The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-08
TRAINING UsHERs IN NEW YORK.
How the big Crowds at Public Places
of Amusement Are tematicaIIy
Cared For

OF Amusement are SSstematicatly
Cared For.
From the New York Tribune.
ut is easy enough to get ushers. but 1t
is hard to get good ones, so / prefer to
take men who know nothing at all about
the work and train them myself" said
Thomas Bull, at the Metropolitan opera
house, on a recent Saturday afternoon. A
matinee was in progress at the time, and
the small force of nineteen men, by means
of whose services the immense Metropoli-
tan audiences are handled, had just given
proof Of the thoroughness of that train
ing. Mr.. Bull is certainly qualified to
speak upon anything relating TO ushering
at places of amusement, for attending the
the details of that work and touching 9TH
ers how to do 1t properly have been his
occupation for many years. At least with
a partner and afterWard alone he has been
at the head of what may be called sort
of bureau for supplying STATS of ushers
to places where the management does not
wish to trouble itself with the hiring of
individual applicants, often of doubtful
competency.
Besides having charge of the opera
house during the season, Mr. Bull also
attends to all the ushering at the Madison
Square garden, whether the attraction
there be the horse show, the dog show, the
cycle show, the sportsman's exhibition,
the six-day bicycle race, an occasional
prize-hght, or any one of the many big
affairs which crowd the building in the
course of the year The horse show usu-
ally takes place just before the opening
of the opera season, and the people who
90 from one almost directly to the other
have often noticed, somewhat 20 their sur
prise that the same ushers are to be
found at both places. When there are at
fractions at the opera house and the
garden at the same time, of course an
extra force OF ushers has to be furnished
for the latter place.
In addition to looking after these two big
establishments Mr.. Bun is called upon to
assume the direction of a multitude of
other occasional affairs, such as concerts
at the Waldorf Astoria, and at other large
hotels and various outdoor entertainments,
which require the seating Of great num-
hers of persons on stands. For many sea
sons he had charge of the Yale-Princeton
foot ball game here, and has managed the
stands for many of the big parades, among
them the Columbian celebration and the
Grant memorial
Mr. Bulls method of recruiting his ush-
ering forces may be understood from the
system pursued at the opera. Each usher
there has his substitute, who reports be-
fore every performance, ready 10 take the
place of the regular man In case he should
be absent These substitutes are frequent
Nv young men who have come to the city
TO study music, and are glad to be on
hand every evening for the occasional
chance of hearing the music and earning
a little money at the same time. Through
little private training by Mr. Bull and
through careful watching of the other ush-
ers the substitutes soon get hold of the
nrincipfes of their work and by the time
a vacancy occurs in the regular staff or
extra ushers are wanted for another place.
they have gained sufficient experience to
enable them to fill the position.
In teaching them Mr.. Bull first explains
the plan according to which the seats In
the house are numbered, for example, that
the odd numbers are all on one side and
the even on the other side, etc. When they
appear to understand these details he tests
them by asking them 20 take him to va
rious seats in different parts of the house,
mentioning the numbers at random. The
substitute in training sometimes grows
| nervous under the test, and, afraid OF
| seeming too slow in considering, he PUSHES
off at the mention of number, perhaps
| in quite the wrong direction Mr.. Bull says
nothing. but follows him calmly down the
| aisle. They stop in front of seat. and
| the new usher turns red and becomes
greatly discounted as he finds that he has
| made a mistake.
NOW" says Mr.. Bull, quietly, suppose
YOU did that when the house was full The
| aisle would be crowded with people com
| ing in behind you. and It would be a very
embarrassing position, both for you and
the people you were directing, to have TO
make your way back again through the
crush and start on another tack" The
| substitute seldom forgets this Illustration,
| and takes little more time TO think there
| after.
When called upon 10 do ushering at short