Evening star., 1899-03-07
THEATRICAL GOSSIP.

William Gillette is possibly responsible as
much as any one individual for the extent
to which realism on the stage IS nowadays
carried, for he has ever believed in literal
Interpretation of Shakespeares injunction
about holding 1.-The mirror up to nature. y
But in the early days of the Secret Ser
vice. run in New York, Mr.. Gillette met
with rather violent proof that this thing,
like all other things good in this queer
world, can be carried too far Those who
have seen Secret Service are familiar
with the important role which the tele-
grapic key and sounder play in this story
of the tangled heart-strings Of a northern
spy and southern girl.
One day before the play had been put in
rehearsal it occurred to Mr. Gillette that
there must be a great number of people in
New York city who could read the dots
and dashes of the telegraphic code. Com
munication with the managers of the West
ern Union, the Postal Telegraph and the
Associated Press revealed the fact that by
conservative estimates there were between
five and six thousand people on Manhattan
Island who We're making a livelihood by
manipulating the dainty dots and dashes of
the Morse alphabet. He figured that, in
Guiding operators temporarily out of work,
students in schools of telegraphy and those
who at some former time had acquired
practical knowledge of the key and sound
er, the total would probably reach 10000.
Now, that's nice proposition" he said
to himself. Il wonder what percentage of
that 10000 would come to see Secret Ser
vice Two or three Of the Autographs that
Alf. Haymann is getting UP for the play
picture the telegraph scene, and if by any
chance the play makes hit, 1 should i'm
agine those 10000 operators would natural
ly be attracted in pretty good force"
By this sort of mental route it didn't take
long to reach the conclusion that it was
artiStica1lv cpmmarcia11v IN
have real dots and dashes on the stage
in the new war play. Joseph Humphreys,
who as general stage manager for Charles
Frohman, has much to do with engaging
search was instituted for an actor who
was also telegraph operator, to play the
part of Lieutenant Forey, who sends and
receives nine-tenths of the teegraphic COM
munication in the play. Meanwhile Mr.. Gill
lette himself set apart two hours every
afternoon for rehearsing the correct dot
ting and dashing of the fraction of a mes
sage which he has to send. An old teleg-
rapher out of a job was also engaged to
stay behind the scenes and send the dis
patches and calls which are supposed to
come from ''the front"
1t was this old telegrapher who made all
the trouble-or fun, whichever it was.
The play was finally produced and every
thing moved along beautifully until the
latter part of the first week. The tele-
graph scene is in the third act During the
near it in the audience noticed that Lieut..
Forey, the chief operator, seemed convulsed
with laughter. Meantime one of the men
who had come out into the lobby after the
act to smoke cigarette went to the box
office window.
Great show you are giving in there" he
said; but 1 guess If Mr.. Gillette and the
company and the audience knew what l
do thered be a riot in there"
What? What's that? What do YOU
mean?" asked the treasurer.
"Oh, I'm a telegraph operator myself,
that's all, and I was able to read the mes
sages that were received over the wires.
They were corkers, tell YOU
'"They were, eh?"
yes. For instance you know that mes
War, marked important? Well, this is what
was in it." and the man took an envelope
out of his pocket and read:
Hello Sec, old boy. Hope this is hot
enough for YOU.
Then message comes in and the operator
gives it to a messenger and says:
For the President, marked private
Hurry over to his house with it, Now,
you'd imagine there was something vital in
that dispatch, wouldn't you? Well here it
is: Say, jeff, you'll be shy of operators
over here If this heat keeps up. Hotter'n
the devil, amt it" Then after a while
you know, Mr.. Gillette comes on as Cap
tain Thorne. At certain opportune point
the little ticker opens operations again, and
captain ThOrne announces tnat IT is mes
sage from Adjutant General Chesney. The
audience, you understand, has been worked
up to the belief that this message is of alb
solutely the utmost value in the important
matter of saving the -heros life. And while
the audience held its breath held my sides,
for this was the purport of the redoubtabe
General Cheskey's weighty message: oh
Lord, how hot! Say, Captain Thorne, smoke
up! Let's finish this act quick. It's as hot
as (you know in this stuffy hole I'm in.
If there is any other operator in the audi
ence he can have my job
When Mr.. Gillette Ewas informed Of this
circumstance next morning, he said to the
stage manager: Inform your friend, the
he is persona non grata. I'll be hanged if
I am going to be called names by my real
istic dot-and-dash man just for the sake of
pleasing the telegraph operators who hap
Well have the messages sent in by the
stage carpenter or the property man. They
know more about telegraph poles than they
do about dots and dashes. and I guess our
regulations will be safe in their hands,"
And this has been the method Of pro-
cedure In the telegraph scene of Secret
Service" ever since.
Kathryn Osterman was waiting for her
change at the glove counter of one Of the
large stores in New York the other day
when she was approached by very large,
gaudily dressed and 1oud-iooking woman,
who held out a pudgy hand in a green kid
glove and said:
''Why how do you do. Miss Osterman?"
Miss Osterman ignored the proffered hand,
and, drawing herself up stiff1y, said frg-
iely:
81 do not think know you, madam
mo, spose not" replied the woman. in
nowise embarrassed by the coldness of her
DR.. Bulls Cough Syrup will make a
permanent cure in all cases Of cough. cold on