The Alaska citizen., 1910-09-05

 theater and find Thespian Bert Will Hams in Thespian Juhusou's com pany. that is going some, is il not? For under the same roof you then have assembled together two of the highest paid and most distinguished of four native histrions. whether plain or eolored You are between the tallest peak in the highest alti- tudes of the profession You are. as it were. up among the Big Smokes.
 Or. fl you prefer an older and per haps better simile, among the Big Smokes. with John to provide the well-cured meerschaum and Bert to be the clear yellow amber And as for Sig Hart-well. Sigmund could be the fuzzy little thing that they use to clean out the stem with. For while Sigmund may be up in the face cards as a combination of impress ario. manager and financial mentor, he is not much as to bulk. He is about the size of q knickerboCker half portion. which is the smallest thing that the human eye has ever seen on a plate. and he has the chest development of a capital A. But the love which Damon bore Pythias is as nothing to the love which Sig mund bears for John.
 But why waste time and printers ink on a mere member of the once superior white race. however prOmi- nent in his chosen vocation. when there are whole realms of things to be said of great, towering fig ure in the world of art, letters. poli- tics and social ethics such as Thes- plan Johnson?
 Johnson Had a Host of Callers.
 It was an hour before the time for him to go forth and entertain a large and sweltersome vaudeville audience when McManus and l were escorted to his presence by an UT bane assistant stage manager who wore warm pink undershirt and red suspenders. doubtless for the same reason that the lrishman in the riddle does Within the limited confines of the star dressing room We found not only the two famous actors already mentioned, and Man ager Hart. but also trawcolored valet and dresser Johnson is not using white valet this season., a Catholic priest who had dropped in for minute, several admiring indi- viduals impossible to classify at a glance and a gentleman in trade. This gentleman = l did not get his name, but he is certainly related to Morris Perlmutter and undoubtedly a close friend of Abe Potash - was there for an ulterior motive. He de sired to sell the two thespians arti- cles to wear. With a company so congenial pleasant time was being had by all when We arrived.
 
 was saying. news has come to me that they wants me to run fur alder man out wonder in Chicago nah friends the cullud population does. But l ain't thinkin' much of doin' hit. l got 40 weeks in vaudeville, ef want it. wich l don't. And, besides, inl iob hard game to beat"
 Worse than fighting prize fights, put in one who had the bad taste to refer to the former period in the notable ones life before he began the pursuit of acting
 Yes, indeedy," said the noted lead ing man, "cause in a fight ring you ain't got but one man to lick gin 'rally-sometimes two, W'ich is when the referee is ginst you. But in politics theys whole lot of 'em pilin' on you at oncet and hittin' in clinches and handin' you the sleep punch whilst yoah haid is turned. No suhs, this yere present occupation looks kind of soft to me, fur the time bein'."
 Two Noted Negroes in Contrast.
 "Yo' sho' is right to say that, ole cockywax," put in Thespian Will Hams rocking back and forth on the soles of his nine-dollar patent leather pumps in an uncomfortable burst of joy.
 Right here you would be struck by this thing-that Bert Williams who was born North and has some education, affects the broad unctious, ness of the cornfield darkey, while Johnson, who was born South and has as much learning as you could put in your eye comfortably, is try ing hard to acquire the voice and mannersms and the general walk and conversation of the New Eng land brand of Afro-American.
 And yet he'll never be anything but big roustabout. I've seen a thousand Jack Johnsons before now I've seen him a hundred times eat ing a fishhead sandwich-two slices of bakers bread and the fried front isp'ece of a channel cat with gills and WhiskerS cOmplete-in front Oi