Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-10-28
LIFE IN A CHORUS
1T is Anything But Bed of Roses, "
Says One of the
Girls.
s1s Is THE AVERAGE SALARY
Members of the Company Broke
Most of the
Time.

The life of chorus girl is any
thing but path of roses" said a
young lady who sings in the chorus
of well known comic opera troupe
that visits Rock Island each season.
1--WE do not only have to stand the
hard strain of the other members of
the troupe, namely up late nights,
arising early again in the morning
and then be on the road the 9reater
part of the day. but we also have to
put up at second class hotels and gen
orally strike them in such large mum
bers that they are unable to accom-
mediate us the way they ought to
with the result there is much crowd
ing and discomfort
Salary of Chorus Girl.
What is the average salary of a
chorus girl?" was asked.
"Out on the road the majority of
us get SIS, and this is about the stan
dard salary over the country. With
this girl, if she is so disposed can
save about s. 4 week. but there are
few of them that do it. You llrow in
travelling we get our railroad eXpen
Ses paid, but we have to pay our hotel
bills. At most places a rate of S1.25
is given us. so you can see right there
$50 is expended. Then there is laun-
dry bills and travelling expenses. so
the girl that can go through the week
and only spend SO is of very eco
nomical disposition. Some of them
DO this but they are few and far be-
tween. On the other hand most of
the members of the company are
broke most of the time. We get paid
every Saturday night and if we want
can draw on Wednesday. You see we
always have Il supper after the show
and this with other bills always keeps
us shy Of coin.
Let me tell you another way we
often lose dollar or two. While
playing the other night one of the
girls happened TO forget to put bow
in her hair which is supposed to he
part of the costume. The stage man
ager. who is a man who has charge
of the girls, noticed it and went up to
the girl and told her she was fined 50
for her neglect. This Will be held out
of her salary. Cases of this kind are
very frequent resulting in the girls
dressing in too great a hurry"
Girls Generally Gay Lot.
Chorus girls when they strike a
town the size Of Rock Island general
~ let the people know they are in
town. \ dozen of them at "A time will
stride up the street gazing around
attracting attention by their dress as
well as their actions. One of the first
things they do. the same as all stage
people, is to strike fer the postoffice
inquire anNiously fer letters to find
out what their friends in the cities are
doing
At the hotels they are careless. as
is told by the proprietors, who tell of
the condition of the rooms after they
have gone. If a girl wants to find
anything in her grip or trunk. the
chances are she will turn it upside
down, dump everything in pile on
the floor. and then commence to
search through the pile for the article
for which she is in search. One hotel
man in talking about them says:
Chorus girls and most people on the
stage are chronic kickers. and the
only way to do with them is tu take
il with good nature. but al the same
time not let them bluff YOU. for they
would take the whole hotel if they
could"
The girls are always gay lot, take
them as 4 whole. and when they get a
place they care little what they do or
what the people think Of them. The
glamour Of the stage and little parties
on the side are their chief attraction
and afford the only amusement while
they are out on the trip
Of course all girls are not the
same in the chorus. Many stage
struck girl Of real ability takes this
method Of coming to the front. and
as you knew. many of the stars of
today were girls in chorus few
years ago. Some of them are quiet
and study hard to get to the top.
They live in Il world of their own.
trying to please the people while on
the stage and caring little what they
think of while off.