The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-02
CUTS OUT POLITICAL GAGS.
VARIETY SNOW MANAGERS BREEZY
COMMENT on THEIR DANCER.
One or Two Occasions when the AudIencesRe-
sented Rough Handling Of Their favor'tes
by Hash Performers Despite the Risk Al
Legged Comedians ONT Let PolIllo. Alone.

legged Comedians thnt iet foiNcs H'o"''
Between now and the November election
n whole lot Of fool song dance men VIII
be- getting themselves dtslik"d, and some on
them into worse trouble, because they won't
know any better than To try 10 build mp and help
ont their turns by Introducing political gags
said the manager of "A travelling variety show
IFS queer that variety actors don't get wise
! TO the imhccility Of this. but, ~ "A matter OF iact'
there are only a few " them vino ara able to
, resist the temptation when a rational cAn-
palgn " on. IN the first place, the men VINO
take In variety shows don't pay their money
at the box office for the sake ~ listening 10 cheap
political gags. Tn" people In front know "a
everybody knows. that the average actor OF
repute. let alone the variety stag" bunch
knows as little about politics, municipal, state,
or national, "a he does about the comforts OF
! home. and cares a darned sight less, Even the
adhcrents Of a candidate or party that gets the
best Of II at the hands of the men on the stage
resent this cheap Juggling about Of their prin-
clbles and their allegiance by variety performers.
Then, Of courses. The fellows in the audience
who nre on the other side Of the fence are bound
TO become sore, and in some parts OF the country
they have sundry and divers little ways OF
making their soreness felt, You can't soft
soap n variety Show audience. The average
variety show crowd Is composed Of more than
ordinarily cynical chaps, anyhow, whose on"idea
IL 10 III In n place where they can smoke and
take things easy, with something dlrertlng
going on in front Of them all the time; and
the one thing that they don't want, and ire
uuantlv decline to stand for, Ia politics. never,
under any circumstances, permit a performer
on my pay roll to open his mouth on the SUBJ
iect of politics before al audience. That rule
has been violated on numerous occasions by
C,It,y,3 vbo hGvan't hpan ablp Ia hold in ldtptlC
| political cracks that they've heard and thought
funny, but these chaps have invariably lost
their Jobs with me before they've washed OF
their makeup.
IF for no other reason than that variety
actors appear TO be totally lacking in the faculty
Of feeling, IN advances an agd,ence,s pulse
It's up 10 them 10 leave out their political IA k
altogether. Few Of them ever land right, and
when they do hit the majority they're bound
to give offence 10 the minority and the min
GRITTY pay for their sit downs al the show. you
know. Just like other fellows, and they've got
a right to resent jokes and jibes delivered from
the stage by cheap ones who are trying TO I'LL In
time between performances on the kaIoo and
the sleigh bells,
When the national campaign was on which
wound up by Cleveland beating Harrison a
friend 81 mine in the variety show business
had an outfit on the road that was making
good and getting the money until il hit the
rocks owing TO one OF lis political turns that
was worked wrong end foremost, The show
carried q team Of knockabout comedians. one
OF whom was made up and pneumatically in
fated around the WaiStband TO resemble Grover
cleveland and the other fixed our to look like
BENJAMIN Harrison. These two follows we're
with their act without the Introduction Of any
such business as that. and my managerial
friend ought 70 have had more sense than 10
have stood for II. We'll, those two fellows
would shift their act in accordance with the
political compilations of the towns the show
struck II the town was overwhelmingly
Republican, then the one who was doing the
Grover Cleveland end of II was slammed and
banged all over, the stage, by Ben Harrison.
II, on the other hand the show was exhibiting
In a well-known Democratic stronghold, Har-
rsOn would have 20 stand for h%atchets, and
nails being driven into his head BY Cleveland.
publican candidate all over the premises and
then announcing At the finish thai that was
what was eoing % happen when the, votes were
counted, just as Harrison would make his little
announcement TO the contrary effect in the
Republican towns. II the show hit a town
that was about equally divided politically,
Cleveland and Harrison would be quite inn
partial in kicking each other on the shins and
poking their fingers into each others eyes and
scratching matches on each others boards
and mauling each other with slap-sticks. and
they would venture no predictions as 10 what,
in their opinion, the outcome Of the campaign
was going Ia he.
Neil, this turn went well enough, although
| think the audiences would have much pre-
ferred 10 see the knockahouters Ryrate around
in a non-political stunt, until the show struck
one Of the mountain towns in Kentucky. On
the morning that the show arrived one Of the
knocknhouters walked up TO n chap. who was
sitting at the hotel window and who looked
like he might belong TO the place, and ssked
him how the town stood on the subject OF the
This town IS Democratic, replied the
chap, who looked As Z he might belong 70 the
ought to be, and every dsqged vote IN the
Place Is going to be handed over to Grover
That so9' said the knockabouter. Much
obliged, and he walked away. and told his
team mate that Harrison would have 10 be
their turn that night.
Now, il happened that the chap 10 whom
was one of the best-known practical i6knrs
in the whole fraternity Of commercial trav-
oilers. He had seen the show in another town
a few nights before. when Cleveland messed
had struck hin then that there would be some
er- ever happen 10 get mixed a. 10 their aud
ienceS while touring among the warm-blooded
R R26@EsSib5oi inquiry gave him his chance,
s sno from r. HT sq3iH H;'fb q IN santi%ent'' t" the
turned out To SEQ the show. which was advor.
tisHfts and. snaansied skirts. and il ali went on
bully until the ,knockebouters, rolled on and
thu pncggmatically inflated Cleveland began
there began to be mutterinRs in the audience.
The pair o. knockabouters were too much taken
lD WIN llfI WNIh ann -i"' IulNN brNi'lfN u
hear the growls, and Cleveland wentriRht ahead
sticking two Of his stiicncd fingers into Har-
rlson's eyes, Jerking Harrison around by the
neck with the aid Of n cane With a crook, heav-
ing Harrison into tho wings by the slack Of his
trousers, turning the hose on Harris IN. kick
ing Harrison on the left ear, driving railroad
spikes into Harrison's Uranium with n mallet
and doing all kinds of other grand and lofty
things 10 Harrison. The muttarings n the
audience grow into shouts OF d~i~apprOval,
but the knockaboutors were too much immersed
In their Job To know the difference between
hoarsp boots Of wra IN and velps Of applause,
and they kept right at 1t. The manager, how-
ever. who stood in the wings, was dead next
10 the state Of mind Of the bunch out in front,
and he frantically endea vored TO attract the
knockabouters' attention, 80 as to signal to
them 10 make n switch They didn't see him.
however, and 1t came about that when Harrison
had been dumped, CaSpinR for breath, on n
nile OF Jagged papier mache rocks by the tri-
lmphant Cleveland the imitation stuffed
prophet strobe 20 the footltghts and
Yelled, And that's the way little Benz
NELL look when the returns are In
Then he stood, 9%rinning and waiting for vocif-
erous applause, The applause wasn't forth
coming. Instead, there were bowls Of rage
from all over the house. and then twenty or
thirty Of the mountaineers sitting down IN
front Jumped over the footlights. BY that
time Cleveland was next to the fact that he'd
sort o. got mixed in his dates, as II We're, and