St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-12-08
Rank and File.

The fourth rendition of the above named
drama at the Opera house by local talent as
sisted by man named Owen Bartlett, from
abroad took place on Saturday evening. The
play is copyrighted by one Col. Lansing, who
runs it with local talent, with Bartlett in the
star part of ''Skid' wherever he can strike a
chance. AS dramatic production Rank and
File presents little, if any merit, having no
regular plot and being full of extravagant
and improbable situations. 1t consists of
sketches, embeished with tableaux and is in
tended TO depict scenes Of the civil war of
twenty years ago and the feature which, with
the tableaux gives it interest, is the introduce
ton of well drilled soldiers which at Mankato
were furnished from Company F Second
Regiment, Minnesota National Guards and
young ladies for the tableaux. AS before
stated, it was put upon the boards by the
committee of the Grand Army of the Re-
public and for a philanthropic purpose. Be-
ing largely spectacular and of a military
character they judged that it would
be well adapted for the opening of a
series of entertain which they propose
to give the present winter. That their ex-
pectations were not more freely realized,
both as to the character of the PLAY and its
financial success, is due more to the char
acter of the people with whom they contracted
than to any other cause. Col. Lansing, to
begin with, wants nothing but the earth,
magnanimously declining to take any of the
planets or fixed stars. His contract for most
places should read ''you pay all the expenses
and give me all the profits" and it would be
in order to add land Tn bully you as much
as / please.'' That this did not strictly
apply 10 Mankato is due to the liberal patron
age afforded by the public, and that the com
mittee wouldn't be hullied Mr. Owen
Bartlett, too, comes in for much righteous
indignation on the part of those who assisted
in the rendition of the drama. Evidently he
imagines when behind the scenes that he
owns the earth, and that those who are for
the time being under his control are of the
same character as himself, for his gross
profanity in the presence of ladies and bar
room ioaferish manner with which he ad-
dresses them leave no room for any other
conclusion Upon Saturday night having
got all he could out of Mankato. he very
plainly exhibited his lack of common court
esy to people who had treated him royalty
and to the cast who had suffered much from
his treatment by cutting the play in an ut
terly uncalled for manner and in a careless
kind of acting which he himself would
scarcely wish to have taken as measure of
his dramatic ability which is of more than
the average order.
When the curtain fell on Saturday even
ing at the close of the last act Gen. E. NJ
Pope, secretary of the G. A R. committee
called the cast together upon the stage and
addressed them.
After thanking them in the name of the
committee and of the post, one and all, for
the manner in which they had acquitted
themselves and for the assistance they had
given in the rendition of the drama, and es-
pecially thanking S. w. Burgess and Maj.
Geo. H. Mead, who came in at the eleventh
hour to help the committee out and who had
done SO no5ly Mr. Pope said: 81 am sorry
to be obliged to express my regrets and those
of the committee at the way you have been
treated by those connected with this play
from abroad Even the chairman of this
committee has been grossly insulted at the
hands of one of them Iwant to say to you.
however, that in the future if we have occa-
sion to employ any strangers to assist US we