Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-06-18
A THEATRICAL I'll !. !. !. ] TRICK
IT FOOLED JOE JEFFERSON, AND IT
FOOLED THE PUBLIC TOO.


Given to the Great: ACTOR ON. One
s9Seasion when Iic:.Svas Playing
Rip Vain Wrinkle la baltimore. 81
'.The best story on Joe Jefferson was
never printed during Ills lifetime, and
ths kindly old gentlelnun himself. went
toSahis reward without ever having
heard II" said the advance agent, "for
none OF the people around him ever got
ur nerve enough 10 tell him that he had
been taken III along with thut dear pub
lie whose attention we leralds Of art
were endenvoring to catch.
AHlt WAS years ago In Baltimore JET
ferson opcncd on Monday night in
Rip Van Winkic,' ind, although lie
was always Il prime. favorlte with the
nter guers there, neither the attendance
thut evening nor the advance sale of
seats for tile week had been over good.
The folks in front OF the house Gust
their eyes over the ticket rack and
came to the conclusion that unless
something unusual was done the receipts
would not be as large us they should
bga Well, when tile business end of IL
show reaches that point things are IL
line within IL very limited space of
time, and the boys on Jeffersons pay
roll, If they We're not the snlftiest at
that sort of thing, were certainly not
the slowcst in the profession. We put
our heads together and arrived ut the
conclusion that what WIS needed for
good, fat press notices was some re-
markuble popular manifestation OF mp
preciation OF genius. don't mean the
clappilg from the orchestra nor the cat
calls from the gallery, but something
that would set the town to talking. We
thought long over the various schemes
suggested. hut none of them appeared
to be Just the proper one for the pur-
pose. Suddenly the office boy, who was
as retiring rs the usual run OF office
boys around Il theuter. buttcd IN with,
Say, why don'tyou lluvelim dragged"
'Drnggcd-1whnt's tllnt;' asked
Why, lave him rushed after the
mntinec this afternoon by bowling
mob of admirers. Have them unhitch
his horses and drag lin off to his hotel
With their own hands. And say, gee
whtz, I've got it! Let the bunch thnt
does 1t be Johns Hopkins boysv
.t"Thatfuin't bud for the KID remark
ed the assistunt treasurer pntronizing-
~, but where nre you going to get
YOUR Johns Hopkins boys? You don't
tHink they're lying around waiting to
tui1l themselves Into IL bevy OF Roman
chariot cliuscrs, do youT
'''Oh, say, SQUIRE dead slow.' replied
the Office hoy, with every Indication
of disgust. Come with me down OIL
Marsh Market space, and In ten min
utcs I'll have you the greatest bunch
OF. students you ever saw
3sfNot knowing the town very we'll
then, was puzzled at how Hopkins
stildents were to be found on Alnrsh
Market space and said so.
"'Why, they amt students ut ALL
explained the Ill knowing office boy.
They're buns, the worst lot of cnn
clihserstin the town, and there are
hundreds of them. For 30 cents Il head
foE the day YOU Gun get All OF tl,cm YOU
Ykpt. Get thirty or forty, dress them
ub'in store clothes that you can get ut
any old costumer's-baggy trousers all
turned up ut the bottom, short coats
with d !, southwestern exposure, dlnky
hats With coiored binds, jaunty little
fried egg caps and sassy, slap-on-the-
wrist sort Of canes-and the rest'll be
easy money
I'VE began to appreciate the feaslbil-
ity OF tile scheme and soon were con-
verified TO 1t. must Qdmlt, however,
that 1t was not with an altogether easy
feeling that started OH our work of
metamorphosing lot Of trumps into
blithesome college lads, but our task
turned out to be not so difficult after
ALL
THE 90 cents was an alluring propo-
sition to most of the gentlemen of
leisure whom we found congrcgated
around the bungholes of the beer bar
rels most recently elected from the
dirty barrooms with which the neigh
borhood was infested. We got to-
gcther thirty or forty and marched
them all to an institution called the
Workingmen's Residential club and
had them washed aud shaved and put
III apple pie order. SO that some OF
them looked almost respectable by the
time we got through. One great hulk
iiig fellow, whom we wanted as the
leader OF this gay and care free aggre-
CATION, refused absolutely for time
to part with his whiskers and only con
sentcd to the sacrifice when we told
him we were going to pay him SIS to
captain tile bunch.
"Meanwhile our agents had been
busy getting together suitable ward
robe for our little company. There
was q fitting Oh process for the next
hours at the conclusion Of which it
wnsSsyotcd that we had crowd Of
seniors and freshmen that would hive
faded the flower Of Yuic, Harvard,
PRINCETON and Hopkins all rolled into