The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-16

From the New York Sun.
 When Ben Cotton. the old-time min strel, died the other day Lew Dock stader expressed the opinion that Billy Manning was the greatest end man that ever held the place and that Billy Emerson was next. Perhaps he knew these famous minstrels only in the days of their greatness. As some ot the old-timers remember him Billy Manning at the height of his fame was never of more convulsing humor than he was on the day, now almost 50 yeas ago. when he and Amazi S. Mott, George Hardenbrook and George Haus- er, none of them over 20 started out of the little city of Piqua, O., where they had much local celebrity as min strel performers, and trudged west ward, seeking wider fame and incl dentally money.
 Billy Manning from the time he could toddle had been a continual laugh pro ducer in Piqua with his quick wit, his quaint, rollicking humor, his extraor- dinary talent for mimicry and his in- descrbably funny singing voice. In different way Amzi Mott was as great a humorist as Billy Manning. and he had the sweetest. most sympathetic na- tural tenor voice one ever listened to.
 Billy Emerson also in his early days was funnier then, when he was known only in a limited circle, than he was when his fame was worldwide. He was originally a song and dance man, al- though he wasn't man yet at that, and his admirers declare that in tho list of all great song and dance men none can be found who was his peer. There are no song and dance men any more.
 Who that ever saw Billy Emerson in his song and dance, "Rip-tearing Johnny, which was his great turn 45 years ago or so. doesn't remember it as the very mas tery of comic art in minstrelsy? He had quaint, drawing dialect, a catchy laugh and regular levee darky singsong voice, with a use of his legs and feet that gave them a constantly changing variety or comical twists, steps and poses. It was in 1863 that the writer last heard Billy Finer son in this song and dance, but he still caIfN see him come on in his roustabout makeup, swinging his napless old gray hat in one hand while he took few pre- lbninary steps around the stage and then drawled out the song. The first stanza ram
 Oh. give me your attention, fair ladies of this town,
 And .Uste ten to .1unat I'm goin' to say
 v " npn any young For fear that KeU(Yand run away And then you'd sail up into the air.
 Like MT. Johnny Anderson's balloon And you'd go to California by the gas
 light of the moon.
 And no rp-tearin Johnny'd meet you
 there.
 Oh, thick lip and crooked stick,
 Won't you come and kiss me quick
 My rip-tearin' Johnny's gone away
 This was at Fox's Casino in Philadel- phia. a famous free and easy music nall during the war. This song and dance made Billy Emerson, but with his latter day success and eminence the nat uralness that gave an incomparabie qual- ity to his humor in those early days was replaced by an affectation that in the opinion of some made his art inferior to what if was in the song -and-dance period. Lew Dockstader said that next to Billy Manning. Billy Emerson was the funniest end man ever, but did he remember Dan Bryant Neise, Seymour. Eph Horn and some more that have been known to make people all but split their buttons off? Of course, modesty forbade him to except himself Billy Emerson was funny end Hsan but even in his "Moriarity' vogue
 nll. short of the comicallty he showed
 1A1.<m man in sort of improvised
 v Art at this same Fox
 
 And that was quite first part. Besides Billy Emerson there were Hughey Dough- erty. Fatty Stewart, Lew Gaylord, John Mulligan, Andy Leavitt and one or two others. Every one of these was an end man whose equal it would have been I hard to find. They took turns on the end.
 Hughey Dougherty is the only one of the lot alive today. Who remembers John Mulligan or Andy Leavtt? But they were famous star players of that time and later, Andy Leavitt being banjo player and a comedian never excelled in his line, while John Mulligan's song and dance. "Old Bob Ridley was always what would be called headliner now
 Mulligan was more than six feet tall and very thin and his style was that of the plantation darky. The Essence of or v'ginny' has never been danced since John Mulligan passed away. His spe- cialties were bits representing plantation