The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-23
BURGLARS co TO PIECES.
4 Matinee Performance That The Audi
enCe Didn't See.

/ The Burglar Company Collapsed Be-
cause the Manager Wasn't willing TO
Divide With the Actors-They Tried to
Capture the Box ofics Receipts, But
the Manager Was Too Smart for
Them-They Attached His Trunks-A
Benefit Performance to be Given by
! the Company Thursday.
The Burglar Comany dlsbanded yester-
| day IN Savannah. The disbandment was
( attended with sensational features. The
company started out from New York
about two months ago under the manage
ment Of Mr.. c. Win Perkins, and appears
I to have been in hard luck ever since. It
played TO poor houses most of the time.
with the result that pay days were few
and far between, and things were gen.
orally in a shaky condition with the com
pany.
The salaries Of the players were cut
down In several instances, and there was a
good deal Of dissatisfaction among the
members. Things come 20 a crisis in Sa-
vannah. The company played to small
house Friday night. An attachment had
been sued out by several members Of the
company against the box Office receipts,
but when the attachment was served il
was found that the manager had gotten
ahead of it. Manager Perkins had given
an order beforehand to Mr.. w. r. Ogden,
who plays the part of the burglar, and
/ is still on good terms with the manager,
| for $500. This order was presented by
Mr.. Ogden TO the cashier. There was
| S67 in the box, and Cashier Coolidge
turned over $50 of the amount to Mr.. Og-
/ den, retaining the remainder as a guaran-
tee for the rental Of the theater.
Yesterday morning the actors secured
| legal advice in the person of Mr.. A. L.
/ Alexander, and proceeded to take further
| steps TO secure themselves. Acting on
their attorneys advice they went before
! Justice Warning Russell and sued out at
/ tachments for the trunks containing the
wardrobe and paraphernalia of the play
| belonging to Manager Perkins The at
/ tachments were five in number, and We're
taken out by Mrs. s. d. Briscoe, Miss
Marie Falls, Walter d. Greene, Frederick
A GARNER. and a S. Goodell They were
/ placed in the hands of Constable Austin,
/ with instructions to be on hand at the
! theater before the time of commencing
] the matinee performance. An agreement
! was then drawn up under which the act
! ors agreed to go on with the matinee and
| night performances on condition that the
/ manager would divide the receipts with
/ them, and on the further condition that
/ he should guarantee TO retain them until
/ the end of the season without reduction
1 in salaries. The actors went to the thea
! ter and dressed for the matinee.
| Just before the time for the performance
| to begin Mr.. Alexander and Constable
| Austin appeared on the scene. The dis
/ satisfied actors got together and notified
| Manager Perkins that they would not
| 90 on with the performance unless he
! signed this agreement. The manager took
| the agreement, looked it over, ran his
/ pencil through that portion requiring him
! to continue the members of the company
! at their present salaries during the bal
! ance Of the season, and then signed IL.
! This did not suit the actors at all, and
notice of the attachments We're at once
served upon the manager. Mr. Perkins
| took the papers in his hand, walked to the
door as if to get more light by which 10
4 read them, and then suddenly darted out
| the stage door and down the street with
| the papers in his hand. Constable Austin
/ pursued as fast as he could 90. At the
| corner of Bull and State streets police
! man was met who stopped the race ana
| escorted Manager Perkins and Constable
/ Austin to the Pulaski house. 1t is claimed
/ that Manager Perkins managed to slip
! into his room ahead of the constable and
! hide one side a couple OF bundles winch
! he did not desire to have included in the
/ levy. The constable levied on all the
trunks he could find in the managers
room, and then went back to the thea
/ ter and levied on the theatrlcai parapher-
| MALTA of the company which he found
/ there All the trunks found were taken
/ to Justices Russels office.
After Manager Perkins, hurried depart
ure from the theater Mr.. Greene went In
! front of the curtain and announced that
! there would be no performance, as the
/ company had diSbanded. ms was quite
! a surprise to the audience, which knew
nothing of what had transpired behind
! the scenes There was a fair matinee
audience and the general opinion seemed
to be that the actors had made great
mistake in not going on with the perform
! ance and taking the chances of getting
4 their money The members or the COM
4 pany spent a good part of the afternoon
! in Justice Russells office discussing their
/ grievances and endeaVOring to arrive at
! some settlemnt with the manager. Man
! ager Perkins was obdurate, how
/ ever, and refused all offers of compro-
mise or settlement The actors offered
to release the trunks if he would pay
/ their board bill at the Pulaski which is
only about SIS. Mr. Perkins declared that
/ he had not "a cent and could pay nothing.
! The actors declared that he had the $40
which he secured from the receipts of
| the night before. BY consent of the act
! of the trunks, which he said contained
/ his wifes clothing. The other trunks
ara still in Justice Russell's office.
A Morning News reporter dropped in
at the Justices office during the afternoon
] and listened to the story of their misfOr-
/ tunes which the actors had to tell. They
/ said the reason why they We're not willing
/ to go on with the matinee performance
/ unless Manager Perkins would agree to
! sign the full contract presented to him
| was that they felt satisfied that after
/ what had occurred the manager would
/ drop them as soon as possible, and that
/ they preferred to bring the matter to a
/ definite conclusion at once. From SaVan-
] nah they were to so to Admission, Ala, and
+ if they had to select the locality in which
/ they We're to be stranded they much pre-
/ ferred Savannah to any point in Alabama.
/ They felt that it would be easier to get
back to New York from Savannah than
/ most any other point on their route.
] o Of nf
1 Manager Perkins and Mr.. Ogden are MAX
! ing arrangements for two benefit perform
! ances of the Burglar Thursday, matt
nee and night. Jim Shaw, that unfailng
/ friend of stranded actors, is out of the
city. but his return is hoped for before
! Thursday.