The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-11
A REAL POLITICAL COMEDY
HUMOROUS ATTEMPT TO HOLD AN
 ECONOMIC DEBITE.


 The Hyperion a Scene of Tumuituous Dis7
 order Last EvenIng-E. D. Fiske of
 SacheIn's Head Fell Short of His Reck-
 oning-Greeted With Cat Calls and Kisses
 The Audience Ordered to Leave the
 Theater--Lights Turned Out-Reason and
 Logic Thrown to the yyinds-Speaker Un-
 mercifully Guyed.
 There was enacted at the Hyperion last evening perhaps the most ludicrous this city, and the theater was for an hour the scene of doings which beggar description, And all of this was free.
 E. D. Fiske of Sachem's Head had hired the theater with the intention of holding a sort of catch-as- catch can political debate. He secured the Sec ond regiment band, and in the after noon drove around the lower part of the city with the band, advertising the meeting.
 When 8 o'clock arrived, the time when the speaking was scheduled to be- gin, there were about 500 people in the theater. The band then began to play to pass away the time while MT. Fiske was waiting for defenders of the gold faith and the silver craze to show up. At SIS none of these had put in an ap- pearance, and Fisl1e then remembered that he had Hired a quartet to sing, which was not on hand. A messenger was sent out and returned, bringing the Langdale quartet. Miss Ellen Ho- fer and Frank Langdale finally sang a duet, 70 Merry Land,'' receiving we'll meant applause.
 So far all had gone well, and MT. Fiske then took the platform with a rows on the stage behind him. He be- gan by deploring the fact that no one had appeared to debate He then launched forth into tirade against the Indianapolis convention for refusing to recognize him as a delegate.
 After disconnected harangue of ten minutes a man in the audience yelled out, What are you talking about, any Way?" This was a signal for the up- roar to begin, and for five minutes pan- demonium seemed to have broken loose. Cat-calls, whistles, misses and yelling of all descriptions resounded through the house, MT. Fiske all this time en- treating the audience to keep quiet. Finally, after he had started to read from an old newspaper Bourke Cock. rans speech at Madison Square Gar den, Leonard R. Thompson. a biacF- smith employed at 391A Broadway, arose and said that the people had come to hear the merits and demerits of the silver question discussed, and could read newspapers for themselves. He was invited to teke the platform and did so, making five minute har- angue, saying that he was not afraid of misses, as his mother was a goose raiser, and that if Mr. Fiske would speak he would reply. He was then elected frorl the stage at Fiske's or ders, and then attempted to speak from one of the boxes, but Fiske ordered the band to play to drown the sound of his voice.
 After the crowd had quieted down and also Thompson, Fiske began his forensic effort again. and said that the free silver policy which seeks to rob people was republican child, put in the democratic house to be nourished He said that he refused to adopt the offspring which had been disowned by it's parents. He then spoke of the mythical Midas and his touch which turned all to gold, and the disastrous result of that ancient gentleman's pow CT, after which he attempted to show how like result would follow the adoption of a gold standard, but after thus abusing both precious metals and pinning his faith to none the audience began to have a good time at the ex- pense of Mir Fiske's dignity. He then told of his philanthropic purpose ir hiring the theater and mentioned other instances in which his philanthropy had exerted itself. He said:
 q can cure pneumonia, infamma- ton of the stomach and divers dis eases" and for a moment the audience thought that 1t had been caught by 8 clever patent medicine agent, but ii was soon undeceived, as the speaker began to tell how the conquest of Chi ma might be brought about. Then the hearers could stand it no longer, and roof-raising yells and noises broke loose. This was too much for Fiske and he ordered every one to leave the theater while the band played. The | audience, however, remained some min utes longer, and only left after the the ater employees, under orders from MT l F'iske, began to turn out the lights The crowd going out was a bowling pushing mob, and although having come expecting to hear sensible argu' | ments, seemed well pleased with the | Imaginable show to which it had beer