St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-26
SUTRo'S ODD FAD.
THE SAN FRANCISCAN MAYOR IS
SOMEWHAT OF A MODELER
IN DOUGH.
HAS TOPSEY-LIKE TALENT.
THE MAYOR SAYS 1T JUST
GROWED-NEVER TOOK
LESSONS.
HE MAKES PIGS AND SEALS
with Marvellous Accuracy and
With DexterOus Rapid
ity.

With DeXterOus Rapid
Great men are peculiar in their
hours of ease, says the San Francisco
Chronicle. All of them have their
hobbies in private life and ride them.
History teens with incidents. Nero
had a passion for fiddling, and Gin
cinnatus grew the best cabbages in
early Rome, nearly as good as those
grown some centuries later by
George 1. in his new English gar
| den. Peter the Great was an anna
teur ship builder of no mean ability,
while Henry III. Of France was an
artificer in clocks, several of the
Louises also being expert locksmiths.
Few of the really great men except
Jim Corbett were ever given to ath-
leticS, but there is one notable in
stance in the case of Louis Philippe,
for the reason that, while he had
never practiced on the cinder path,
he became at one bound the most
remarkable sprinter in Europe. Ev-
erbody knows all about good King
Cole, who was jolly old soul, which
brings the history of hobbies down
to Mayor sutro. of San Francisco,
lord Of the seal rocks, grand seigneur
of the city hall and a whole lot Of
other things besides.
Mayor Sutro has hobby-an ar
tistic one at that-which his mod
esty has kept hidden for, 10, these
many years, fifteen at least. The
mayor is a mOdeler in clay and
dough, an humble follower in the
classic footsteps of Phidias and Mi
chael Angelo. With a twist of his
wrist and a twirl of his thumbs he
turns out wonderful forms, testify
ing to his genius and his skill and
the beauty of the plastic art. His
honor has never tried his hand at
an heroic piece, and, while he can,
he has done very little in clay. He
prefers dough. He fairly revels in
dough.
Let artistic souls writhe in agony
over what they may consider a pie
beian prostitution of a noble art.
Let them turn up their noses and
rail at dough! What of it? Mayor
Sutro cannot help it. Like King
Midas of old, everything he touches
turns to dough; and, at the present
time, they say he has more of it than
any other great man in San Francis
CO. Having plenty, he does what
he pleases with it, and he pleases to
make little pigs and baby seals and
COWS and horses and to cover them
over with a coating of mucilage and
present them to his friends as SOU
venirs. Verify, in the hands OF May
or Sutro, dough has supplemented
the rocks of ancient art.
For something like fifteen years has
Mayor Sutro concealed his greatest
accomplishments from the people who
are now his constituents. For nearly
three lustres has he chosen to conceal
the light of his genius under bushel.
Now it is all out. The mayor has
blushingly acknowledged it and stands
ready to take his place in the hall of
fame in company with Alexander Bad
lam and the butter sculptress. Dough
and butter! Bread and oleo!
"Yes," said Mayor Sutro in his office
the other day, after certain amount
of bashful hesitation, 81 make goou
many little things out of dough, prin-
cipally animals. Little pigs, little seals,
cows and horses. 1 have talent that
way, and 1 have amused a great many
people with it in the last fifteen years.
L don't know, really, how 1 discovered
it-a sort of Topsy-like talent, 1 sup
pose. 1t just grew. When l was In
Europe some years ago used to make
little figures out Of the bread l would
take from the table, and surprised
great many people. Very few people
here knew I could do this-just few
of my friends, and l have not said very
much about it.
ST have number of the figures at
my house out ON the Heights, and sew
eral of my friends have more. Just as
soon as they are made, you know, you
coat them with mucilage, and they Will
last any length Of time"
genius in this direction, outside of his
own immediate family, was given on
the veranda of Algionfs hotel, on How
ell mountain, one hot summers day
about eight years ago. His now honor
had driven up the hot, dusty road in
the hottest day in all the year, and
once he had cleared the cobwebs from
his throat was positive godsend to
the summer girls, who hadn't seen any
one to talk to but themselve: far
gone consumptive and the reu-headed
landlord They took him in tow imme-
diately. and his honor held forth Oh
the then most popular subject with
himself himself. Even interest in 10
tagged after time, and the guests
paraded in for dinner clearly ennuled
They went through the meal perfume
torily, and when it was finished re-
turned to the veranda.
S11tro started in afresh on his popu-
lar subject, and, while he talked, the
Young ladies noticed he was working
in his hands the inside of a piece OF
bread he had taken from the table,
Away he talked and fingered the bread,
until suddenly he stopped and handed
to the young lady nearest him the prod
uct of his hands-a perfect little pig.
The monarch of seal rocks was In
demand at once. Every summer girl
present wanted a sample of his art, and
SO long as Argioni's bread held out
Sutro turned out chickens, more pigs,
seals, cats, dromedaries and horses.
1t is said that he blushed furiously
all that afternoon and the next day
at at the compliments paid to his really
Wonderful skill. Any number of these
same pieces, furnished at Argionfs S
eight years ago, and coated with mucf-
Inge on the spot to keep them from
cracking, are still in a beautiful state
| of preservation.