New-York tribune. [volume], May 04, 1913, Page 4, Image 68

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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THE BIGGEST PUBLICITY COUP IN THE HISTORY OF THE STAGF.
i
The Macready-Forrest Feud, Which Culminated
in the Astor Place Riot of May 10, 1849,
Would Be a Sweet Morsel in the Mouth
of a Press Agent of To-day.
Sixty-four Years Ago Next Saturday Occurred
the Extraordinary Exhibition of Blind
Passion and Prejudice Which Cost
the Lives of Scores.
THIS Is the crowded hour of th
th? attirai publicity agent, and th
man la the ?tree! is inclined to be
UeV? that never befOSO has the genius o
the brotherhood of dramatic boosters ha<
or been more strenuousl;
glorified. In fertility, acumen and orliri
i ; : 1 : t ? of ivies many of the publlclt"
manufacturen <?f the nv.dern school ar.
Past mastora, not to say past grand com
mand?is. Th??y can give cards an?
gp-adea to the futurist?. post-Impression
s of a kindred Imaginativ?
art It I? no reflection on their skill tha
do not always produce really mnnu
Baentel results, for in this blas? age the?
ere obliged to work with somewhat dullec
tools or m? re or less unresponsive ma
terlals.
When one cf the most astute and re
BOUreeful of operatic impresarios mad.
it possible a fey years ago for one of hi?
Pttmn donnas to Issue an ultimatum
pledging herself to break her contrae
If a rival prima donna should assume anv
one of certain roles which the Issuer ol
the ultimatum clalm?d to have mad?
famous, ?everybody thought It was a stun.
alag advertlatog coup, it was a well
staged "battallle de dames," vivid ami
Piquant while It lasted. Hut It was 8
mere br?ach within the family WhOM
wounds were Foon poulticed. The rival?
ries excited ?lid not divide the public inte
two h..stile camps, and there were nc
street riots, no arrests and no bloodshed.
A MODERN "NEAR RIOT."
When the Irish riayers first came her?
and presented Pynge's "The Playboy ol
the Western World," racial sensibilities
were offended, and some irate co-nation?
als attempted to rebuke the players by
disorderly demonstrations and threats of
violence. It might flatter the brotherhood
of publicity promoters to contend that
this particular advertisennnt was a tour
do force on their part. Undoubtedly, it
represented a nal grlevar.ee felt by a
fmall part of the public, which was quick?
ly turned to use in attracting general at?
tention to a dramatic venture. Hut the
hostility which "The riayboy" aroused
was short lived, and led only to a few
ejectments and a few summonses to the
police courts on charges of disorderly eon
duct.
The American public Is much too
sophisticated nowadays to take seriously
either the libels of dramatists or the per?
sonal feuds of singers and actors. It i
not conceivable that a venomous personal
ijuarrel between two well known trage?
dians Bhould so excite partisanship as t<>
lead to the cracking of heads ami the ?ail?
ing in of the police. If some preee
could contrive to get a regiment of mili?
tia ordered out In order to protect the
theatre In which his star was acting from
a mob inflamed by a rival actor's Jeal?
ousies, he would think himself a "Tody'
Hamilton and an Oscar Ilammersteln
rolled In one. The days for dazzling op?
portunities like that nre rast, and the
, most successful modern publicity promo
I 1er in this i.nromantic a?re would gladly
i?m years of his career to have lived
in New *? ork between 1840 and 18.7?, when
? theatrical feuds stirred men to
frenzy and drove the maddened follow?
ers of one rival, trying to express their
disapprobation of the other, under the Are
of the 7th Regiment's muskets I
The Astor Place riot of May 10, 1849,
sixty-four years a?*o next Baturdsp, was
the most extraordinary exhibition of pop?
ular su?-''t'ptibiiity to animosities engen?
dered on the ftage ever Klven in this
country. At least seventeen rioters were
killed ami twice ar-> many were wounded
I In a desperate attempt to storm the thea?
tre in which William Charles ifS0rSS?1j
I was acting, and their only reason for
: wlshlnf? to barm *Macr??a?ly was that he
had sngagod In a sort of theatrical v?n
detta with Kdwin F??rr??st. What a v. In
of pure gold such B public would be to
any manufacturer of Publicity who bad
mastered his art! No BVCh tra^l?- conclu?
sion as that In Astor Placa was no? es
sary; to the inin?! of the modern proinoter
it wi.uhi have Beamed much tea crude an?i
I shockii.K a denouement. Hit how the
present-day BCbOOl would have rcv?-llei|
in the potentialities of B popular BtStS
of mind which plunged into the thick of
such a peiM.nal <iuart?l and was t
to follow it up to the inn/./.'.. ,.* f
mllltta'fl loadeii gunsl
Fnmi the ordinary advertising point of
view, the M?i'T?-a?ly r 1<>t wax ?.-.-? plot.?-.
In a letter which ?"barbs Di-kens wrote
to pta/eroaAy about three ?nontis hefore
the Astor Plaea outhr? ak be had tlil-t to
i say about a card which Totteot had puh
: whi> hla rival was acllag in i'hii
adelphla:
"Is It true that yo i gave OUI 11!U I
OUntrymaa, Mr. '?'?.?p-M, B.M f.? perpe?
trate his pul n bed ? ard ' I ihlab II wag
very little, do you know, it certalaly a IS
w.uth UMM to yon ai A i -i
wh?ath?ei ?? la II it.-.i
him f'?r Mtlng SUCh I 1 "f dirt."
??;..! advertlalng Forreefs let-,
ters may have heen worth aomethlni
I low Dickens'? figures, yet they wer
i worth much. But the riot In this clt:
j was quite a different thing. Althougl
Muiroady In the course of his last trlj
. had come to despise Amerlc.im generally
he still loved the American dollar. Or
March 6, 1S49, he was writing In bis diary
I **l-et me die In a ditch In Km-'Iand ra'hei
? than in tho Fifth avenue ?;f New Yorl?
here?and SO mistake" Vet a few day?
later he was counting up Ida gains and
saying exultlngly: "Now. if I die, I leavt
my family faaVaa?\ besides my furniture,
plate, prints, etc." All three of his Amer
ban tours were highly profitable. He re
P?irts that he ?leared about PMH on his
second tour. Hut the riot her?- nade it
Impossible for him ever to set again in
the I'niU'.l fitutea.
There was n??ver any substantial basis
for the Ma?-ready -Forrest feud, on which
I much light Is thrown In Me ?oiup'ete e<li
tlon of Maii-ea.ly ?liarles ?nil Ushsd re?
cently by William Toynbe??. It grew out
[ of HUSplclon on tin? part <?f I'or:?st and
I his admirers that Ifacnaadp was rsspen*
ajbls for mu? h of the harsh ?rltiilsm vis?
ited on the American tragedlM when the
latter appeared In London In IMC.
On Macrcady's first visit to this coun?
try, In \W, he had BMB Forrest, then a
young man, play at the old I.owery Tbe
atre. and had expressed the opinion that
he bad the makings of a great actor. That
from a p? rsoti of Macvealy 'fl jealous tem?
perament was gener.i'is praise. On his
second tour here. In 1M3-44, he. modified
bis Judgment of I-'ot re.it somewhat, ?ay
? Ing that ttie latter ha?l filled to develop
'on the Intellectual aide and had been
spoil..?i ?and minie Indcleal by too much
flattery. Ifevertheleaa, h? had much
plaaaanl aoctal latoraouna v>.;th Forreet,
and In his diary nlwavs exp ? -I -
admiration .?f the Am? rl ? m actor's ? bai -
actor.
When Forrest Visited LondOT t'.'.e Eng?
Nab tragedian BOUghl him ?"it and In*. It???t'
him to dinner. Ifacraady v\'..(.? in his
diary ?-f this first meeting in Leaden:
"Mkcd him much?a noble appearance
? and a manly, mild and Interesting de
, m.-anor. I welcomed him, wished hin
I success and invited hltn to my bouse.'
He apparently wanted to see Korresi
treated courteously by the critics, bui
| was huffed a little when some of th?
t London newspapers seemed t?) dwell or
Forrest's ?iiuJIties as an actor In a way
to dlspatage his own. Nevertheh-ss, h?:
records several times that he tried to
dissuade Parafer, the critic, a friend ot
his, from bitterly attacking Forrest, and
almost quarrelled with him on that issue.
Forster was obstinate and kept on criti?
cising Forrest mercilessly, and since he
was an acknowledged adherent of Mac
ready It was not difficult for Forrest's
a?lmlrers to persuade him that the attacks
were inspired by Macready's Jealousy.
It Is by no means clear that they were,
and when some time later Forrest at?
tended a theatre in Kdlnburgh In which
Mai]ready was acting Hamlet and boor?
ishly stood up and hissed when his sup
poeod malls ret i ting the lines
"They are coming to the play, I must be
Idle." Ifacready naturally took It a? an
i ndcserved Ineult, Thereafter he ha ??!
the Amerhan with a deadly hatred, and
be was a man particularly given to vio?
lent enmities.
Forrest's side of the story was the only
one eceaaatbla to the American public,
which between !*-3?i and l?-?'.'*. always bad
a Mg ?"lilp on Its shoulder so far as for?
eign depreciation of anything American
was concerned. In this country Forra
was looked upon as a victim of Entbt
envy and persecution, and when Macrea-,
came hen- in I8t8.'*a popula: r-sr**s*ta)gj
was still keen and assllp played ?2
The Knglishman had little trouble (,
Hoston, where his tour oponed, 0r .
lialtlmore and the various Southern ?a
Southwestern cities which he vim??
Philadelphia. Forrest s home, and 3
York, where he had an enormous folio?
ing, wer.? the storm centr?e, in l'hllad??
phla there was an BSChanga of abuSn
statement? In the prca?, but no wrloi?
trouble, but In this city several month
later, Just as Ma? -ready Wgt re id y to-jj,
bark for England, the storm broke.
THE MAY 7 PERFORMANCE.
He was booked to appeal for ? ihm
engagement at the Astor Plans Opttt
House under the management of M-n?.
Nlblo and Hackett The Ural perform,
anee was set Tor May 7. Ma' r.-ady t\t
not understand the public s temper towa-i
him and expected at least a polite ta
c.-ption. It took him some time to realli?
that the theatre was full ?.' nmamja WBo
had com?: there with t!:e deliberate ?jag
pose of insulting him and ? i. aklng *aj
his engagement.
What happened was graphically t0]?S I?
the news columns of The New-York Trib?
une of May 8, 1849. It Is aigniflcant of
the inadequate machinery then exiitln?
for keeping the newspaper reading pub
lb' in touch with "human interest" occur?
rences on the stage that the accola
which follows was published aa a t,,ngU
agate paragraph In a column of local
miscellany, with only what is known to
printers us a "side head." Hera la what
The Trlbune'a representithe at the pa?
formance wrote:
THE TRIBUNE'S ACCOUNT.
The Astor Place Opera House was the
scene of a most disgrace! ul row last evin.
Ing on tlie occasion of Mi M.i'-ready'i
appearance. The play was .Macbeth.'
The house was crowded As soon ii
Macduif (Mr. <'. W, Clarke) made hlaap
pearan<*S there ??sere ?er? for
?lark--: ' and when Mi. Ma ready pre?
sented himself he ??...-? recetvsd wits
cheers, waving of handker ?i efe groan*.
hlaaea and all sorts of menagerie iiolm,
which continued for a fea '?"?, dur?
ing which time rotten toaa ana
pennlefl were thrown ai-e and
for l-'oi i-? at and I rea ly win
given The p?a d ?-ill con
tinning arid no oppori inlt? ??? :rig allowal
?or the play to be beat I I e i .-rformara
went on with their pari st man?
ner the] ? " ill M an l'ope, ai
l???ly Ma? both, ?? after a
, m i a '?'.'-'. wru
Mai hath aa a panton Ime
The i?cond scene ?? -I In th?
sain.? manner, with th? thatth?
tumuli waa greater ni t shown
to \.u. ly Ma< beth. The r?)W < until
m? the thud act, atill 1 "f th.
- en t'i
stage I sing p? Itad ttea ego,
potatoea and pennies Mi Macraas.
; Icked up one of thi .id ven
plac? 'i it ?? u last i
couple of pieces Of WO d ?' the ap?
pear ?nee of Bhlngles, wer?
second tier and
Mrs. Pope: this WSB I * '?.?i"
:t"in the asme a indef m
I ... .,,? .,.-:, , r] .
movem? nt amona I ? doJ art
down m tii? original Macb?ltj
Aft.-r this three ? hairs a-ere ti i ?wn froa
ond tier to tha it ???"tu
nat? I) Injur? ?! ?.'? on??.
Mr. Ma? read: the frat
ments strewn around i to th?
au.lien?- ,?nd m.? ? - ''urtai*
dropped and Mr. Chl| -s-nt-4
(?intlntied on ????.??nth p?|? _
WHOLE YEAR IS NOW BLUEFISH SEASON FOR FULTON MARKET FLEET
SO much has been written of th
?'loucester fleet and Its race to b
first In the market, of Glouceste
sklpp? rs who "crowd f-all" until theli
marts threaten to go by the board anc
of Gloucester dorymen cut off from theli
vessels In the fogs and storms of th?
(?rand Banks that the lay public hai
been led to believe that Gloucester and
not New York Is the true end only haver
of the deep sea fisherman.
This is not so. Step down to the Fulton
and I'eekman slips some fine /nornlng
when the fishing smacks are coming in.
There 1s a fleet of fishing smacks at
Fulton Market?there, at least, when they
are not being battered about In the
storms oft bleak Cape Hatteraa?whose
crews and skippers rival the "Down
Kasters" both in hardiness and enterprise,
venturing as far as the Gloucester men to
win the tremendous supply of blueflsh
that New York ravenously demands each
week In season?that Is to say, 830,000
pounds.
Blueflsh, not cod?and there Is a great
deal of difference In hauling a five to
fljrteen pound streak of greased lightning
In the shape of a blueflsh on a line that
has to be wired within five feet of the
hook to keep him from biting It off and
In heaving over the gunwale a sagging,
slimy and helpless codfish Impaled on a
trawl hook and usually dead before he
leaves the water.
The New York smacks scour the coast
for blueflsh as far south as Hatteras and
even Florida, running to the nearest j
market with all sails set to ship their
cargoes by express or fcteamer to their
owners In the dingy and odoriferous old
building at Fulton and South streets, and
then go hack to do It over again until
warm weather and the northward run ol
fish compel them to stay nearer horn?
and to bring In their catch Iced In their
own holds.
They are beginning their northward
course right now, and a few days more
will see the trim and yacht-like schooners
furling th"ir sails nt the Fulton docks
while the bluelish are hoisted from their
hohls in great baskets, hauled along the
slimy wharves and propelled into the
hurlyburly of one of the world's greatest
fish marts, there to be sold In company
.with Columbia River salmon, halibut
from Alaska, red snappers from the Caro?
linas or the Gulf, terrapin, flounders,
flukes and the ubiquitous eel, beloved of
the C-an-ay Island venders
While the fish are being disposed of
and the vessels are refitting for another
trip, taking aboard water and supplies
?salt, Ice, gear and furnishings?brown
and ?veather-stained fishermen are bawl?
ing greetings at the friends from neigh?
boring vessels and sauntering along the
wharves puffing at black pipes. Their
tobacco has a tang that smites the nostril
above the whiff of the tarred lines, the
empty bait barrels, above the smoke from
the galleys and the thousand and one
smells that accompany the odor of flsh.
raw flsh, ever present and universal at
the end of Fulton street, as It has been
for nearly a h-indred years.
But the vessels themselws are the most
lab usting feature of the great sea In- I
dustry that is being carried on tln-if? ? the
saucy, low hulled fishing smacks with i
their sails furle?l and their halyards sl.uk
and ?Ihelr skippers engaged In spinning
yarns on their wave scoured, tar seamed
decks. There Is no nickel plate, enamel
or ?rarajab about the fishing ve-s,l-. m?
brass studded Wheel or sumptuous bin- I
nuil?.- to delight the heart of the land
lubber. The bulwarks arc crusted with
salt and scales, the ?lories an- piled OB
deck ?ikt? papa? box? s, on the f.ir?-niost
ritSlng are hoisted Jt,!?ji*)s and oilskins
t
and brawny men In their undershirts are
leaning out of the hatchways, loafing In
anticipation of a stroll along th?1 How.-rv.
They are husky and not unattractive
fellows, these fishermen, In spite of their
obvious need of a shave when they come
ashore." Many of them have a dusky tan
that Is not due to the sea alone, for In
the New York fleet as elsewhere the
Portuguese are now the mainstay of the
Industry.
Ten years ago the crews were made up
mostly of Norwegians and Swedes, some
I of whom have graduated to the rank of
captain by this time, while others have
( purchased oyster sloops or power boats
and gone Into scratch fishing for them?
selves. The Fulton fishermen are well
fed while at sea and well paid for the
work that they do. Thlrty-flve dollars
a month and their keep is assured to
thc-m. and In addition to this, ami what
sometimes amounts to the greater part
. of their profits, they get a certain per
eeutage of tlM money made on every flsh
that they catch, aometitnea rollin,l(i<
conalderable sums in the course of * ^
weeks. For those among them th?
resist the customary lures so a**Lg\
".lack ashore" there is the I"si?b^1 '^
saving both money ami credit, 0' ^
failings of the sailor are ^roverbUU^^
as one of them said to a Tribune reP?
The sober ones no after the drU"
otO**
Balling time, ata! the whole hunch ^
gets pickled. Then the cap n ,0** , ??
self arid has the very devil of ?' ^
pull tlrem out an?! get them ab0*"rn trjlf
of them are soused to the ears a
puis to sea. and it takes a day ?r ^
get them to rights again TnW ^
they'll come aboard when they n< ^
horn for sailing, but they hidrt.,ygt
the bar when they do hear It- ^
as they've got a cent left In their P****
you ?an't trust 'em" . g
One of the men who has made t^
the tishlng game and is known ?
Continued en fifth P*?