Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-07-07
Special Correspondence ]


special Correspondence
WASHINGTON, July 5.--I chatted. last
night with one Of the leading theatrical
managers of the United States. Tho
subject Of actors salaries came up, and
the manager told me they are ON the In
crease. "All classes Of persons connected
with the stage" said he, "are getting
higher salaries now than they have ever
had before, and think that many Of our
actors are paid too mvch. We have TO
pay $500 O week for any kind OF leading
man, and good second is worth $3.50 q
week. IL actors would save their money
they would make as a rule more than the
managers, and there Is no reason why
| great actors should not nmass fortunes.
Look at Patti with 81, 600 night Note
| the extravagances OF Sarah Bernhard, and
you can see where the money goes tol
| There Is too much competition In man
ngement, and II is this competition that
raises tho price Of salaries. have had
yactors at $500 q weak who were dear at
That, and who were paid $500 week by
another manager, and have had actresses
whom Ipaid $3.50 week taken from me
by other managers, who would offer them
$500"
"Are the managers as u rule making
money!
Some are, but not many. ] don't
think more than one.third OF the manage
ments have come out ahead during tho
past year, and II these have made an av'
erage of over 500, 900 apiece they have
done well As for me will come out DO.
hind, and have n very fair troupe
What women Of tho stage get the best
salariesf'
"The great singers, of course. though
great actor OF any kind Is well paid.
Judge that Scalchi gets ut least $4,000
month, Campanini SO, 600, and you know
that Patti receives $4,000 night by con.
tract. Look at the immense sums taken
In by young Joseph Hoffman. But an
actor or actress Is worth Just what she or
he win bring. If she win bring $1,000 or
$4,000 night she is always worth 1000,
and If she Is only the side light to big
play she may not be worth $50 week.
The average theatrical salaries run,
! Judge, from $50 TO $50 week.
Rose Coghlan used to get $3.50
week. Miss Jewett had for time
$500 week and Emma Abbott started
out with 81 900 year, and now gets
500 night for concert. Ger
ster gets si,2OO u night, Sembrich can
make 81 600 night and Mrs. Langtry
has gotten big fortune out of her beau
tiful face Modjeska has her own troupe
and usually does very well. Maggie
Mitchell makes lots of money and saves
1t, and Kate Claxton is always n good
card"
How about the ballet?'
"The high kickers are, Of course, paid
well, but tho ordinary ballet wall flower
| gets barely enough TO support herself
| The wages range all the way from SO u
week upward and good utility woman
commands about $40 week. As to the
ballet / think the days of great dancers
| have past. You should have seen Fanny
Ellsler when she made the tour Of this
country. Sho set the people wild with
her dancing, and 1t was so with Taglioni
In Europe. Jennie Durand died In Den
yer about four years ago, and she was one
Of the first ballet dancers of this country;
she was great favorite in the mining
towns of the west, and she made n great
deal Of money. Taglioni got $4,000 n
year as n salary, but she was not money
maker end she retired from the stage
when she was still in her prime.
'Do you think stage life is healthful
occupationY'
1T depends on how 1t is used" was tho
reply; "many Of the actors of the past
have lived to good old age. Macready
died at 80. and Charles Kemble, the father
of Fanny and Roger, lived to tho age Of
10. John Brougham died at 70, and Char.
lotte Cushman had passed her roth year
when she died. Kittie Give reached
the age of "A. and Fanny Eilsler, the
noted dancer, lived to be "a Sarah Sid
dons died at 70, and the Wallacks are of
n long lived race. Henry Walack, one of
Testers uncles, lived to be 7s, his father
was 70 years old when he died, and his
grandmother died at 90. Thomas King,
the original Sir Peter Tea2le, lived to be
"A, and the noted Colley Cibbcr lived to
be 81. There Is no reason why an actor
should not live as lsng as tho average
man, provided he does not drink or en-,
gage in other dissipation. 1t is true his
life is an exciting one, but he has his
summer vacation, and he has as much
time TO rest as has the ordinary man, and
1t is the same with actresses"
1met Professor n. Z. Dawson here yes
terday. He is the man who acted as
Grants private secretary during tn,
writing of his book, and 1t was to hin
that Gen. Logan contided many of hi
papers. Mr.. Dawson has the confdenc,
of more public men, perhaps, than an,
other man in the United States. Aquiet
slender man of about 40 years of age, h
l
statesmen of the country In q confidential
capacity. He has acted as private secre
tary to more men than any other stenog
rapher IN Washington, and he has col
lection of historical notes which are sur
passed only by those of Bancroft. He 4
possessed of remarkable literary ability
and his scrupulous integrity has givol
him access To matter which other writer
: could not obtain. He has been gathering
} all the material he could find about publ
} men for the past decade or so. He gets
} full biographical sketch Of each man O
note he meets, asking the man to furnis
| II to him, and he also has an interview
with each public man about such othe
persons of note and about such periods a
! he has been acquainted with. He gather
this material iu personal interviews as
rule and takes down in short hand tn
; data from the men themselves. In doin!
! SO. he promises not 10 make public the In
formation given until the person giving
such information authorizes it. Mr.. Daw
. sons reputation is such that he gets al
he asks for and he has now packed ava,
enough shorthand notes to make severa
dictionaries. He files and indexes all hi
matter and he proposes in the future T.
t use it for historical and biographical pur
. poses, He had interviews with Mr.
Conkling before he died, and he ha
packed away stories by nearly every lead
Ing senator in Washington. Mrs. Gran
has dictated TO him her remembrances
and he says the Grant papers which ar
still unpublished are yoluminous ant
valuable.
The immense amount of money alread
received for Grants book is bound {
bring number of valuable papers to tn
front. The money in literature is causinI
leading men to look carefully over thei
papers, to see whether they have not tn
material for a book. II was Grants sue
cess that started Logan and Sheridan t
work, and know of a score of statesmel
who are planning volumes. know o
many who work for magazines, and
! znuyy nt - ,,l