii
Bodies of Czar's ;
Family Destroyed
By Fire, Is Report
Omask, Sept. 27. The bodies of
the Granti Duchess Elizabeth, the
Grand Duke Sergius, and other
Romanoffs murdered by the bol
shevists near-Perm a year ago, and
discovered subsequentlv in a nit at
Tlapaievsk have een safely removed
east. The bodies of the czar and his,
family, who were killed at Ekaterin
burg and cut to pieces, were de
stroyed by fire immediately after
the crime. , "
All evidence and clues collected
'Nn the spot confirm this. - The body
ot a pet dog belonging to one ot the
czar's daughters fas ben found
Young and Old Patronize the Riding Devices on the Carnival Grounds.
above the charred debris at the bot
torn of an iron pit to which the
corpses of the victims are known to
have been conveyed. There" is no
longer any reason for secrecy in this
matter now that the Reds are in
possession of the locality.
Race Row in Hawaii.
Honolulu, Sept. 27. Japanese arid
Clnese of Honolulu have, tempor
arily at least, found the Shantung
controversy overshadowed by a new
issue, the rice supply. Because of
an embargo on the exportation of
Japanese rice, Hawaii is threatened
with a grave shortage of tbfs orien
tal food staple. " Hoardingnd prof
iteering, it is said, are adding to
the gravity of the situation. Japa
nese and Chinese agree on this
point, but each charge the others
with doing the hoarding andprof
iteering. ' . 1 '
-5 i-VS
AMI
to visit
Home Builders (c.)
OMAHA, NEB-
y la Their New Building:, 18th and Dodge St.
HOME BUILDERS, INC.
New Offices. 18th and Dodfc Sti.,
Omaha, Neb.
AK-SAR-BEN VISITORS 'are invited ton auto
tour of the City to see the large buildings con-V
structed by Home Builders which represent the ?
security behind Home Builders mortgages.
HOME BUILDERS guarantee's its Shareholders 6. per annum payable January ;
and July 1st. Their money is free from Nebraska Taxes and the Normal Federal
Income Tax, and available by re-sale upon thirty days' notice to the American Se
curity Company. -
Orders for shares up to 5,000 will be filled from re-sale shares and interest
allowed from date money is received.
A part of your business solicited.
American Security Company
G. A. Rohrbough, Pres.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA.
IfBPlPBIW lilllllllilii:'!!,i!lIHi,llilllliiliilllllll!l!l'i"llilll,llli
mmiiiiiiiiMiiinwi'ratii
! i II I N I ll ,1 I
lil,ll!Jll!Iillllllli,!lillillllli!!Uli)llwNi
C. C. Shimer, Secv -ti
For Best Results Try Bee Wanf
Dill
. IS THE pST - . ;
' AlERICM-IIROi" I
C0RD 6n FABRIC-CASINGS AND jj
V'. PURE -RUBBER, TUBES. 1 -V- I'M
Air -'Kepeateirs 1
HAVE YOUR NEXT SET f p
iIERICAi4IE0M ' J
AND YOUR TIRE SERVICE - ' j
WILL MAKE YOU - I
llAIERICAi4IE01
, REPEATER. , ' p
CHOICE TERRITORY STILL ' OPEN
TOR LIVE ' WIRE DEALERS. 1
Oiiaia :'CrcIkeFy C
- DISTRIBUTERS. ;" '
: - 1116-1118-1120 HARNEY ST.,1 g
' ' OMAHA. Jj
fW MK J-
w 1 VI Jx I
GRA
N
Y
I
ANGE
EXECUTIVE OFFICES
P. MANCHESTER
Secretary.
, Automobile x
Frame and Spring
Repairing
Rayfield
Carburetor 1
Service Station
P. Mechiors & S on
Machine Works
- -
417 South 13th Street
v - -
General Overhauling of Automobiles,
Magnetos and Starting Systems
Service Station and Repair Parts
for Eiseman Magnetos
GENERAL MACHINE AND
BLACKSMITH WORK
m
v DIRECTORS
J. T. BUCHANAN, H. K. SCHAFER, '
O. M. SMITHPre,ident' J ! Jff "i??
' Vice President. C. S. RAINBOLT,
CHAS. H. WRIGHT, J- A. LINDERHOLM.
Vice President. J. A. BENDER.
E. E. HUNTLEY, , .
l reasurer.
4
t
RECEIPTS
Wheat
Corn
Oats
Rye
Barley
( '
Total
.
1917
13,714,600
29,882,600
20,280,500
871,200
1,713,200
1918
K 18,040,600
45,688,200
23,572,000
1,500,000
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