The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-20
THEY WOULD GIVE D
THB ENTERTAINMENT THAT TORE
SELECTTILLE APART. e.
WARNING iron . victin aEnisst Havius Any-
thing &c No with Amateur minstrel Shows
In susursas Towns-nnc,denta mat Fartea
Ole Friends and Made Dtscora.

N HbnurnnU IoWnn-unclneDtn NnnN hntte'
Ole Frisnds and Made Diseerd.
In these DAYS when MONS Young vomei
black their faces and take 70 tambourines an,
bones and minstrel ,okes tn rniso the morteaF,
from the dear old church" said MIR. johnson
OF Sc,cctyiIe. y. I ..it abouId not have sur
prised me when Our Climb decided to give
minstrel show. I should hnvo accented II sim
ply as an evidence that We were moving alon,
with the times: bur I didn't. On the contrary
1 prophesied that there would be trouble. ant
there was trouble. You NAV not know tina
our Club is quite the most exclusive in town
No butchers or grocers need apply. 1t mum
bers among its members representatives Of
nm s,an -. men 60. 81 ans -,
~, " ." utounu n. -,
of those three residence ~portions even the cen,
ans taker viii, ovcrIook Won
GUS 'HAer VIII overlook you
AS a peaceful man l was selected By the
club as a member OF the Committee Of Arrange
ments and from thu, uoucnt my worries be.
~ u nUh ,ua' o"" p'
gan. First Mrs. johnson and received a call
from Mr.. and Mrs. Smith OF Low Ground Park.
W. n.or,o - iIr, STA p.rt .or,o,tn.s cav nm.
w peopie u hih sue Farh eome'innes sHs "n'
kind things OF Low Ground Park and the resi-
dents OF the latter place say unkind things
that there is malaria in Low Ground Park. A
any rate the Smiths, call surprised us a bit.
- "o 'of. NC peopis wv my -
life life Seyv vs .otio ps '' Mr.. N sm,, ,sH ,Ssrsor, the de.
Irsion ~, ha.hu.,.as -, ,,, "a a soa
fusion .nat her husband Is a great VII ana q saa
reading humor between the lines Of Smiths
snnorso, nnosa,,aa,- 49,. nrr,r, m.
some"nat nat'erortnot reIhnrAs' DufIns '"'
course OF the evening Mrs. Smith said to me:
.rNow. Mr.. Johnson. Won really must persuade
sam to be one Of The end men in your minstrel
show. He is so funny"
1--WE are looking for good men,. I said. inno-
Gently.
Then ask Sam right now. and I will coax
"' =, -" Z
ieA INTO inc trap easily ana 1 aia ASK san
backed mp my request b. telling Sam that she
knew be. would look lovely in q black face, and
sam ;oid:
can be OF any assistance, l am willing to oblige
YOU
no mistake. and when our committee met on the
next evening I announced proudly that l had
MS he EoodF asked the Chairman, -
m'ope OF the very best amateurs in Select
VIE "srha iHSE sooG, s ssid the Chairman. I have
secured the services Of Major Puggsley Of the
Neck as an end man. and with the aid Of two
fancy dancing. / am sure that we can make all
the other amateur shows look like thirty cents,
with some difficulty. Feeling certain that the
show was bound to be a success, the commit
circle. Th,t left only eight vacant places. and
them. we did select eight men, and by doing
Each one of the three residence parks was rep
resented. so that We might be sure of having
called a rehearsal AT my house. Talk about
your Holland DANES and your Revolutionary
Daughters. They are tame. Just organize a
he performers came together each one insisted
that his ret Joke or gag should be used. It took
we found that we were definitely committed to
two very ancient gags that Or. Smith stood
Oh. He knew it was funny. because when he
was a boy he had been amused by 1t, and he
shouts OF laughter. such lines as were neces.
sary were assigned, and each man was instruct
ed 10 perfect himself In his part; The two pro,
week later another rehearsal was called.
That rehearsal was a CHASTITY affair; We
Sit on the stage. and the manager acted as mid
dleman;, DR.. Smith and Major PuCgsley were
got right Town to work. The Major began a
negro story. with the aid OF the manager. and
his dialect was taken bodily from z recent
bad. l took the Chairman one side and said:
Look here, old man, the Msjo: is q good fell
withdraw him
and the crowd from the Neck is coming pur'
posely TO hear him.
IL must De done or the show Will be ruined
I answered. and in this opinion / was upheld by
all OF the committeeman. The rehearsal had
beer, stopped. and it was decided that j should
break the news TO Major Puggsley. I called
him to one side OF the stage and said:
Major. you have a good voice and you are
a rafting good fellow. but some of us think that
you are notSquite up TO what we want for an
end man.. Not quite. you know
Major. '"'
Most certainly not, but-well. to tell you
the truth, we want Just such a man-as you are
for an usher. you know. You are TOO good
looking TO black your face. and
Now. Mr.. Johnson interrupted the Major.
! am 100 old to be fooled by hat sort OF thing.
This is a direct afirnnt, sir, and / and my friends
on the Neck will resent ii. Why, / saw min
strcl shows before you were born, sir. Good
evening. sir and ont he walked.
This was annoying. and despite the fact that
the cn'ire company stood by me. / felt somehow
that | had made a mistake. The rehearsal was
begun again. and DR.. Smith sprung his gags and
did Q dance. You could cut the silence with a |
cheese knife when pr, Smith began. He had a
partially developed Irish brogue which he tried
to palm on as negro talk. We knew better. Of |
course. His dance was as bad as his dialect.
and his stories were about as funny as a pan of
dough. Cold perspiration beaded my forehead