Birmingham state herald., December 22, 1895, Part Two, Page 12, Image 12

About Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897

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The American Apostle of Real
ism on Plays.
SHOULD REPRODUCE NATURE.
Our People Are Tiring of the Sickly, Cn
wholesome Imported Drama—They Want
Contemporaneous Native t*l»ys Now,
Why “Shore Acres" Has Succeeded.
Give mo a downright good American
play, full of pathos, merriment aud real
ism, and not one of those mawkish, sick
ly, sentimental, sensuous dramas, abound
ing in impossible situations, whiuh for
eign playwrights are continually tossing
over to nv aud whioh many of "dur leading
'v /^«7 •' ?
JAMES A. BEENE.
artists and managers eagerly grab at.
America is a fertile field for dramatic ac
tion. Abundant material can be found
throughout Its broad domain for tho pro
duction of any manner of play, whether it
partake of pastond or urltait life, of com
edy or tragedy. I bellovc In keeping as
close to nature as possible and depicting
scenes and incidents which happen in our
own country mid in our own times. The
rising generation sliouhl know tho history
of its own country—and contemporane
ous history at that—before studying that
of other nations. And I know of no bettor
instructor, no better history maker, than
tho stage, for no teachor, no cold type, can
make such an indelible impression upon
tho mind of youth os a wall turned drama.
That is tho reason I speak with such ear
nestness and directness.
I am not a partisan by any means, and
do not mean to decry foreign plays of mer
it. Man or woman could read tile works
of the immortal .Shakespeare or witness
t heir presentation a score or moro of times
anil still learn something. So, too. in a
minor degree, with the works of Richard
Brinsley Sheridan, Richard Lalor Shell,
Bui war Lytton and men of that stamp.
The plays I object to are those which glvo
the widest play to the imagination and
which have hardly a shred of facts to build
upon; which appeal to the worst passions
of mankind instead of the noblest senti
ments; which abound in anachronisms
anil portray exaggerated situations which
lead up to impossible denouements. Such
plays are history destroyers and intellect
pervorters.
Of late years I am pleased to note there
is a strong tendency upon the part of our
people to encourage home production and
to applaud clean, wholesome, instructive
American drama—drama typical of Amer
ican lifo, pastoral and urban, political
and social. Such plays,for instance,as “The
Mighty Dollar,” "The Gilded Age,"
“The Old Homestead," "The Senator,"
“Ambition," “Shenandoah,” and “Shore
Acres,” of which I have the good fortune
to lie ant her and am now playing at tho
Fifth Avenue thoator, New York, have
met with as pronounced favor as any of
tho passionate, turgid, stilted, erotlo
dramas of foreign playwrights.
And with good reason. They appeal
directly to the hearts of the people. They
are in close touch with nature, and they
either recall scenes of childhood days or
portray those with which they are familiar
In youth or in manhood. They are pure
and invigorating as well as being strong
in dramatic action. I will not at tempt to
analyze theso plays, as my readers are
probably as familiar with their qualities
as your humble servant, but I will make
bold enough to ask what sermon could
better point a moral than tho little pas
toral oomedy X am now presenting? Tho
scene is laid off tho plcturesquo coast of
Maine, near Bar Harbor. A noble fellow
stiilos liis affection for tho woman he
adores and goes off to tho war to serve his
country in order that the younger brother
he loves, who was also smitten with her
charms, may win hor. When that brother
does win her, he surrenders his share of
tho farm to tho two people ho loves host
on earth. In time tho younger brother,
now master of Shoro Acres, listens to the
voice of tho tempter, tho real estate specu
lator, and becomes money mod. Despite
the protests of tho self sacrificing brother,
lie enters into the schemes of a land im
provement company and cuts up the
homestead into village lots, after first
mortgaging tho farm to get the necessary
funds to construct cottages. Ho even sac
rifices tho plot of ground which constitutes
liis mother's last resting place. He lias
no room for “sentiment." That superflu
ous focliug must give way to tho Moloch
'1 l
MR. HERNE IN “SHORE ACRES.”
greed. The ‘ bnimi” which has struck
the coast is to make him rich beyond the
lirrnm of avarieo. Ho forces to floe from
his home ill a fearful storm tho daughter
1 o worships because she would not aban
don tho man she loves to marry tho man
who tempted him.
The good brother gives the young couple
every dollar ho lias in the world to floe and
I A ", nt murder, for tho father is savage
•odd hungry and determined. Tho bubblt
bursts. Tito land” company falls anf
the speculative brother is ruiDed. Whei
his skies are canopied with durkness ant
despair, when all hope hag fled, the goot
brother turns over to the errina one tL.
700 back pension which ho opporrunoly n J
oolves, saves the homestead, wrings tear,
of contrition from tho gambler, bringi
back his favorite daughter and her hus
band to tho homo and fills the whole house
hold with Joy and thanksgiving. If tha
doos not point a pretty moral, I don’t
know what does. Mind you, I say this ii
no vainglorious spirit, nor in any pride a
authorship. 1 mu simply striving to lllus
trate as best I oan the theory I have ad
vnnced.
In plays of this nature, and Indeed it
all plays, but in thoso particularly, con
stant action and constant realism are eml
nently necessary. A farm should be i
farm and have all the environments ant
implements of a farm. There should bo I
barn, a pump, a well, a water trough j
pitchforks, buckets, pails and other agrl j
cultural paraphernalia in view of the au
dionco. The kitchen should bo n conntrj
kitchon, with stove, cupboards, tables
chairs, piotures and other Impedimenta
There should be a roal fire in the stove
real country cooking and real food served
at the dinner, which, as every one ao
qualntod with bucolic affairs knows, is a
feature of country life. Dialect, dress
mannerisms and every little detail should
be carefully studied. In a word, every
thing should bo intensely roalistio. Tlior>
should be no fake, no sham, no masquer
ado. Each and evory actor should bo care
fully instructed in nil these little detaili
by one who is thoroughly conversant witl
every character of the play. Beforo writ
irig “Shore Acres’’ I went down to tin
coast uf Maine and remained there foi
weeks, although I hnd often beon there be
fore. I thoroughly studied tho scenery
the character of the people, their dlnlocl
and the topography of the country. I the!
carefully Instructed my company in al
these points and impartod to each a com
ploto knowledge of the character he or sill
was to portray. That is why the play con
quered success. It Is truo to nature.
Jas. A. IIkijne.
A Good Joke on Frank Daniels.
Kirk La Shelle, comanager of Kranl
Daniels in “The Wizard of the Nilo," toll,
rather an amusing story about his star. A
year or so ago Mr. Daniels played at t
small town In “Princess Bonnie,” ii
which piece ho hod made a grant success
When he began his tour this season in lib
new opera, onoof the first towns ho played
prior to#the New York opening was that
one. Tho hotel proprietor, who prides him
self on his extensive acquaintance wit.1
prominent people that pass through tin
town, said to Daniels, after tire comedian
had signed bis naino on the register.
“How do you do, Mr. Daniels? Of courst
I remember you very well. I novor laugh
ed so much as I dill when you appeared
hero last." Mr. Daniels was commemlablj
pleased, and Mr. La Shelle and othors,
standing about, were reverently preparing
to take off their lints to the star who bod
male such a brilliant impression, whou
tho boldface made Ills final remark. II
was, “Are you still with ‘Peck's Bad
Boy?’"_
The Incomes of Great Singers.
Jean de Hoszko calls for his salary everj
night after the porformnnoe. He is rich
beyond the dreams of avarice. Indeed all
the chief opera singers are wealthy. M. de
Roszke's income Is $16,000 a month, that
of Melba it about $12,000 a month, and
Nordion earns $50,000 a year. But when
Henry E. Abbey first took hold of tl
Metropolitan Opera llouso in Now York '
lost $250,000 during the llrst season.
The impresario is t lie only one who loses.
The singers are protected by strong con
tracts. They sign agreements to sing foi
so much a season, and, whether they are
successes or failures, their salaries must be
paid. Lust winter the Metropolitan intro
duced a new tenor who made such a failure
on his debut that he was never allowed tc
appear again. Ho had a contract lo ro
ceive $6,000 for tho season, and he collect
ed that amount of money for a singlo per
formauce. This artist remains on dismal
record as tho highest priced slngor that
ever went in-the operatic stage.
The Coat of Grand Opera.
It costs £>*1,000 to lift the curtain each
night on grand opera. This sura seems
moro remarkable if we compare it with the
expenses of an ordinary theater. Aftor his
scenery is paid for a theatrical manages
may compute bis weokly outlay at amounts
varying from $2,000 to $3,000, according
to tho talents of his company. Tho ordi
nary playhouse will hold from $1,600 ta
$1,800 a night, and if he fills his theates
evory evening the manager has a certainty
of considerable interest on his investment
after paying actors’ salaries and authors'
royalties.
For example, if Mr. Daly, Mr. Frohman
or Mr. Palmer takos in $1,600 a night, he
is sure to eurn an income of about $30,000
a year. But grand opera is quite a differ
ent matter. Good actors may he manu
factured almost anywhere. Good singers,
however, are born, and born at rare inter
vals. Adelina Patti, tho greatest lyrio art
ist that any ago lias produced, demands
$4,000 for cooli performance.
Mansfield's Magnificent Methods.
Speaking of Richard Mansfield’s pro
duction of ‘‘The Story of Rodion the Stu
dent," tho New York Herald says: "Mr.
Mansfield invested it with something like
tragic grandeur. Ho is incomparably the
subtlest, the most imaginative,-tho most
interesting aotor on tho American stage.
Wo hope wo may yot soo the day when the
public's taste will have booome purified,
so that its substantial patronago will en
able this most worthy artist to take ills
revenge, say in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth,’
a character for which ho seems to be pre
destined.” And The World comments:
“There are few actors on tho English
speaking stage who could play Rodion as
Mr. Mansfield played it at the Garriek.
He exhibited in it a degree as well as a
quality of dramatic power such ns one as
sociates only with great actors of the
world. The hallucination scene is acted
with such force of expression that it suf
fices to make the actor famous.”
"The World Do Move.”
The last of the brilliant series of article*
in Le Revue des Deux Mondes by Auguste
Filon is devoted to a searching analysis of
tho stylos and completed workmanship of
Sydney Grundy, Heury Arthur Jones and
Arthur Pinero. Wonders will never coasel
A dozen years ago Frnnoe did not believe
that Englaud had a drama. Today its au
thors, plays and crltios are seriously dis
missed in one of the most brilliant of
French literary magazines and by an au
thor of rare Intelligence. A dozen year*
ago, too, England did not bellovo Amerloa
had a drama. Now, however, she is keen
ly alive to the fact.
8USAN STRONG. ~~
An American Singer Who Has Earned a
Fine Reputation In Europe.
Susan Strong is tho woman, barely 28
years old, who has sot the uaslo crltios ol
conservative old London by the ears. She
recently made her operatic debut in that
city os Slegllude in "Die Wolkure.’’ As
that is one of the most difficult roles In
Wagner’s great trilogy it was considered
that Miss Strong would be exceedingly
fortunate to pass through the ordeal with
out meeting with Dosltlre dlsastea. Thai J
Is where she surprised the critics. She not
only got through without trouble, but
achieved a genuine triumph. Tho scene
when she was called bofore the ourtain at
tho close of the opera Is Baid to have re
minded the old timers of tlio early tri
umphs of Adelina Patti. Cheer after cheer
grebtod her, and tho papers the next morn
ing contained glowing eulogies of “the
new stur from the west. ” Miss .Strang!*
triumph in the role of Slegllnde was not a
fortunate fluke, as was amply demonstrat
ed when a little later she sang Elsa in
“Lohengrin” and easily addod to her
reputation. She Is the fad in the musical
circles of London, which Is equivalent to
saying that she is henceforth to rank
among the greatest singers.
Frau Cosima Wagner, tho widow of the
greatest composer the world has ever
known and herself one of the best of vo
cal critics, had, prior to Miss Strong's
great success, heard of her ability. She at
once summoned the new nspirant to sing
before her nt her homo in lialrouth. When
Miss Strong stood in the famous musio
room of the great oomposcr and realised
that ul.e was to slug to the woman who
rv
SUSAN STRONG.
had boon his wife and was also tho daugh
ter of Liszt, sho folt inspired to sing as sho
never hod sung liofore.
“What have you choscnf" Mmo. Wagner
asked.
“Whatever you choose to havo me sing,"
Was tho astonishing reply.
A chnloe was made. Mme. Wagnor's ac
coinpanist seated himself at the piano and
struck a few chords. Entirely without
notes tho young artist followed him, giv
ing selection after selootlon as the delight
ed pianist ran from one theme to another.
When she reached “Die Walkure," and
rendered superbly Branhilde’s magnificent
call, Mine. Wagner interrupted. Taking
her by both hands, sho kissed her and en
gaged her at once to sing at the Bairouth
festival next summer. This fact must sat
isfy all skepticism as to tho genuineness
of Miss Strong’s succoss. She is to sing
Sloglindo to Jean de Reszke’s Siegmund.
It is an honor many an older star would
covet. At a rehearsal at Covent Garden
this fall Honschel, the leader of tho orches
tra, stopped the performance to congratu
late Miss Strong, and in this he was join
ed by every member of the orchestra.
Miss Strong Is also exceptionally gifted
histrionically. Sho is a sort of Calvo in a
mild form. Sho is ulso very beautiful and
dignified, and is an utter stranger to nerv
ousness. Her father was a wealthy citizen
of Brooklyn, and was once a candidate for
mayor of the City of Churches. He died
about two years ago.
The Manager Gets the Money.
A. M. Palmer has made about $100,000
out of “Trilby”—much more than the au
thor nnd actors have received. Charles
Frohman pooketod $200,000 out of “Shen
andoah" nnd almost ns much out of
“Charley’s A tint.” This fortunnto man
ager pnkl $100 for the American rights of
“Too Much Johnson” and earned nearly
ISO,000 out of It. The playwrights seldom
make much monoy. Clement Scott re
ceived $500 for his adaptation of “Dorn,”
which, under the name of “Diplomacy,”
was ono of the most successful pieces ever
produced iu England or this country. Yet
the original author, Sardou, received noth
ing from tho English speaking stage, and
his adapter only had £100 fur arranging
one of the best comedies ever written.
Authors seldom make fortunes. Richard
Mansfield paid only *1,600 for “Beau
Brummol,” out of which he has earned a
prodigious revenue. Charles Barnard re
ceived *500 for “The County Fair,” out
of which Neil Burgess drew $80,000 the
first season.
Why May Yohe Isn’t Coming.
The real reason why Lady May Yohe
Hopo is not to be Included by Canary &
Lederer in the cast of their forthcoming
production of ‘‘The Lady Slavey,” In
which Yohe originated the title role in
London, lias not hitherto boon dlsclosod.
It was the lmprossion that Canary & Led
erer were very desirous to secure her serv
ices, but that she would not come. The
truth is that Yohe was very anxious to
come, but that Samuel Frenoh, father of
T. Henry French, wrote that she ruined
the part by her listless performance of it,
and, ns it requires a vivacious soubrette,
Mr. Lederer selected Virginia Earle as be
ing the best woman in this country, or
even Europe, for tiro relo.
Romantic Acton Scarce.
When one glances down the list of Amer
ica’s foremost romantic actors, one is sur
prised how unimportaut they are. The ro
mantic actor—the actor who can give an
idoal portrayal of such essentially roman
tic characters as Huy Bias and Don Cae
sar—is fast becoming a histrlon of another
time. There are at present but two before
the public, and of these Otis Skinner is
ono. Mr. Skinner’s now play, ‘‘Villon the
Vagabond,” is the hit of the present sea
son. The press notices it lias received are
simply amazing.
The Villain's Critic.
‘‘The test of sucoess of the villain on
the stage,” says Frank Carlyle, who plays
the wlckod man in ‘‘The Sporting Duch
ess,” “is thepoanut chowing, coat lacking
gallery boy. It Is far easier to play the vil
lain in real life than before the footlights
—whon the gallery boy Is watching out.
Onoe the bad man In tho play lets a kind
ly note Into his voice he Is queered for life
up aloft.”
Too Busy.
Snlplelgh—I say, Poorpelgh, how Is it
you havo not paid that bill of mine?
Poorpelgh—My dear fellow, I have been
so busy on that new book of mine that I
had forgotten all about it.
Snipleigh—What are you writing?
Poorpelgh—A treatise on memory.—Al
bany State.
Pedantry, In the common acoeptation of
the word, means an absurd ostentation of
loarning and stiffness of phraseology, pro
ceeding from a misguided knowledge of
books and a total igfiioranceof men.—Mac
kenzie. ^
Louis the Great paid so much attention
to his manners that he took a dancing les
sen every day but Sunday for 83 years.
! SPORT ON THE ALLEYS”
Bowling Is Excellent Fun For
the Winter Evenings.
A FEW POINTS FOR THE NOTICE.
He Should Try the Medium Sized Balls
First and Reserve the Eighteen Pound
ers For the Future—Fast and Slow Balls
and tho Very Difficult Twisters.
Bowling Is now one of tho great winter
gports, and there is hardly a club of any
size in tho United States that does notpon
ees3 one or moro alloys. To lay aside ono’a
coat, chalk one’s
fn/it. find omul a hiir
I wooden ball down
the 60 foot alley
for a ‘ strike” is a
proceeding well
calculated to send
a thrill of pleasure
through tho heart
of the veriest mis
anthrope. If the
melancholy Dano
had belonged to a
bowling club and
had “stuck” Poio
nlus or his father’s
ghost for tho price
of a gamo or two
a night, he could
never have
brought himself
to bolievo that tho
world was out of
joint. A singlo
“break” would
have led him to
forget the bad
“break” of his
mother, a “spare”
would nave caused
him to spare oven
the prying Poloni- Tnli PROPER position.
us, and a “strike” would have increased
iiis good nature to such an extent that he
would havo ceased the amateur detective
business, married the fair Ophelia and
lived happily ever afterward.
The game in a primitive form has been
played for centuries. There are traces of
the sport in Biblical history, tho Chinese
playod the game when the Flowery King
dom was young and tho Romans hurled
their stone bowlers from oatapulta in war
time and in time of poaco cast them at a
rook soma distanco awuy as the bowlor of
todnv rolls his ball toward tho pyramid of
wooden plus. In its onrly stages the game
was colled “bowls,” aud oloscly resomhlcd
tho “duck nud rock” that country boys
havo played lu America for many years.
Chaucer mentions bowls, and it is sin
cerely to bo hoped that ho could bowl bet
ter than ho could spell. Sir Francis Drake
was ongaged in a game of bowls when he
heard the news of the approach of tho
Spanish armada. Sir Francis was plainly
a bowling crank, for ho cried as he picked
up another bowler, "There’s plenty of
time to win this game and thrash tho
Spaniards too!’' At this time—tho six
teenth century—bowls was tho most popu
lar game in England. Bowling greens aDd
covered bowling alleys were attached to all
tho residences of the nobility, and gentle
men gambled, quarreled aud even fought
over tho game. One of the royal enthusi
asts of the time was Princess Mary, daugh
ter of Honry VIII. She ofton played for
expensive dinners, and history records that
one dinner cost her 10 shillings. The faot
that she contracted the habit of losing
largo hots was doubtless the rcuson why
her much married father had a law passed
prohibiting tho game In England.
Bowling ns It is at present played, with
wooden balls and pins, is supposod to havo
originated In Germany. The sport was
very popular among tho Dutch, who
brought it to tills country when they set
tled Manhattan island. It became very
popular amoug the colonists in the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries, and
Bowling green, tho small park near the
Battery, New York city, received Its name
from tho fact that it was the favorite
bowling Groon of tho Dutchmen. Thoy
rollod wooden halls along tho groonswnrd
toward wooden pins, and whon tho win
ter came, the game was played Indoors.
The under covor phase of tho sport led to
tho construction of wooden alleys and the
development of the sport to its present
comploto form. About 40 yoars ago the
rage for bowling was at fever heat, and
New York in particular was full of alleys.
So great became tho craze that in the
states of Now York and Vermont laws
were passed prohibiting the sport, and this
fnct led to tho adoption of tho present ten
pin game, lic/oro tho passage of the laws
tho game was called ninepins, owing to
the fact that but nine pins were spotted.
As tho law specifically prohibited ninepins
BOWLING SHOE, BALL BAG AND REGULATION
BALL.
the shrewd bowlers simply added another
pin, muklng ten, and thus outwitted the
obnoxious statutes.
A regulation alley Is 60 feet long and 43
inches wldo, with a runway of 15 feet to
the foul line, at which the ball isdeliver
ed. A regulation ball Is made of lignum
vitro, and must not be more than 37 inch
es In clroumference. Regulation pins are
usually of maple and are 15 inches high,
15 Inches in oircumfcrence at the thickest
part and 3K lnohes In diameter at the bot
tom. The largest regulation balls weigh 18
pounds and cost (4. The balls are usually
turnod in about ten different sizes and
diminish In price as they diminish in size.
The smallest ball, whtoh la four Inches in
diameter, costs only 75 cents. The best
maple pins cost t4 a set. The largest balls
have holes for one linger and a thumb, but
if the bowler so desires he may have balls
with any number of holes In them. The
true bowling crank has hls grip moasured
and then has the holes In the ball bored to
order. Hu usually has hls own ball, too,
and oarries It with bln) In a leather or
oanvas bag that costs him from tl to |3.
He also dresses for the business when he
attends a tournament and Is very particu
lar about hls shoes. He has them made of
flue kangaroo leather, with a roughened
sole of elkskln, so that he will be safe from
the perils of slipping at the foul line, with
out the bother of repeatedly stopping to
ohalk hls shoes. Ho has these shoes made
by hand and pays 14 or |6 for them.
When a novice begins to bowl, he trill
soon make the astonishing discovery that
HD to a certain nolnt the longer he bowls
tho worse he I Kiwis. When" he Is strong
and fresh, he will doubtless be able to
make a fair score for a beginner, but after
he has rolled one or two ten frame games
his strength will fall him, his fingers may
get chafed, aud tho balls will persist In
taking to the gutter. Tito next day his loft
side will bo lame, and he will imagine at
first that he has a touch of rheumatism In
his right arm. Ail these discomforts, how
ever, will disappear as soon as the bowler
bocoinos aocustomod to the work. This
point reached, ho will be gratified to note
that tho longer he bowls the bettor he
bowls.
As a usual thing the new bowler fools
as poworful as Hercules bofore that worthy
tackled his 13 labors. No ball is hoavy
enough for him nxcopttho groat 18pound
er, and tho result Is that ho booomes very
tired long before thore Is any neoessity for
tho approach of wearlnoss. The proper pro
ceeding for tho novice is to begin w'ork
with halls of medium size and devote his
energies to the heaviest ones when his
muscles become accustomed to the un
wonted labor.
Thero aro numerous styles of bowling,
and each one is supported by excellent
playing in individual oases at least. Most
players take a run of eight or ten feet be
fore delivering the ball, and thore are ox
ports who always stand at the foul lino and
do wonderful work without runninpPa
foot. Some players think a fast ball is the
only effective one, and others favor a mod
erate delivery. The latter class declare
that a fast ball will out a clean swath
through tho pins, leaving some standing
in very diflioult positions, while the mod
erate ball, on tho other hand, will take
more time In getting through and will
consequently topplo over more pins and bo
more apt to mako a “strike.” Tho major
ity of bowlers favor the modorato speed.
Novices at first roll a straight ball game
and usually send the bail down the very
center of the alloy (if thoyhave good luok)
and strike the head pin. When the novice
bocomos more experienced, lie uttompts to
master tho art of curving or twisting tho
ball. This is done by turning the wrist to
ward tho body the instant the ball is deliv
ered or by imparting the axial twist to the
ball with the fingers. A ball that twists
must ho delivered with speed, or the axial
motion will overcome the forward motion
and carry tho hall Into tho gutter bofore
it has an opportunity of demolishing the
pyramid of pins. Earle H. Eaton.
PEDDLER PALMER, THE PUGILIST.
He Whipped Billy Plimmer Recently and
Is Looked Upon as a World Beater.
Ever since Billy Plimmer succooded in
getting the deoision ovor George Dixon,
the featherweight champion of the world,
in a four round bout in New York, Plim
mer’s stock as a pugilist has been away
up above par. Fair minded pooplo are in
clined to believe that ho rccoivod more
PEDDLER PALMER.
credit than he deserved for his showing on
this occasion. A four round bout Is by no
means a finish contest, and Plimmer’s
success against ^Hxnn was no criterion that
ho could stay to a finish with the plucky
and hard hitting young oolored champion,
■who lias a truly wonderful record In the
ring.
Plimmer wont abroad not long ago to
meet Peddler Palmer, the young English
featherweight. They met at 118 pounds
Nov. 25 before tho Bolingbroko club, Lon
don, for a purse of 12,000. Plimmer was
plainly outclassed from tho start, and in
the fourteenth round was so badly used
up that Ills brothor entered tho ring for
the purpose doubtless of having Billy lose
the battle on a foul rather than by a
knockout. Tho referee promptly awarded
the fight to Palmer, and stuco then PUm
tner stock has taken a decided drop.
Gas Heege on How to Flay Golf.
To his other accomplishments Gns
Heoge, tho aotor, has added the art of golf
playing. His description of the sport will
prove interesting. “I’ll tell you,” said ho
to a party of friends recently, “golf is easy.
First you go down to the store, buy 15
olnbs, a ling and a small ball. Then you
hire a small boy to oarry them and take
him along until you find a broad, open
field with a small molohill In the middle
of It. You place the small ball on the top
of tho molehill and ask tho boy for a elub.
You gyrarte for a moment for offoot, then
make a determined swoop and see how far
you can knock the ball. Here's where the
game begins. If you find tho ball the same
day you hit It, you win.”
ALL SORTS OF SPORTS.
Pennsylvania spent over $93,000 on ath
letios the past year.
F. T. Murphy will oaptaln Yalo’s foot
ball team next year.
Now Yorkers paid 142,000 to soe the
Yale-Prinoeton football game.
In all probability George Davis will oap
tain the New Yorks next season.
Governor John W. Griggs of New Jersey
Is president of the Paterson Chess elub.
Tom Winder has completed his 87,000
mile ride around the borders of the United
Statos.
John T. Brush will not be requested to
sign Rusle for the New York club next
season.
Joe Walcott, the negro boxer, Is afraid
of ghosts, and will never go out on the
road during a fog when ho Is training.
Pitcher Jack Taylor of tho Phlladelphlos
says that Mike Tlernan is the hardest
batsman In the league to puzzle. Nichols
of Boston says the same thing.
Hlckok, Yale's great hammer thrower
and football player, ridloules the talk of
the Amatenr Athletic union suspending
him again, after having reinstated him, for
taking part in tho Y. if. O. A. events in
Harrisburg last July. As for handing
over the medals whloh he won since that
time, he wants to know how the union Is
going to make him do It.
PARSONS, THE AUSTRALIAN.
He Is Famous Just Now as the Cyclist
Who Defeated the Great Zimmerman.
The great American public that idolizes
Arthur A. Zimmerman, the swiftest oy
olist that ever sprinted for tho tape, is not
at all discouraged because Zimmerman
was beaten by J. W. Parsons In his first
raoe on Australian soil. As a usual thing
when Zimmerman visits a new oountry ho
races before he has become accustomed to
the climate, and the result is that some
SDeedy native, finding him sadly out of
v « « « r=i
J. W. PARSONS.
line first. This happened when Zimmer
man wont to Europe and the Belgian,
Houbon, defeated him in ono of his firs*
races on the continent. Zimmerman con
tinued to train faithfully, however, and in
a short time ho was the acknowledged pro
fessional champion of nil Europe, and
there was not a single rider in sight who
could bo reasonably spoken of ns ids rival.
There is no doubt that Parsons is ono of
the best riders in the antipodes. To defeat
Zimmerman oven when he is out of con
dition is no easy task. Parsons is the ten
mllo champion of Australia, and is thor
oughly at home on the grass tracks so com
mon in the land of the kangaroo. When
Zimmerman’s trip was first arranged, Par
sons was the ono man tho Australians be- -
lieved could lower his colors. Ha is but 20
years of ago, and is possessed of groat
strongth, whloh he uses to good advan
tage. When he secured tho title of ten mile
champion, he was paced by a tandem, and
won easily by over half a iap in 26 min
utes 15 8-6 seconds, world’s record for a
grass track.
A New Pnnetnreless Tire.
A Brooklyn man has invented a leather
tire for bicycles which, it is prodioted, will
make a wonderful change over tho rubber
pneumatic. The tire, it is olalmod, eaunot
be punoturod and is not apt to slip in
rainy weather. It is also olnimed that it
has more elasticity than tfio presont tire.
According to the inventor, tho tire is made
from tho best tan solo leather, and two
pairs can be cut from abide. The ends uro
joined by a bias seam, inado perfectly
smooth. Tho tire is sowed on the inside or
portion which fits in tho rim. About a
foot of this seam is left open and fitted
with a lacing so that tho rubber inner tube
may be Inserted. Tills is vory strongly
made especially at the onds, where experi
ence has shown that bursting often occurs.
Tho leather tire will stand 20 pounds to
the square inoli more pressure than the
rubber one and can be made almost as
hard as desired. After they are finishod
they go througli a process which makes
them absolutely waterproof, so that in
wet weather they do not get soggy.
Wliat the Big Turfmeu Won,
The heaviest winner among the owners
of thoroughbreds this year was David Gid
eon, whose horses captured $109,650 in
stakes and purses. Philip J. Dwyer is sec
ond on the list with $59,225, of which
Handspring won $10,880. The third large
winner is August Belmont, whose horses
added $45,955 to the millions of their own
er. J. J. McCalTcrty's stable captured
$44,596, of which Applegate alone won
$29,000. E. J. Baldwin won $87,355, W.
8. Hobart’s Bright Phoebus captured the
Realization, worth $29,700; A. H. and D.
D. Morris won $20,575. Pierre Lorillard's
total is $19,137 and J. R. and Fox hall
Keene won only $17,816.
CHECKERS AND CHESS.
Cheoker Problem No. 852.—For beginners.
Black—8 (king), 6 (king), 11 (king).
White—4 (king), 12, 20 (king).
Black to play and win.
Chess Problem No. 362. *
Black.
i■ ■ ■ '.
■White.
White to play and mate in three moves.
solutions.
Checker problem No. 351:
White. Black. )
1. .15 to 19* 1.. 14 to 10
2. .29 to 25 2.. 8 toll '
8.. 6 to 1 li .11 to 15 /
4 .19 to 23 1.10 to 14
5.. 1 to 6* 5. .15 to 18
6. .28 to 19 8. .14 to 17
7.. 0 to 10 7..17 to 21
8. .10 to 15, and wins ,
Chess problem No. 351:
White. Blaelc.
1. .B to K B 8 1. ,R to R 8 i
U..B—B2oh 2. .Any ,
8.. Mates '
If
1.. R to R 6 oh
1.. BiR
If )
1.. R to K B 0
2. ,R to K 2 ch ,
iPfe Chichester’s English Diamond Brand.
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told by all Local Druggists. PhlLudo., ra
27-we-sat-su-wky-eow-ly__^
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The 10th Street
PRACTICAL SHOEMAKER,
217 19th Street,
Has added a general line of FACTOR'S
MADE SHOES to his custom department,
10-12-2m U