The Indianapolis journal., 1896-04-26
THE LATE MR. STETSON
THIS Is NOT THE CONVENTIONAL,
FLATrERING OBITUARY.
A Theatrical Manager who Made
Millions OF Dollars, but Missed the
Respect OF His Associates.


theaters and theatrical companies. fail TO
throw out in a strong light the strong ec-
centricities. peculiarities and characteristics
of the mans nature. 1t is all well enough
to let the grave bury the truth about those
who have passed away. but If any lesson Is
TO be learned from the lives Of men of force
and of what the world calls success. it can
only be revealed by frank exposition Of the
truth, which at times may verge upon
seeming brutality. But In Stetson's case
particularly this task Is scarcely one there
need be any hesitation about, for. above all
things, he was brutal man. glorying in
his brutality and not averse to telling Of
the many tales which displayed his inner
characteristics. 1t seems remarkable that
such as he should have become potent fac
tor in the theatrical managerial life of this
country. but such is the unquestionabN fact.
How he accomplished it is certainly worth
serious study.
Possibly the secret Of his success can be
found in the fact that he had absolutely no
care for the manner in which he accumus
lated wealth, not the slightest regard for
his fellow-man and an intense belief in the
general dishonesty OF the world. That may
not be a pleasant view to take of life. but
it was the limit of his vision. His great
thought was to hold on to what ne got and
Ito do the other feller." He gave the epi-
tome of his life in the phrase: Il started
in life with a shoe string, and I have the
shoe string yet" But in addition to that
shoe-string beginning. he died possessed Of
pawn shops, or hotel, of successful thea
terS, OF show printing establishment, or
hashy, evil-communicating police publica.
ton, of a stock brokerage concern, OF a real
estate bureau, OF mercantile houses, OF
drinking saloon, of valuable Boston real es-
tate, of big palace in the most fashionable
portion of Boston-which no one visited-of
yacht, of stables, of horses, of bank ac-
counts-but scarcely friend to mourn his
loss, because it is not unreasonable to sup
pose that the attractive widow whom he
leaves behind-once Kate Stokes, the daring
circus rider-will find much in this enormous
fortune to console her for her loss.
In his appearance Stetson was big, burly,
brutal. He had an iniamed countenance
and infiammatory ways. His voice was
was vulgar and illiterate. He was absolute
ly repellant man, and the words with
which some of his biographers have decked
his bier, bluff, good-natured John Stet-
son. are the most inapplicabe that could
possibly have been employed. His early
training was responsible for what he was:
finance, beyond the mental and social con-
ditions Of his youth. The least said about
his early life the better. AS a professional
runner" meaning thereby one who will sell
out for price and allow the other man to
win. He started upon the seas OF litera-
ture by publishing & IN Boston paper per called ains
somed into that high-class. pink-tinted
publication called the Police News. He
found further prosperity in the manage
training for the control of the dramatic art
by managing low-class variety and mlnstrei
shows. This was shortly after the war In
he 1aor ad fho
manners which pursued him to his dying
day. If performer IN those times had the
audacity to appear who was not ntted Tor
his task Stetson did not give him weeks
notice, but when the gallery voiced Its dis
approval he would Immediately issue the
order: Put that stiff off damn quick and
throw him out of the stage door,. In re-
cent years he has applied practically SINH
lar tactics to some of the best-known peo-
pie. men and women, on the stage. notaDiy
Cora Brown-Potter and Kyrle Bellew. He
absolutely respected no one: not even him
self.
HIS COARSENESS.
An excellent illustration of his charac-
teristics is possibly contained dn his In
PRODUCTION of Louise Montague. the one
time ten-thousand-dollar beauty of the
'Forepaugh show. when he presented her to
his company, which, was then rehearsng
a light opera on the stage of his Boston
theater the Globe. 1t happened prior to
his taking Kate Stokes to wife. He was
enamored of the charms of the glowing
Montague. While the full company was
ready for rehearsal. including Will S. Ris-
ing and a number Of others who are well
known in Philadelphia, ne suddenly ap-
peared In their midst, holding Louise Mon
tague by one arm. and he presented her
i'm these words: "See here, you folks,
this is Louise en- Montague ana sn snes 3 70 tbes ee
says anything against her I'll discharge,
and If l find any of you fellows little
too fresh. if you don't break away when
say so I'll bounce you.
That Is not pleasant story to tell. 1t
only serves to increase the wonder that
troll he did over the theatrical affairs or
both Boston and New York. His power
must not be underestimated. In addi-
started and others which he supported he
absolutely owned the Globe Theater, IN
Boston, controlled the Park Theater there
York at one time was successfully and
successfully manager of the Booth and
Fifth-avenue theaters.
have failed in was an effort to break into
the swell Back Bay society of the Huo:
The ex-sprinter, the variety manager ana
the pawnbroker, even when he had amassed
millions, always sneered at any one VINO
made pretensions to social enninence- But
when he took unto himself a wife she stlrred
other thoughts in his mind. and he actually
aspired to storming Beacon Hill. He went
about II in his usual forceful way and with
some elements of shrewdness. He obtained
a controlling interest in the Boston Herald,
then probably the leading daily publication
of the entire East and welding an immense
power He placed accounts in some of the
largest and most influential financial fnsti-
tutions of the Hub. He erected upon the
most commanding portion of Commonwealth
avenue a row of magnificent houses and on
the corner lot he built modern palace.
With the exception of the latter these resi-
denres were sold to solid merchants and
substantial financiers; but the corner build
ing he reserved for himself, and in its
furnishing he gave a carte blanche order TO
architects, artists and decorators. There
John Stetson and mis- handsome wife lived
with their servants, but the residents or the
Back Bay never darkened its doors. he
made efforts to treat them with prodigal
hospitality although in the outer world he
was noted for the fierceness OF mis- clutch
upon his pocketbook. But his hospitality
was not even considered. and the palace re-
mained as silent as a tomb
A MALE MAIlAPROP.
The harshness of this narrative may be
somewhat relieved and there may be
lighter reading found in recollections Of
numerous illustrations of Stetson's illitera-
CIV. Regarding this there are number Of
amusing stories told among actors. He had
such a wonderful knack OF using the wrong
word by the substitution of one similar TO
1t in sound that he would have made an
excelleut husband for Mrs. PartingtOn.