The Portland daily press., 1892-04-11

from $40 a week to 5000. If there is
any parallel case in stage annals have
vet to hear of it. Manager John +.
Pool, veteran ROW living in retirement
with his books and his recollectaons,
had the Olympic theater then, on Broad
way, near Spring street. lie saw
Rooney's drawing powers and pre-
dicted his popularity. Engaging this
s'flanne1-nouth" Irishman, who was
born in England, by the way, at $40
he advanced him rapidly In sal
airy, but not SO rapidly as to prevent
rival managers from bidding the young
man up to $500. Rooney took his pros
perity in good part, but he drank up
great deal of his money. He was seen
more than once at one o'clock in the
morning asleep ''dead drunk in lit
eral Broadway gutter in those days. he
was an illiterate fellow. l recall one
good story that used to be told OF him.
Remarking one day to friend that he
proposed to visit Australia profession
ally, he was demonstrated with upon
the ground that there was nothing out
there but kangaroos. what do l care, !"
replied Pat, s'their moneys just as good
as anybody's."
A QUEER CLERICAL COLONY.
Rev. Madison Q. Peters, a rosy
checked young preacher who emigrated
to the metropolis from Philadelphia
some years ago, said in sermon on the
recent attempt to lay out trotting
park in Central park: "The Lord made
fast horses" So he did, but not in any
different sense from the making of fast
men and women. Things have now so
shaped themselves that any New York
preacher who chooses a pending news
paper controversy for text can insure
himself an advertisement In the col
umns of some sensational journal which
happens to espouse the same side Of the
question. Mr.. Peters preached against
the trotting track, but he didn't come
out and own up that he drives trotter
himself, and used to dust his Philadel-
phia parisi1ioners and grouse the CEN
serious thereby. A queer clerical colony
this is which the Quaker city has of late
lent to New York, including Waldo
,Messaros, the one-eyed Greek, Margasar
lMangasarian, the two-eyed Greek, and
Madison c. Peters, the sully-driver All
men of ability, too.
! A JOURNALISTS NEW DEPARTURE.
Mr.. Julius Chambers, who, for TWEEN.
ty-two years has been intimately iden-
titled with daily journalism in New
York, has assumed the editership OF
Once a Week, an illustrated weekly
newspaper. The Importance of this
step is that it is the departure of a com
paratively young man from daily jour.
nalism, field with which he has been
very closely associated. 1t is therefore,
ia very radical change in his life, and
,one that he has no doubt considered
very seriously. It will be remembered
that Mr.. Chambers scored his first point
las a reporter on the Tribune in the fall
of 1879, when he made his visit to
Bloomingdale asylum, and subsequently
published his book in England, fol-
which Charles Reade, the distin-
ugished novelist, wrote a preface. AS a
story writer he has done some
effective work, il. we can Judge
from the sale which his books
nave Idd. vi OAo I'll Lilo 6UOIICS,
the first edition printed was twenty
five Thousand. His success in the
Bloomingdale Investigation brought
him an invitation from James Gordon
Bennett to join the Herald. Mr.. Ben
nett sent him to the source of the Mis-.
sissippi river, saying as he did so: u
have young fellow named Stanley
searching for the source of the Nile.
Why would it not be good thing to
know something about our own great
river, of which we know SO very little?"
The result was the expedition to Lake
Itasca, and the discovery by Mr.. Cham.
bers for the Herald of Elk lake, the far
source of this longest river in the world
"a fact which is now recognized by the
last report of the Historical society OF
Minnesota. This is, perhaps, the most
important personal achievement in Mr..
Chambers career, and it belongs to
journalism. He remained fifteen years
with the Herald, and occupied literally
every desk upon that journal.
He was Washington correspondent in
IA and IT'S, London correspondent in rs
and '7e, city editor in III, and later he
was sent to Philadelphia, ostensibly,
for six weeks, to investigate the corrupt
gas trust ring. He was so successful in
the work that he landed several of the
consprators in jail and drove several to
Canada. The work took three years in
stead Of six weeks, and from Philadel-
phia Mr. Chambers was again sent to
Washington to succeed Joseph Howard,
whence he was translated in October,
'8e, to the managing editors chair.
There he remained until he Joined
the World. The fact should be
mentioned that while in Washing
ton at this time he wrote up the we'd
ding ceremony of President Cleveland
and Frances Folsom, almost without
assistance. The article filed one en-
tire page of the Herald. When called
to the chief executive chair in the Her
aid Office, the paper, by inactivity, had
been permitted TO take second rank in
circulation to the New York World;
but Mr.. Chambers turned it in the other
direction, showing improvements in
every department and wonderful in
crease in circulation. His success was