The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-28
s1NsTRzLs IN BAD LUCK.
Cal Wagner's Company Left in the
Lurch By its Manager.

Lurch by its Manager.
Cal Wagner's Ministries are playing il bad
luck. Happy Cal' jumped the company in
Columbia. S. c., few days ago, and now
its manager is missing. The company ar
rived here from Charleston yesterday, and
was to have played two nights and a matt
nee engagement Charles VI. Truman was
the money man Of the combination and
managed its affairs too vel, the members
Of the company think.
The show has been going down bill for
some time. It's star attractions have been
droyping Of one by one until it lost pretty
near ali of its best men. One Of
its strongest cards was the
Bison City Quartetten which
joined the company early in the
season The men had trouble with their
manager from the start, and the quartette,
falling to get its salaries, left the company
IN Nashville a few days ago, Just before
performance. ''Cooln Burgess, who has
been advertised since the company started,
has not been with it since the middle Of
September, and Haywood. has been out
Of il since the mid5le Of Octo-
Der. Both Of these stars have been billed
right along. Billy. Birch, the veteran
minstrel Of the famous Birch, Wambold
and Backus combination, Is about the only
star left.
The company arrived here with sixteen
people. Truman, they say, has been keep
Ing them from a wook 70 two weeks in ar
rears as general thing. None OF the men
have been paid, they say, for the past two
weeks, and BILLY" Birch SAYS that he has
not been paid in four weeks, and he landed
here with cents in his pocket
Truman was missing at lis hotel last
night, and the superstition IS that he has
skipped and left the company in the lurch.
de was in the box Office at the theater with
Treasurer Robinson during the early part
OF the evening, and was very anxious to
secure settlement, because he feared, he
said, that some Of the company were going to
attach the receipts The house figured up
very nearly $500 The company's share
was $20L ThiTty-four dollars of that were
due Manager johnson, leaving Truman's
share Sl66 S.. As soon as the sale Of tickets
stopped and a settlement could be inside
Truman pOcketed the money and stepped
into a carriage which was in waiting in
front Of the theater and started of. He
was accompanied by his wife, who waited
for him in the lobby Truman said TO Mr..
Robinson that he would be back later in the
evening to count the tickets il the door
keepers box
humans actions were suspicious, and at
the close Of the performance the company
was notified Not one Of them doubted that
he bad skipped. The company was Gtopping
at the Screven house. Truman and his wife
left the hotel before supper. They told tho
clerk that they were going out with a
friend. That was the last seen of them at
the hotel Kelly, one Of the song and dance
men Of the company, had given Tru-
man s42 TO keep for him - all the
money he had. AS soon as it was settled
that Truman would not show up, Kelly
went to the police barracks and tried to
intercept Truman, whom it was believed
had taken either the Central railroad or the
Charleston train, but he decided that he
would do nothing, as it would cost more
10 get Truman back to Savannah than the
amount he lost.
The company is stranded and none of the
men have more than few dollars. They
are unable to pay their hotel bill, and have
not money enough to get out of town.
Manager johnson has rendered the theater
for benefit matinee to the company this
afternoon.
Truman does not seem to have been a
popular man with the company. He was
formerly hotel man, and was MANAGER of
the Vanderbilt house in Syracuse, n. Y.
be started with Cal Wagner in August.
lie told Treasurer Robinson here that he had
put $4,000 into the show, and he had
got to get even in some way.
and that pretty soon. The members of the
company believe that he has considerable
money that he has saved from their salaries.
and that he is now on his way north.
The members Of the company were in a
quandary last night what to do. They are
literally stranded, and their only way of
getting out of town is on the proceeds of
the performance which they Win give this
afternoon.