The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-01-08
JOSEPH JEEEERsoN.s YOUTH.
A Significant Incident At the Home of
lincoln at Springfield, Ill.

From the autobiography of Joseph
Jefferson in the Century we quote the
following: 'Springfield being the cap
mined to devote the entire seaso n
to the entertainment of the members
of the legislature. Having made money
for several weeks previous to our ar
rival here, the management resolved
to hire lot and build theatre. This
sounds like large undertaking, and
perhaps with their limited means it
was rash step. l fancy that my
father rather shrunk from this bold
enterprise, but the senior partner (Mc-
Kenzie) was made of sterner stuff, and
his energy being quite equal to his am
bition, the ground was broken and the
temple erected.
The building of theater in those
days did not require the amount of
capital that it does now. Folding opera
chairs were unknown. Gas was an
occult my stery, not yet acknowledged
as fact by the unscientific world in
the West; a second-class quality of
sperm-oil was the height of any mana
gers ambition. The footlights of the
best theaters in the Western country
were composed of lamps set in a float
with the CONFERENCE.-The. When a
dark stage was required, or the lamps
needed trimming or refilling, this me-
chanlcal contrivance was made to sink
under the stage. believe if the thea
ter, or devils workshop as it was
sometimes called, had suddenly been
illuminated with the same material
now in use, its enemies would have de-
clared that the light was furnished
from the Old Boys private gasome-
ter.
1.-The new theater, when completed,
was about ninety feet deep and forty
feet wide. No attempt was made at
ornamentation; and as it was unpaint-
ed, the simple line of architecture upon
which it was constructed gave it the
appearance of large dry-goods box
with roof. l do not think my father,
or Mckenzie, ever owned anything
with roof until now, so they were
naturally proud of their possession.
''In the midst of their rising fortunes
heavy blow fell upon them. A re-
igious revival was in progress at the
time, and the fathers of the church
not only launched forth against us in
their sermons, but by some political
maneuver got the city to pass new
law enjoining heavy license against
our 'unholy' calling; 1 forget the
amount, but it was large enough to be
prohibitory. Here was terrible con-
dition of affairs-all our available
funds invested, the legislature in ses-
sion, the town full of people, and by a
heavy license denied the privilege of
ino tho now
In the midst of their trouble young
lawyer called on the managers. He
had heard of the injustice, and offered,
if they would place the matter in his
hands. to have the license taken off,
declaring that he only desired to see
fair play, and he would accept no fee
whether he failed or succeeded, The
case was brought up before the council.
The young man began his harangue.
He handled the subject with tact, skill,
and humor, tracing the history of the
drama from the time when Thespis
acted in cart to the stage of to-day.
He illustrated his speech with num-
Der of anecdotes, and kept the council
in roar of laughter; his good humor
prevailed, and the eXorbitant tax was
taken off,
This young lawyer was very popu-
lar in Springfield, and was honored
and beloved by all who knew him, and,
after the time which l write, he held
rather an important position in the
Government of the United States. He
now lies buried near Springfield, under
a monument commemoratinr his
greatness and his virtues his
name was Abraham Lincolnr'