Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-06-24
BELL RINGERS CHORUS.
Not An Instrumental Aggregation
However.
How a comic Opera Manager Uti liz d
Horrl Clerks and Develop d
Vocal Ta,tn's in Them
VIII ing Aliens story.

Il never shall forget Rock island for
one thing" said Whiting Allen, advance
press representative of the Forepaugh
shows last evening in conversation con.
corning the city's progressive and beauti-
flying tendency. and there was twinkle
in his eye as he continued: 1T was here
that saw Bob Grau's famous hotel clerk
comic opera chorus. Several years ago
when l was 10 advance of the Carleton
opera company | rowei across from
Davenport one evening to see the Grau
opera company. 1t was run by three of
the four Grau brothers. sons of the
famous grand opera impressario. Two
OF the three. Jules and Matt have since
been very successful. They made great
deal of money last year. The other brother,
Bob. was genius, however, in his way,
and like most geniuses not always sue
cessful in the end. When he was sober
ana clean he was most persuasive fell
low. Wear after year he would 60 out
with the grand opera company and year
after year it would as regularly collapse,
but it was all the same to Bob. Out he
would go again with a company, full of
blind faith in his genius and they would
worry along on the verge of starvation,
more cheerfully with him than they
would have worked for most man ayers
who would not only promise good salaries
but pay them.
The season spoken of was pretty far
advanced by tue time the company
reached Rock Island; trunk after trunk
had been left behind to partially satisfy
insatiste landlords. Finally the only
trunks left were those containing the
wardrobe. There was not much of that
but what there was was absolutely neces-
sary. Then hotel bill had to be met,
and all the money in the treasury would
enly pay railroad fares to the next town.
Here Bob's genius came to the rescue; he
pleaded with the landlord that the ward
robe wasn't worth dollar to any one
els, but TO him it meant present salvation
and future fortune.
Send your clerk along TO the next
town and be can collect the first money
that comes in and I'll pay his fare both
ways The clerk having been intro-
duced to some of the more or less pretty
chorus girls would be willing enough,and
Bob could usually induce him to bring
his trunk along, too, so that he could
change his clothes and paralyze the hotel
clerks in the next town. That would
fetch them, and henceforth Bob would
have one more trunk. Well, of course.
at the next town there would not be
enough, so Bob would say whether there
was or not. and be would get the clerk to
go along to s2other town. Between
Bob and the chorus girls the clerk would
find himself one or two hundred miles or
more away from home before he would
think seriously of going back. Bob was
certain to have borrowed all his mo ney
from MIN, ana oy that time the landlord
would be 80 mad that he wouldn't send
for him. OF course. the very first night
out Bob would convince him that he was
q second Brignoli aud had put him on
the stage. There be was and he couldn't
get away if he wanted to. and he didn't
want to. Usually the next week would
bring another clerk in the same fashion.
As each fresh clerk would come along to
collect bill. Bob would drop one of his
regular choristers by the wsyside. When
they reached Rock Island just one male
member of the company was with it as
it left New York. Whenever the cell
would ring for the curtain to go up from
the rest of them, there was an instructive
cry in chorus of 'front.'"