The sun., 1909-02-07

she lent helping hand to all the women
members Of troupe thus situated. There
were Ave. all girls. who were out for the
first time. getting their initial experience
10 q cheap company AZ stepping stone
to something bettor later on. Like most
such companies the manager started on =
with the traditienal shoestring a. capital.
and Of course when the company struck Q
few poor houses there was nothing left
for the members but TO disband. The
prospect OF walking railroad ties 500
miles to their starting point wus too much
for the terrified girls, and they sat down
spd wept copious tears until the woman
correspondent OF the town told than 70
dry their eyes and como with her. D..
She took them to her house and kept
the Ave young aspirants for histrionie
honors several days. until they heard
from their friends and were able 10 got
home without going afoot. The kind
hearted woman to whom they were In
debted for q shelter and food during the
period OF involuntary detention explained
that she had been on the road herself
and could sympathize with them.
Occasionally these correspondents tc-
oidentally stumble on interesting seorets'
This happens when sentative players
outgrow the remembrance Of their nattve
heath after experiencing q METROPOLITAN
success. They do not like to have it
known that there was q time whom they
lived in the districts known by the dsni-
zens Of Broadway as the tall timber belt.
So these actors and actresses date their
history from the time they frst looked
at the skyline Of New York's towering
office buildings. and try to forget every-
thing that happened to them before thnt
cventful day.
But who they really are and where
they came from Ia sometimes unsxpect-
redly revealed In after years through
the dramatic correspondent In their
native town. The revelation comes about
when the company 10 booked to play there
and the correspondent happens 70 recog-
nizo in the star Marmalade Montrnc-
rency mono other than tho Terrence
O'Finnigan OF other days. No doubt
the terrible secret would remain hidden
in the breast OF the star for al time Q. fer
the eagle eyed correspondent. who hAstens
. to tell his paper about the discovery.
There are other oocasions whom CORE
| y
Their items become valuable In running
down literary thieves. ....
For instance. II a play has long run
in New YORK. or Chicago sooner or later
ch~sI companies will pirate II and pro-
d ,ce the d-uma over circuits where ths
o-i Tinal company is not liable to 60.
Whom C. play shows signs Of being sue
cess manager and author then begin 70
watch the reports OF theatrical weeklies
for Plays similar In name.
II they see mentioned an unknown COM
pany bearing title suspiciouely Ike
their production and quietly skipping
from place to place without any biare Of
trrmrets thoy feel that IL In time to IN
vessiccte. In this way the humble COR
rcs~ opdent patrols the outer lines Of the
dramstio camp and vigilantly aids owners
and rodloors TO keep unecrupuious
reonlc from mating use OF plays without
TFyi1e roya' tics.
Viii q managers on the Rialto thus de-
rive benefit from the reports Of these
oorres- ondents the lessee OF q theatre
in :. rna. town also finds the information
in the columns useful. By their help be
IL guided in the selection Of productions
20. his audience For instance, II he seHs
tha. correspondent reports IS. r.. o.
o. Good sttendance' he makes an effort
10 boos the company.
4 corrospondent receives no pay for
hi, work, His only compensation is .
got Of credentials issued by The paper he
rc7rcsents, which through the iihmemorial
custom of managers admits him free TO
the local theatre. Naturally on account
OF this privilege the job is much sought
after, and then again it Is supposed to
confer a little distinction on the repre-
sentative.
This applies only to the instances Of
communities so small that the inhabitants
out OF local pride willingly contound
critic with correspondent The
smaller the town the more important be-
comes the position In the eyes Of the
people. In such cases they often feel
that the place grows in importance II con-
nected, even so tenuously. with a metro
politan district,
One man voiced this sentiment when he
said that -the town gets tone by being
connected with representative New
York paper This reflected glory 80 i'm
pressed certain lawyer in the West that
when he was made correspondent he put
In gilt letters on his office window the sign:
Representative of the - -
When the place OF correspondent be-
comes vacant in q small town it causes
almost az much excitement as an election
and otherwise peaceful citizens are kept
in futtering state Of expectancy until
the place is ngain filled. The local telc-
graph operator finds himself in danger
OF getting writer's cramp wiring the
numerous applications to the papers
headquarters,
These applications often come from
unexpected sources. For instance, the
feverish longing to write tabloid dramatio
paragraphs prompted Chinaman not
quite beyond the pidgin English stage 70
apply for the post Of honorable writer
TO the United States drama!'