Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-06

ton, and before long he moved to New
York, where he was a clerk in produce
commission house for three years. Then he
went back to Iowa. where no had lived as
child, at nineteen was a cashier for O
coal mining company. and a few years
later held the same position in national
bank.
BY the early eighties young osgood had
become recognized as a coal mining ex-
pert. and was sent to Colorado by a rail.
road to report on the coal resources of the
state He was not long in discovering the
wonderful possibilities of the state as re-
CARDS coal: he set about at once securing
coal lands and few years later formed
the company that Is now "a giant in the
industrial world. But when it was or.
ganzed its headquarters was in small
room and the office force consisted of Mr..
Osgood and Office boy.
Charles NJ Schwab Is another boy who
has arrived at the front in recent years
through his own efforts. His successor "a
head of the steel trust, William f. Corey,
started in one of Carnegie's steel mills in
as humble position as did Charlie
Schwab: in fact, the history of iron and
steel has always been a history of
bilious boys coming to the front by reason
of their own innate abilities.
As examples of what a boy with no
other power than his desire to get there
can accomplish in the field OF amusement.
consider the career of the late Kirk La
Shelle and that of the late Samuel Shu-
bert.
X x
La Shele began printers devil In
a country town in Illinois. He had scarcely
attained his majority when he became
foreman of the composing room of the Chi
cage Daily News. -Four years later he
was the papers city editor. next its man.
aging editor: later was dramatic critic for
another Chicago paper. and amateur play
wright; and about a decade ago business
first American tour.
During the next few years his fortunes
We're varied Then, with a partner. he de-
cided to back Frank Daniels for a stellar
tour in the Wizard of the Nile" an under
taking which more than one experienced
manager had put aside as being too risky.
To get the show ready for the opening night
the partners had been compelled to spend
all the money they could rake and scrape
together, except the sum of S4. But the
play justified La Shelles Judgment; ii gave
him and his partner each a fortune; and
from then till the day Of his death last
spring La Shelle kept up the winning pace.
being one of the countIys leading mama
gers.
Sam Shubert was a newsboy in Syra-
cuse when he induced the proprietor OF
local theater to let him and his brother Lee
take care of the cloak room, and sell candies
and rent opera glasses. Later he became an
usher, and step by step he began crawling
up the theatrical ladder, his brother Lee
keeping him company.
While they were thus climbing the theatri.
cal syndicate formed. and quite NUMB
Der of theaters throughout the country were
left with no hope of securing attractions.
One OF these the theater in which the
Shuberts had begun as coakroom boys. See
ing the opportunity. they decided to put in a
stock company at the theater, and the capt.
tai was soon Forthcoming, because the Shu-
berts had gained the admiration and conf
dence of Syracuse by reason of their push
and pluck. The venture was success from
the start, and when the ShubertS decided to
branch out in Rochester more capital was at
at their beck and call. Next they We're road
managers. with great financial benefit to all
concerned; and five years ago they broke
into New York. When he was killed in the
Harrisburg wreck last May at the age or
twenty-eight, Sam Shubert was looked
upon as one of the foremost managers IN
this country, and was on the eve of taking
over the management of a London play
house.
Heinrich Conried, who became Americas
grand opera impresario on the retirement OF
Maurice Grau, was the son of poor veav-
er; was Appended to ana learned the
trade: became a strolling actor and later
star came to this country to assist in the
management of a German theater: and
worked his way up to the control of the
leading German theater of New York. All
the time he dreaming how he would
produce grand opera If he ever got the OPP
portunity, and when the chance did come
three years ago he seized ii while other men
were preparing to do so, and during his first
year as impresario won international fame,
being the first person to produce 'Parsfal'
beyond the sacred bounds OF Bayreuth.
These are but a handful of the men who
have been winning out In these latter years:
the recital could be continued Indefinitely,
until 1t became monotonous But II would
all be to the point, that you can sure
ly get there" still without pull If you
have the stuff in you.