Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-03-25
4 TREAT FOR THEATER-G0ERS

Mr.. Danl Sully will appear as
"O'Brien, the Contractor" at Olympia
Thcater next Wednesday evening.
The story of this interesting play is
briefly told as follows:
James O'Bricn, has obtained Il
charter for the construction OF rail
road running through the coal and
iron districts. and uniting the At
lantic with the lake region. The COM
pletion of this rood will throw into
bankruptcy rival line, which although
long established has been i'll managed.
At the opening OF the play the Pre>i-
dent and directors OF this organization
are holding meeting to devise means
for delaying the completion OF O'Brcn's
road until the time allowed by his
almost expired charter clar>cS. They
tempt his chief engineer and foreman
to New York and offer them heavy
salaries to quit work on the new line,
and bring with them Il thousand of
| OBricns laborerS on contract at double
wages for the established road. The
success of this design would mean ruin
for the Irish contractor. The engineer,
however, refuses these glittering offers
and remains loyal to his employer;
and the poor man happens to be no
less parsonage than OBrien himself.
The Wall Street tinanciers, thus foiled
in their original plan to delay the COM
pletion of the new road, get out a
court injunction on some technical
point of law against any further work
on it. They arrive on the scene at
Rocky Gorge and search for the con-
tractor in order to serve him with the
restraining papers. AS O'Brien is no
where to be found, and as the time is
precious, the attorney of the rival road,
with the assistance of detective en-
ployed by them, proceed to bride the
workmcn to strike. The laborers
through whom this scheme is effected
again happens to be O'Brien in dis
guise. When the strike among the
men occurs it is precisely at the period
in which the golden spike that denotes
the laying of the final rail and the
finishing of the Rocky Gorge road
is being driven. Induced by offers
of high wages from the enemy,
the laborers stop work. There are
gangs of men, Italians and Irish, busily
engaged building real railroad track.
OBrien, desperate at the delay, ex-
cites the national jealousy of the two
races, praises the Irishmen loyalty, to
those who have befriended him, heaps
contemptous epithets on the Italians,
and finally wins the day by calling
on his countrymen not to desert
OBrien. The Irishmen grow en-
thusiastic under his eloquence, and 60
back to work on the track with such
impulsive efforts that a minute before
the charter of the road legally expires
the eloquent and patriotic laborer
pulls off his false beard, and in his
proper character of James OBrien
calls for three cheers for the compile
ton of the road.
This does not, by any means, finish
the play, as in the next act, O'Brien APP
pears in all the glory OF evening dress
at the magnate's mansion on Fifth
Avenue, in answer to personal tele-
grams from the various members of
the opposing syndicate, asking a pur-
chase price on his completed road.
The discovery of the loss OF the fortune
of Mrs. Van Buren,, with whom he has
fallen in love, because of the blow the
completion of his line has struck to his
opposers, places him in position for
serious thought. He quickly decides
that she must have her entire fortune
back, and with this end in view con-
suits with her brother, who is none
other than the President of the opposi-
ton road. Through this meeting
matters are pleasantly Strengthened
out, and O'Brien receives as his re-
ward the hand of the woman he loves.
AS is usual the play ends happily and
sends an audience home with pleasant
membranes of O'Brien, the Con-
tractor"