The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-22
sHAKEspEARE IN KANSAS CITY.

Young Lawyer Overdid the Bard While Lead
ing the Boom for the Uptown Movement.
When Kansas City was a younger and
smaller town. said an arrival from that West
ern metropolis to a Sun reporter, lit was scat
tered more than 1t is now. The heavy busi-
ness was done on the levee. TIL newspapers
were printed down there. The only street up
town was not graded. 1t was like climbing a
ladder to walk from the levee uptown. and
like shooting the chutes to go from Market
Square uptown to tho levee. There sprung up
a sort OF geographical jealousy between the
uptowners and the levee people. The
Younger generation constituted the up
towners. The early settlers did business on
the levee. but lived back on the bluffs. There
was a law firm on the levee that had the big
end Of the litigation. One OF its members al
terward became a Judge and the other a cor
p~oration lawyer. Both got rich. They are
dead. but II either was living he could tell how
a young police court shyster OF the town forced
the old firm to move its office uptown. and
when they moved the newspapers moved. and
T;hen the newspapers moved the ieNees occu-
patton was gone.
'.The young shyster was a newcomer. HIS
name was Rummel or something like 1t. HIS
office was over the market house. the upstairs
OF which was the city courtroom. In one end OF
which the city used to pile its sawed wood
during the winter. The market house was not
in the centre OF the square. but the area was
usually crowded with farmers. whose products
of hay. wood and cattle were huddled about
young shyster had flung his sign to, the hurri-
canes he waited in vain FL vd d9E a e MonId whie
20 to the levee. or II he had not sold by the
time 1n tb sh Si iIT he would trail the Arm. and one Of
the members would go over and give advice
while sitting on the tongue OF the wagon or
while leaning Go nESa'I Usually Al. wait o' at the drug
store, where a partnership bottle was kept In
the :t9rsroom; worm wood TO the Young man
! over the market house. In his boyhood he had
read Shakespeare. l don't know TO what eki
!sS2 s;s but, he Hamlet wsHt on on 6 teS fitsSe ana ara Sny y1 I
else S@f he knew Ali came back to him, and he
would stand by his open window Wnen me
square Was VI H tlLlsa Wi "a r Ifsm t ert the r pIa SsSls'nl T HIS
WIS was new to the farmers in the early days.
And finally there was always 2 contest
with the wagon, so that the owner could near
the great dec Amer and sell farm products at
'""As YOU might surmise. the fellow got a client
now and then. and he always had II Jury trial.
That gave him AN opportunity TO srreau MN,
Courtroom was crowded when he had a case.
mot long. after the success OF the young
shystsr the old hrR moved ea u 1p sDS there eS sei It re-.
| NAMED until the town made its second leap 10
what is known as the Junction and Coates 3
addition. OF course the success OF humtnei. u
Thai WAS his name, was ephemeral., People got
tired Of having Shakespeare run IN on every
thing, and do you know thqt even now Sr sg sors
Gotten IL takes a mighty good actor TO draw in
Kansas City II he puts upa Shakespearean play,
snai dd The evil that men do lives after them.
Still. Rummel did some good lie started inc
uptown BOOM