Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-07
QUEER THINGS IN KANSAS
Phases of Life Out of the Common
Run.
The Populist Scheme of Winning Con-
verts by Cheap Theatricals-UsinY
. Jail rs a Dram Shop.
Correspondence of The Evening Star.

lOfEhA, nan, MARCH o, loSf
The new populist scheme of introducing
cheap theatricals in the approaching cam
paign meets with the appreciation of all
the leaders of the party. 1t is the plan of
the managers to have numerous companies
organized for use at town halls, opera houses
and school houses A list of plays will be
written by a populist playwright, calcu-
lated to set forth in all it's horror the
pathetic life Of an average Kansas farmer
living in ordinary frame house on a
lonesome quarter section of Kansas land
His struggles will be shown in all their
awful reality; his hardships mis- privations,
his sufferings. his loves and his hates; and
finally his triumph, by the aid of the pop
ulist party, over the world, the flesh, the
bankers, the railroads and the laws of
nature. All these things will be set forth
in such pleasing way that the spectator
will be convinced that the only salvation
lies in voting the populist ticket.
In one of the dramas, which, it is under
stood, has been prepared and submitted to
the committee as a sample of what might
be done. Is picture of Kansas farm
The landscape is beautiful. The hero,
clothes, is discovered sitting on his back
porch, whiting and gravely discussing the
state and national situation with some
neighbors, while dark chilly mortgage is
seen slowly settling down on the farm. The
neighbors go away after while and the
hero for the first time discovers the mort
gage This, of course, Immediately makes
him populist, and the play then proceeds
through four acts, faithfully depicting the
struggle between the hero and the mort
gage, with the odds now on one and now on
the other. Heartrending incidents are in
troduced at intervals. AS the interest pay
ments fall due on the mortgage. there be-
ing no money in the house, the children, one
after the other. and finally the wife. are
seized by the insatiate mortgage, an an
cient maiden lady in Connecticut, and held
as hostages.
mortgage is loosened. and the fight goes
bravely on. After the second election of
Lewelling and complete populist legisla-
ture the drama rapidly draws to a close.
and in the last act of the scene the COVER
nor appears on the stage, and with a wave
OF his hand scatters prosperity to every
body This is a sample of the plays to be
given the Kansas people this year at the
modest price of % cents.
Using IA Jail "a Dram Shop.
The ways Of the jointkeeper in Kansas
are past finding out. At Norton, in north
western Kansas, where religious revival
has been in progress for three weeks, the
good people rose up in their wrath to drive
out the vendors of liquor. All but John
Stone. a reckless character, left the town,
but he decided to stay and fight it out
The result was that he was arrested and
landed in the town calaboose, with a SEN
tence of one months imprisonment in ad-
dition to the $50 fine imposed.
The small jail. which is a one-story frame.
stands off to itself, with barred windows
on both the front and rear. At the rear
end large grain crib stands, which shuts
in the little structure from public view,
and 1t was through the rear window that
Stone has been doing business while con-
fined in the Jail. l. was discovered yester-
day that Stone was plying his trade reg
ularly to farmers and others from the Gala
nnd r,..,
pie who thought they were breaking up the
Joint business.
Stone was the only person In the little
jail, and his only visitor was his wife, who
called regularly every day. The jailer car
ried Stone his meals, but he did not think
an investigation would reveal the presence
OF half dozen to dozen bottles of whisky
under his cot until committee of church
people called on him to make a search of
the little structure.
Sure enough there the liquors WERE nice
ly tucked away in a box in half pint
TASKS. When a customer at the rear win
dow did not want a half pint, the package
would be broken in gill doses and served
in small tin cup just the size of the open
ing between the iron bars in the window.
When Stone was asked how he got hold
of his supply of liquors he stated that his
good wife had an eye to business and each
visit from her brought to him. for retail
purposes, from one to three bottles which
she secreted in her pocket or under her
skirts. Stone was reluctant about giving
up the trade. for, he said. he was doing
fairly well, was paying no rent and recev-
ed his board free from the town.
Penalty for committing" MatrimOny.
The young lady who goes to Concorlia,
Kan, to teach school will find a very ex-
acting rule which was recently adopted by
the board of education. 1t seems that sew
eral lady teachers have married in the
midst of the term, when it was impossible
to fill their places. This the Concordia
school board proposes to regulate and it
did SO recently by the adoption of the fol-
lowing resolution:
lnasmuch 1t seems to be the custom
or lady teachers of the public schools of
Concordia, Kan, to contract and cOnSum-
mate marriage without the knowledge or
consent OF said board, therefore, be it
Resolved, by said board of education
that should any of the lady teachers of the
Concordia schools hereafter commit matri-
mony during the term for which they have
been elected, they shall forfeit sum of
money equal to one-half months salary pro-
vided they take a home manand a sum equal
to one months salary in case the groom
is imported from some other county or
state. In either case the lady shall cause a
card of invitation to be sent to each of the
members of the board of education"
This order of the board has stirred I'D a
hornets nest in Concordia, where three
young lady teachers are engaged to be
married to Foreigners" one resident of
Chicago, another holding a clerkshp in
the third citizen of Jewell county, Kan.
The friends of the young lady say the
order will not hold in court, and that II
the board attempts to enforce 1t an injunc-
ton will be asked for on the grounds that
the board OF education cannot legally i'm