The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-02-01
A LONG SENATORIAL TERM.
Comedian Cranes Speech at the Close Of
His New York Engagement.

NE" lORk, jan ol,-Ihe closing perform
ance of "The SENATOR" the two hundred and
seventy-seventh in this city and the four hun
dred and tenth Of its production, was given at
the Star Theatre tonight, in the presence of an
audience such as has seldom gathered in any
New York theatre. The auditorium waspacked
from orchestra to gallery by such of the array
of friends and admirers of w. II. Crane as were
fortunate enough to secure seats, and the
statesmen who wished to say goodbye to their
genial representative on the stage. Prominent
among these were Lieutenant Governor Jones,
State Comptroller Wemple, Secretary of State
Rice, Attorney General Tabor, Senators We'd
der, Hendrie, Stadler, Robertson, Saxon, Nc
Naughton, Jacob Fassett, Sloan, Stewart,
Ives, Erwin, Coggeshall, and Cantor, Speaker
Sheehan, Assembymen Fish. McCleland, and
Hustled, Assembly Clerk De Freest, and Senate
Clerk Kenyon. A large delegation of the
Players Club of this city, of which Mr.. Crane
is a popular member, were also present to bid
him farewell, among these being John H. Bird,
Professor Alexander Lambert Dr. Alexander
McLane Hamilton, Manager Daniel Frohman, of
the Lyceum Theatre; Francis w. Kimball w.
H. Day, T. IL. Sargent Sidney Wooet, Will
liam Bispleaw, and Charles E. Carryl.
"The Senator was never played with more
spirit and effect than on this occasion, and the
many telling points of the comedy were caught
promptly by the audience, who laughed and ap-
plauded until the walls of the Star Theatre were
fairly vocal with echoes. Every member of
Mr.. Cranes admirable company was greeted
with rousing reception, and at the close of the
third act all passed before the curtain in
knowledgment of thunders of applause. The
audience wanted more than this, however.
They were determined to have a speech from
"The Senator" and the play was not allowed
to proceed until they were satisfied. Mr.. Crane,
in answer to the continued cries of t'Speech
speecho' returned to the footlights and made
the following brief serio-comic address:
Ladies and gentlemen, or possibly on this oc-
casion should say brother statesmen and sister
diplomats-for you sister, according to Count
Tolstof, Waramaker or some other equally emil
hands we are but as clay to the potter. For
thirty. eight weeks now have been posing as
have been , masquerading before you a full
fedged Western Senator full of Western grit
and Western phosphorus. until I have almost
come to regard myself as in reality politician.
of course, l need not remind you, after
years acquaintanceship with The Senator that
he is in no sense a partisan. He has no party to
please or to labor for but you, the generous pub
lie, that has sustain him through his long and
claim. through your tried aid. has now been
passed about two hundred and seventy times,
an and If If Mabel gets the aggregation OF awards all
tion to defy the cruel pangs of hunger for some
time to come. For this good fortune The Sena-
You You heartily. You ' have labored rp' with ha him
night alter night; your kind plaudits have
aided the diplomatic iabors of % that lively I widow,
Mrs. Hilary; they have fastened the downfall
of Count Won Strahl, brought the smile to the
sad face OF Mabel Denman, and made light and
cheerful the career Of our little band of typical
American characters They have done far more
than this primal benefit. They have stamped
with popular approval the American drama, and
given hope and comfort to many an as yet uu-
tiedged American playwright, who may blossom
the warm and genial rays of your flattering ap-
probation OF the native drama. In bidding
The Senator expresses warm and heartfelt
thanks for himself, for his company, and, above
which has been made brighter than ever by the
attention which you have lavshed on its humble
representative.
And, do you know. now, that think we have
deserved all this /? Honest, do! There would
be tinge Of sadness in this parting if I could
had been but the result of generosity for the
player, not based on any merit in their work. L
don't like to be patronized except through the
box-ofiice. and that kind of patronage which we
have accepted freely from your hands don't
come from pure generosity; and that's why /
If we hadn't deserved it we would not have
ceived it. Do you catch the idea? And am
think we have deserved it, from political point
of view: We have struggled nightly with the
gress has been mudding them we have solved
them all in n our own way and to our own salts
IacUOn. we nave passed ana put into execution
a Force bill which has had no disastrous effects
on any section of the country. We have made it
so popular with your wives and daugh-
ters and sweethearts, brother statesmen,
that they have forced you under its provisions
to bring them here night after night and to
contribute to the enormous surplus in our treas
ury, the proper disposition of which is about the
only thing that is giving any trouble now.
TINS same oyerfiowing as surplus has made our
manipulation OF the tariff problem easy and ef-
fective. l found on mature consideration that
my colleague in the front of the house-I should
say in the lower house-and myself could not
agree on the question of raising prices on the
necessities of life. and so no change whatever
has been made in the boX-ofiice tariff at this
house during The Senator's long residence here
| have found ample protection IN your friendly
my system of tariff tinkering, which consists of
letting well-enough alone, is far ahead of Maj.
McHinley's AT any rate, The Senator still
holds his seat
republic. The Senator has reserved the holy
right of indulging in gags entirely to himself
and, having in mind the condition of the long
suffering public. he has exercised it mildly. and,
one that has not troubled us in the least. Gold
and silver equally convertible here into box
office certificates, and either metal bearing the
sign manual of a mint has been recognized as
amount the more cordial the recognition. All
these economical questions The Senator has
grasped and solved, and he stands ready to
grasp and solve with equal rapidity any further
problems of this nature that may be hurled at
him in the future.
But now, gentlemen and ladies-friends,
am sure. all OF you-you are not here to listen to
long speech at this time, but to bid The Sena-
tor cordial farewell and wish him God speed
on his travels. / know this and / appreciate it
thoroughly. Ny warmest thanks are due to you
always and also to on. Theodore Moss, whose
en-hearted liberal management of this theatre
I CT