The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-30
WHERE BRoKEN GLASS GOES.
Opening of the Theatrical Season In
creased the Demand for II.


From the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Did you ever think of what becomes of
all the broken glass in a glass factory?"
asked the man with the cigarette as he
filled one OF his pockets with matches
from the safe on the table. The remark
was made apropos of nothing, and the
speaker waited as II he expected some one
TO ask him about II. But no one did, and
he continued:
Il was passing a glass factory on Clark
avenue a few days ago when i saw sew
eral barrels filled with broken glass being
loaded into a wagon. The pieces ranged
from the size of mans hand down to
fragments no larger than a dime. Per-
haps l wouldn't have noticed 1t at all
had / not heard the driver say to the man
who was rolling the barrel into the vehi-
Gle, BE careful there, and don't break
that all to pieces This struck me as
queer considering the fact that the glass
was apparently useless, and curiosity took
me inside the factory, where / asked
fellow about it. And do you know the
factory gets pretty good price when you
think that 1t would be thrown away IL
you were running the factory and didn't
know your business.
" Yes, he says to me, trade In broken
glass is pretty good just now. You see
all the theaters are opening up, and thew
have a supply on hand all the time What
for? Why, don't you know no farce come
dy Is complete unless some one jumps
through Window A play without that
In 1t wouldn't take at all; II would be In
direct violation of stage tradition. And
when the villain, or the hero, or the
Irish comedian jumps through the oiled
paper window panes and you hear the
sound of breaking glass, DONE you ever
figure out where the glass that is broken
comes fromY
We'll, do you know gentlemen, the way
the fellow put that question to me l ac-
tually felt ashamed of my ignorance. He
asked me If / thought the stage hands
broke plate-glass mirrors seven nights a
week, with three matinees. wilted, and
then he took pity on me. II seems that
all the broken glass is sold to the thea
tiers. The variety houses have to have a
big supply, for nearly every week some
one is supposed to fail through a window
with a glass-breakns accompaniment
The society dramas don't have SO much Of
this, and II doesn't take much TO supply
them, but where the burlesque fiourishes
It's a poor show that doesn't use up a
dozen barrels a week with daily matt
nees. The glass Is taken 10 the theater
and stored In the cellar. When II Is re-
CURED Il Is shoveled into box and taken
to the stage. Different theaters have diff
ferent ways of breaking the glass, but
the best Is that la uae In two OF the best
houses IN this city. They have big box,
with an iron plate about foot above the
bottom of 1t, sort of false bottom, as II
were. This is TO prevent dead break.
AS the time when the window Is to be
broken approaches a stage hand with a
ehovelful Of glass stands ready for the
cue. 1t comes. and the glass is thrown
into the box with as much force as posi-
BILE. II the work Is well done the effect,
as heard by the audience, is similar TO
that produced by a window being broken.
Now, of course, the sound is not the same,
but you notice that when tap this empty
glass an entirely different sound is heard
than when ="
But some one asked him II he wouldn't
prefer to experiment with a full glass
and he stopped talking.