The San Francisco call., 1895-07-18
SCHEEL'S SuTTLE SCHEME
The Conductors Latest Plan
for Paying Off a Portion
of His Debts.
THE UNION IS INDIGNANT
Musicians Must Give Four Dollars
Rebate Weekly on Fair
Earnings.

Herr Fritz Scheel is a good deal like that
irresponsible gentleman immortallzed by
Dickens, Harold Skimpole. Like the IN
consequent Harold, Scheel is a child,
prattling infant, when it comes to
matter of business. 1t seems that
he gets into debt without knowing
how No one even expects him to re-
tain the figures of how much he owes III
his head, and upon some one else IS
shoulders invariably falls the burden OF
extricating the poor innocent from the
scrapes into which his childish simplicity
is continually leading him.
ScheeI has played this ingenue role with
astonishing success ever since he came to
San Francisco. Old and seasoned musi-
clans, who flatter themselves that they
know trick or two, have been so touched
by his artlessness that they have never
expected him TO act as anything but an
end-of-the-century Harold SEimpole, but
since his rupture with the union, little by
little and inch by inch light has begun
to dawn upon the musicians. They
have begun to recall the fact that in all
the tight fixes into which Scheel' apparent
lack of business ability has brought him
he. personally, has never come out the
loser. Lastly, the way in which it is pro-
posed to raise the money to repay L. n.
Ritzau has raised the indignation of local
orchestra players to boiling point. Just at
present nothing is talked of in the union
but Scheel, and the expressions applied to
him are the reverse of complimentary
1t will be remembered that when Scheel
was suspended from the union for non
payment of his New York musicians L. \. .
Ritzau paid half the eleven hundred dol
lars due, and Scheel got six of his friends
to indorse notes for the rest. 1t is stated
on good authority that he has already
signed away the 5000 that will be paid him
for his five weeks conducting at the
Mechanics Fair, for which he has now
secured the contract. That money will
cover the notes. But how to pay Ritzau2
That was the rub. and it is the manner
selected that has turned good many of
Scheels best friends against him.
About a week ago Il meeting of thirty
two musicians, most of whom had PLAYED
with Scheel in former orchestras, con-
vened at the Mirabeau Hotel, where the
conductor resides. Scheel was not equal
TO entering into the throes of business that
day so he turned his visitors over to
his agent Al Marks and Ritzau. At that
meeting the proposition was discussed
which has created so much dissatisfaction
in the union.
1t was nothing less than that each man
should give back $4 of his weekly pay re-
ceived for playing at the Mechanics Fair,
to pay offScheel's debt to Ritzau. For in
stance, man was nominally to be paid
$25 a week for his services, but in reality
would receive only $21, the 81 for Ritzau
being paid back into the Scheel treasury.
One of Scheel's best soIoists, German
named Tersch, was the only man who
hotly combated this proposition at the
MEETING in the Mirahpau Hotel az of
Scheel give two concerts in September or
October, he said. "If he does this am
willing to play for nothing and attend five
or six rehearsals, but mans salary is his
own, and l will not play for less than my
price"
1t was when the men had had time to.
think the suggestion over that their indig-