Omaha daily bee., 1888-09-06
PEN POINTS FROM NEW YORK.
Opening Of the Amu sam ent s easo n
at Three Theaters.
DULLNESS IN BUILDING TRADES
Reviyaiism rs n Business The Faith
Cure and the Mighty Dol lar
The Decoration Fever strikes
Wall street.
Matters at the Metropoiis.

off the ocean have helped to render sue
ccssful the opening of three OF the city
theaters this week. Tuesday evening
al the Fifth Avenue was produced for
the first time Mrs Mary Fiske's philip
Herne." The authoress has been best
known as n clever racy writer, an
| original humorist, but Philip Herne
was not Of that style. 1t was very
serious drama, intensely theatric and
strenuous, with plenty OF declamatory
material to delight its principal actors,
and with the vim of it's writer permeat-
ing it thoroughly. The venture was
for the sake of Mr.. Haworth, young
actor of exceptional promise, and there
was no reason for disappointment,
although supported by two such actors
as Joseph Wheelock and Frederick
Paulding.
The opening of the Fourteenth street
theater was also success with May
Wilkes company in "Gwynne's Oath"
Miss Wilkes is of that typo of women
that may be called magnificent. Her
figure is that Of an athlete, and in
all her motions and the tones of her
voice she shows the possession of un-
usual strength. In due time, if she con-
tinues to make careful study of
methods in her vocation this strength
will serve her well.
Lovers OF minstrelsy crowded the
Star theater on its reopening the same
night. To inaugurate the season at
this handsome new theater came the
johnson Il Slavln minstrels, body of
| forty odd performers, headed by two of
| the most popular men in burnt cork.
| They gave couple of hours of diversion
| that was continuously neat, never dull,
| and frequently novel.
| BUILDING AT A STANDSTILL.
The condition of the building trade
here is one OF extreme dullness, and
within the last six months building has
| declined fully 50 per cent. One great
cause OF this ilatness of the market is
| that the work of building has been
| overdone and has outstripped facilities
| for travel. This is especially the case
with the new city on the west side OF
Central Park, where unfinished walls
and unrented houses tell their own
| tale. The houses there are entirely
different from ola New York residences,
| and u Knickerbocker awakened from
| his grave would need to have a special
introduction to the new styles of Eliza
| bethan and Queen Anne and Georgian
| architecture displayed there in tower
| and tnrret, balcony and recess, and all
| sorts OF gables and finals that cannot
| be properly classed. When an under
| ground railway traverses that section,
and cross-town cars are are allowed to
run through the depressed cross roads
in Central Park, that section
Will take new start. and fashion
and wealth will throng it. But the
] c, u1a nl ~ aH La -
has failed to keep up the necessities of
the situation it has brought about. Just
now Fifth avenue displays the most ac-
tlvity in building, and its middle sec
| tion, above the Fifth avenue hotel, is
being rapidly readjusted to the require
| ments of business. Our wealthiest citi-
| zens are endeavoring to save Madison
avenue from the grasp of trade while
| reluctantly yielding to the inroad on
| Fifth avenue. The Vanderbilts seem to
be the most disturbed by the onward
march of the storekeeper into the real M
| of fashion, and they try to resist it, but
| will find their palaces surrounded by
trade before another decade has passed.
| Fred Vanderbilt has bought out the
| building next the Union League club
and lately occupied by picture dealer,
but this will be only drop in the
bucket. The picture man will turn up
| smiling elsewhere on the avenue and
1 will have enjoyed his profitable specu-
lation in aristocratic prejudices. The
| Astors and Jay Gould do not seem tn
bother their heads on the subject,
| tn ugh both families reside in the
charmed region. The Astors like to
see houses rent and witness a demand
for shops; and an increase OF population
means more lambs for Gould's Slaughter
| house.
| REVIVALIsM AS A BUSINESS.
Harrison, the "boy preacher" of
thirty-siX summers, has gone to Mount
| Tabor camp-neeting, on the Delaware
d Lackawanna railroad, for wrestle
| with the powers of darkness, after a
fortnight's session at Sing Sing. At
the latter place he said that he had been
the means of blessing and saving 1000
souls. Buthe classes them queerly and
| comprehensively as reclaimed, "''sanc-
| tifed," ''gloritied," seeking light -
| etc. In the same manner he counted up
5000 souls saved here, but it would be
| difficult to-day to lay ones finger ON
300 OF them. However, it isall business.
Harrison does not enter on the work of
saving souls'' until Sl25 a week has
| been guaranteed him, and the first
week S salary paid in advance. He is
business all through and while he counts
his pay accuracy, and suffers no one to
double up on him, l have heard him
! double up the actual number of his
converts on an evening, and with the
utmost complacency. At the outset [
made up my mind to study these Harri-
son revival phenomena closely and with
out bias, and | have been doing SO for
six months, and, while not denying that
good may have been done in the meet
ings, doubt the permanence of his
work and have lost faith in the man.
But he enjoys it, is prosperous, has a
good bank account, the women go crazy
over him; and what more can he de-
sire? His lines have truly fallen in q
pleasant place.
| FAITH CURE WITHOUT FAITH.
Most of the clergymen who consort
with Harrison, Reys. Undertaken, Mer-
| ritt. Mcbride and others, are also ar
dent believers in the faith cure. They
do not take any medicine when sick and
annoint the sick instead. But if any of
their number die without the attend
anee OF physician, the certificate of
death is signed by female doctor. who
Is believer in the faith cure, and who
certities that she has attended them