The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-11-26

money in one week.
Exactly Il viii be difficult al first.
But you go around town and ind a
boarding house where you get a small but
comfortable room for 81 q week, and you
sit down and write 10 mamma that you
have just been engaged By Klaw & Err
LANCER as prima donna Of one Of their
companies
But I'm only chorus grip
You write 70 mamma that you're
prima donna all the same, for It looks
better that way for her 10 show the
neigh5ors, and then you pray heaven our
company may never strike your town.
And when an put az rehearsals?''
AT once And If you make gooc'-that
IS. fulfill the promises your first inter
view held out-you're all right. and go
on as soon as you have had little
training"
And II don't make good?'
We'll, Of course, We can't keep you.
But probably you're all right"
And is the field overcrowded?''
Yes and no. The young woman who
has the good qualities I have named
need not lack for an engagement in the
chorus ranks OF comic opera. musical
comedy or spectacle in New York The
supply does not more than meet the de-
mand. but, mind you. I'm speaking @
the class I have named The other. the
unattractive, unmusical. heavy footed
girl, so to speak, has little or no chance
And how about the stories we hear
Of the chorus girls who have magnificent
fats and broughams and all that or
SO per-
''Tommyrot. most Of It There's lot
Of talk about that sort Of thing and very
little IN il Most Of II is in the magma
ton Of the callow youth, or the sensa-
Tiona paragrapher, the youthful descend
ant Of Ansnias
of course there are examples here and
there Of loose morals on the stage as
well as in the drawing room. in theatri-
cal life, as well as IN ,sw--Iom,' but
girl is not consequently bad because she's
on the stage. nor are al the young fools
and their money parted for fat rent as
readily as gossips declare.
Take the stories Of that sort Won hear
and cut the humber in Two. and haIve
them again, and take ten per cent OF
for net cash truth and you will about
strike IL. The proportion Of truth 70 fic-
ion Is about the same that there Is in
the whispers about society women thar
are told among social scandal mongers-
deal Of chan for the small amount %
truth that can be threshed out by il
vestigation"
Then Mr.. Klaw and I shook hands and
l went on down the street.
In the knickerbocker building. IN the
heart Of the theatre district, are the Of
fees Of Mr.. Frank l. Perley. Miss Alice
Nelson's manager. formerly the helms
man Of the ship that bore the Bostonians
on TO fortune
Well, we got at II al once. and this is
what ne said:
Chorus girls can be tabulated into
three classes''-and I could imagine Mr.
Perley mentally fling them away into
nice little green boxes and labelling them
Dollars" Art and 'Johnnies''-..frst
the girl who is on the stage 10 earn her
own livelihood, and finds the theatre tia
shortest cut to her goal: second. the
hopeful girl Of talent, who IS there with
artistic ambitions and uses the position
as stepping stone 70 better hings. third
the girl who wants diversion and atten-
ton, gets in the glare Of the calcium
and hopes the Johnnies and every foolish
man who fancies that every chorus girl
Is what she's painted up n be will no
tee her. This latter girl thinks she NAV
make % TO shot some day and marry
the 'sapient scion Of socially distinguish
81 parentage.' I don't know. by the wav
which Of the Two gets fooled the most II
the - to l happens 10 be the winner and
the girl and the fool get married.
Girl No. I. the worker for what the
position brings her in dollars and cents
cant get rich in a hurry on SIS a week
but you would be surprised 70 learn what
some Of then-some few OF them-save
up before they quit the business.
There are some curious things about
chorus girls. and here's one o. the
strange facts: 4 pretty face and good
voice seldom go together Here's an
other-if she sings well bet your bottom
dollar she dances poor. Funny. isn't it?.'
II she has nimble heels. the less said
about her voice the better. See her SIX,
up The stage Ike a dancing fairy. and
i warrant she'll 90 up a vocal scale
like climbing a ladder. OF course. there
are exceptions. but I'm speaking OF ;he
average chorus aspirant."