The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-09-16
HIT MERSTEIN
Press Agent of Buffalo Bill
Whipped Impresari0.
Now Has $4,000 Suit Pending
for SANDER.
BIG CROWDS SEE SHOW
Cody Still q FavOrite With
People.
Indians and Cowboys Still Fur
BIG CROWDS SEE SHOW
Indians and Cowboys Still Fur
nish the Excitement.

A feature of the Two Bills show
which is not on the program, is F.
Mordaunt Hall, the press agent, who
although a young man and not a prize
fighter in the general sense of the
word, has one Knockout blow to his
credit, the victim being Oscar Ham
merstein, the New York Theatrical
magnate. Hall at that time, year
ago, was with the New York Press.
He printed an interview with Ham
merstein and with another newspaper
man was attacked by the frey i'm
presario. Hammerstein came out sec
end best, and all the parties were
taken to police court. Then in his ex-
PLANTATION of the affair he slandered
Hall to such an extent that he has
banding a suit against Hammerstein
for $4,000 damages.
Hall visited in Topeka two or three
years aga, the gust of a Topeka family
who had met him in Milan, Italy,
where he was working in bank. Hail
is an English lad but has Travelled
considerably in Europe he is
bride of three months is with him on
the present trip. Mr.. Hall is an affa-
BILE as well as brilliant young man
and has a great many friends in To-
peka.
Big Crowds Sec Show.
Those who journeyed to Skene's
park to see the afternoon and night
Performances of the Two Bills show,
Torrance and the Pawnee Bill Far
East performance, and who expected
to see Buffalo Bits show up to the
standard of fifteen years ago, were
badly disappointed. Those who went
to see a Wild West and Far East show
with no ideas of comparison with for
ner efforts enjoyed the show i'm
mensely.
This is the twenty-seventh season
for the Cody show. 1t was a great one
in its time, and is still an acceptable
performance, but it has deteriorated
with the lapse of time. With the wild
west and frontier days crowded into
TIL; past, it is hard to reproduce these
features at the same standard of ear
lier days when this form of life was
still fresh in the minds of the public
Buffalo Bill himself shows his age
The eagle eye for sharpsho oting for
which he was formerly famous is
leaving him. At the afternoon per-
Torrance he missed a lot of the glass
balls, but he did much better at
night But in both events. the COM
thing like this. "I can remember
when he didn't miss single ball.
Even Johnny Baker. great shot that
he was. didn't do himself Justice
pear in the performance at all. He
is seen around the tents looking af-
ter the money, but that, is all
Notwithstanding the fact that the
show isn't what 1t was years ago, IL
is still we'll worth the>-money The
days of the Wild West are gone. and
the present generation doesn't know
much about them. but Buffalo Bill
gives some realistic reproductions of
tn edays of western warfare The
battle of Summit Springs in which
Col. Cody played a prominent part is
one of the features Of. the show
which furnishes plenty of excitement
A novelty is the game of pushball
reproduced on horseback with
mammoth pigskin which is pushed
and battered I'D and down the field.
The Russian Cossacks present many
reckless feats of Workmanship. The
old Deadwood stage coach with its
attendant dangers from Indians was
realistic. The worlds rough riders,
the pony express, the United States
artillery drill, Devlin's Zouaves,
United States cavalry drill and
broncho busting and lariating are
other features. These make good
show, well worth seeing and the
price of admission, but it isn't nearly
as lavish a production as 1t was dur
ing the eos.
Buffalo Bill. who seems to be the
head of the Two Bills show, has
managed to steer clear of the circus
trust and is fighting his battles alone,
which is a hard uphill fight against
the big trust.