Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-11-06
STORY OF THE PLAY.
Synopsis of Daniel Sully's Drama
"o'Brien, the Contractor"

"o'Brien, the Contractor
Mr.. Daniel Sully will appear as
"O'Brien, the Contractor" Monday
evening, November 8. The story of
this interesting play is briefly told as
follows: James O'Brien, who has OBJ
tained n charter for the construction of
railroad running through the coal and
iron districts, and uniting the Atlantic
with the lake region. The completion
of this road will throw into bankruptcy
rival line, which although long estab-
lished has been ill-managed. At the
opening of the play the president and
directors of this organization are hold
ing meeting to devise means for delay
ing the completion of O'Brien's road
until the time allowed by his almost
expired charter elapses. They tempt
his chief engineer and foreman to New
York and offer them heavy salaries to
quit work on the new line and bring
with them thousand of O'Brien's
laborers on contract at double wages
for the established road. The success
of this design would mean ruin for the
Irish contractor. The engineer, how
ever, refuses these gilttering offers and
remains loyal to his employer; and the
poor man happens to be no less per-
sonage than O'Brien himself The
Wall street tinanciers, thus foiled in
their original plan to delay the com
pletion OF the new road get out court
injunction on some technical point of
law against any further work on it.
They arrive on the scene at Rocky
Gorge and search for the contractor in
order to serve him with the restraining
GRripn In
found, and as time is precious, the at
torney of the rival road, with the as
sistance of a detective employed by
them, proceed to bribe the workmen to
strike. The laborer through whom this
scheme is effected again happens to be
O'Brien in disguise. When the strike
among the men occurs it is precisely at
the period in which the golden spike
that denotes the laying of the final rail
and the finishing of the Rocky Gorge
road is being driven. Induced by offers
of high wages from the enemy the
laborers stop work. There are two
gangs of men, Italians and Irish, busily
engaged building a real railroad track.
O'Brien, desperate at the delay, excites
the national jealousy of the two races,
praises the Irishmans loyalty to those
who have befriended him, heaps con-
temptuous epthets on the Italians, and
finally wins the day by calling on his
countrymen not to desert O'Brien. The
Irishmen grow enthusiastic under his
eloquence, and 60 back to work on the
track with such impulsive efforts that
minute before the charter of the road
legally expires the eloquent and pa
triotic laborer pulls off his false beard,
and in his proper character of James
O'Brien calls for three cheers for the
completion of the road.
This does not by any means finish the
play, as in the next act, OBrien appears
in all the glory of evening dress at the
magnate's mansion on Fifth Avenue, in
answer to personal kilograms from the
various members of the opposing syndi-
cate, asking a purchase price on his
completed road. The discovery of the
loss of the fortune Of Mrs. Van Buren,,
with whom he has fallen in love, because
of the blow the completion of his line
has struck to his opposers, places him
in position for serious thought He
quickly decides that she must have her
entire fortune back, and with this end
in view consults with her brother, who
is none other than the president of the
opposition road. Through this meeting
matters are pleasantly Strengthened out,
and O'Brien receives as his reward the
hand OF the woman he loves. AS is
usual, the play ends happily and sends
the audience home with pleasant re-
membranes Of "O'Brien, the Contrac-
tor ~