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The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-07-15

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The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-07-15

In Use For Over 80 Years.
The Kind You Have Always Bought
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16
THE FAMOUS OLD CALIFORNIA STOCK COMPANY

a EMORIES of bygone days in the
N\ theatrical life of San Francisco
~ sare confured up by a picture in
the possession of ]. Pitcher Spooner. a
retired photographer of stockton, who
assisted in taking the photograph in
1868.
Grouped in this unusual picture are
John Mccullough. Lawrence Barrett.
John Terrence, William Mestayer, John
T. Raymond, NJ. Thatcher, Claude Bur-
roughs, William Burroughs and Barton
HILL OF all that notable group of
thespians Hill is the only survivor.
He now divides his time between Phila-
delphia and the Lambs club in New
York, with an occasional visit to his
son in this city.
1t was during the palmy days of the
old California theater, when the first
stock company was delighting enthu
siastic audiences, that the members of
the company named above went to
Bradley & Rulofson's old gallery at
429 Montgomery street to pose for the
picture which Mr.. Spooner now prizes
so highly. T. W. Taber was at that
time the operator for Bradley &. Rulof-
son, and Mr.. Spooner was the chief
clerk, or foreman. Together Taber and
Spooner put the nine men in position
for the photograph. This, in connection
with the fact that he prepared the
negative and printed the photograph.
accounts for the special pride Mr..
Spooner takes in this picture.
The men of that first stock company
rose to unusual eminenceS in the the
atrical world. 1t probably was the
strongest stock company San Francisco
has ever known. Some joined the
company with enviable regulations they
had won elsewhere, but with most of
the men, and the women, too, it was
at the old California theater that their
names became firmly fixed in the the
atrical armament.
John Mccullough achieved the high
est pinnacle of greatness in the pro-
fession. While he was dying in an
insane asylum "a few years ago phono-
graphs throughout the country were
grinding cut the alleged rawlings of
Mccullough He and Barrett en-
barked as theatrical managers in San
Francisco and did much to raise the
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

in his grasp and when, early in 1888,
as Chevrial in the first American pres
entatfon of "A Partisan Romance" he
made his first success, it failed to thrill
him, failed to send one warm pulse
from his heart. Young man, do you
know you've made hitw the man
ager exclaimed rushing to his dressing
room and finding him industriously en-
gagged with grease paint. That's what
i m paid for" was tho utterly Mans
heldian response. His grasp upon the
audience, first achieved in the second
act, gathered and grew throughout the
progress of the play and his portrayal
of the despicable and utterly merci-
less old rake was something that was
fascinating even while it horrified.
His toast at the banquet that marks
the climax of the horror of the play:
Here's to material Nature, the pro-
life mother of all we know, see or
hear; here's to the matter that spar
kles in our glasses and runs through
our veins as river of youth; here's to
the matter that our eyes caress as they
dwell on the bloom of those young
cheeks. Here's to the matter that
heres to-here's-the matter-the mat
ter that-here's"- And then he drops
dead. Swayfng and tottering, holding
hiBself erect with difficulty, yet ogling
the women gathered around his foul
pcdiu ana 1oul money, the aged rake,
presented to an unknown public by an
unknown actor, was the lecherous old
pagan--incarnate, leering to the end.
AND then, while the audience, appre-
eating the cold perfection of the work,
demanded the unknown young man, he
calmly washed his face free from it's
grease, put on his street clothes and
then went out in front to bow with
chilly acknowledgment and peer out
through supercilfous eyeglass on the
storming throng, Mansfieldian again.
NO other man who ever lived and trod
the boards would have the superb ego To
90 II when emerging from the chaos
that is the unknown. No better illus
tration of the dominant egotism of the
man has ever taken place than when, in
san francisco, he called his entire COM
pany together at photographers and
made them pose for two pictures, gath
cred around him while he read. The
nfst showed them all at attention and
the second showed them all asleep in
varying attitudes of boredom. Firmly
convinced that he was crazy, they left
blm only to find that he was drawing
comparison between a play of his and
one of the foremost playwrights of
america. But that was Mansfield
Mansheldian again. However, in ex-
planning the pictures, he said that the
sleeping picture showed the effects not
OF the great p1aywright's play. but Of
his own.
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16
WFST~|SH 4 BLESSING ORA ClRSR2ga2Z

when the three other players are salts
fed with them.
(4) To hesitate in his play in order 10
show his partner that he might have
played differently, and perhaps with as
good results.
(5) To hesitate. when third hand.
about doubling no trump make, sim
ply because he has a good suit (Pens~
alty-10 days at hard IabOr.)
(6) To slap a card on the table as II
to say TO his partner: "There That's
the suit I wanted.
Cd To make remarks about the play
of hand when he is merely an on
locker
(S) To claim the rest of the tricks
until such claim is beyond dispute.
90 To play winning card and then
Immediately draw out another card
from his hand as IL to say: Partner.
That's the best. Don't trump it,
(10) To frOwu or sigh or groan when
he has drawn an indifferent partner.
(Penalty-S0 days.)
t11) To ridicule or gloat over the
misplays of his adversaries.
I'D To reach over and grab three
tricks for a revoke from the revOker's
stack Maximum penalty-public gull
lOtine or gallOws.)
A mise sense OF humOr and a kindly
consideration Of the feelings OF others
Will suggest. TO any well bred player
above are some OF the most glaring in
stances of bad taste constantly seen ar
the bridge table. 1t is really surpris-
ing to note how often a partner viii
fail to observe some vital point or eti-
quette at bridge
Partners are, as a rule. like the in
sane. They are sane except upon one
subject. but on that subject they are
hopeless, perverted, incurable We know
one very charming player who. in
every point. respects the feelings Of
others: nobody could be more well bred
and delightful. but as soon as the cards
are placed in the wrong position for
the next deal he becomes petulant and
peasabIe
In private life we do not loudly pro
claim 70 our friends and acquaintances
their Weaknesses and shortcomings.
We do not say: Bessie. you are an
unutterably stupid woman: George,
you are not only dull OF comprehen-
sion, but an incurable. congenital idiot
into the bargain Harry, you are
blank. blank, dash, semico1on and two
Interrogation points," but in bridge il
sometimes seems as though our only
object were to browbeat our friends,
wound their feelings. brutalize and
badger them on every possible occa-
sion. We all have our faults at bridge.
Our own particular vice is 10 throw the
cards on the floor and call for fresh
packs. We must admit that during
our long runs OF bad luck we become
alarmingly cynical and sour. A Sullen
despair somehow seems 70 possess US.
But we should all earnestly strive 10
improve and be as the saints are
blameless and pure.
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

game was unknown in this country or
in England.
We wonder how many of our read
ers know anything of the origin OF
bridge. We may say that we have
found 1t almost impossible to secure
correct information about the early
history of the game, but, after read
ing many forbiddingly dry treatisesl on
the subject, we lean to the opinion
that 1t originated in Turkey. Rns-
sia and Greece have both claimed It,
but We think 1T more than likely that
the Turks were the first people, to
play it.
In Russia it is called "Biritch." but
just why nobody seems to know.
There is no such word as biritch in
the Russian language, so that many
are of the opinion that the word is
roundabout corruption of some word in
use in Turkey.
Just as Persia was, they say. the
first home of poker. so was Constan-
tinople the birthplace of bridge-a
conclusion which any one who has
ever played the game with Turk
will be inclined to share for the Turks
have really marvellous genius for
the game.
1t was during the year 1894 that
bridge was introduced into London by
Lord Brougham, who brought the game
back with him from an extended for
eign trip
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

awake. but through all trials he kept
his need from public view and ate vor-
aciously when fortune favored him
with a meal, storing up, like a camel
stores water food for evil days to
come. The sale of an occasional pic
ture or story, for he both drew and
wrote. was all the income that he had
for months and months. but still his
personality was of such dominant SUI
periority that he was invited often to
dinners and to fashionable houses
where the semblance of Bohemia is
sought. These dinners served as
godsends to the half starved actor,
for he was an actor above all else an
actor, cold and determined to be
finished intellectual master of the hu-
man emotions. caring not for friends
or any of the things that normal hu-
manity regards as the most important
phases of life.
In 1882 he came to America. un-
known comparatively, but still gov
erned by his utterly abnormal ego, cold
and calculating, but ready for the
chance when fortune should pass with
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

carelessness by saying that he had
been playing so much bridge" that he
could never remember the exasperating
convention of turning the trump. This
remark led to his explaining the game
in detail to his friends.
From this insignificant beginning
bridge has spread and spread until III
is now the most popular card game
any straight" whist played at the
Portland; bridge has entirely replaced
1t. The Turf was the second English
club to experiment with the game. and
from that time on the fever spread
through the English clubs very rapidly
In 1895 the Portland issued its fa-
nous Laws of Bridge" This was
translated and adopted as the stand
ard guide to the game in most of the
cities of Europe and even in Con-
stantinople. the city of its reputed
birth
There is good ground for the asser-
tion that America was introduced to
bridge before England, for it is GER
tain that the late Henry I. Barley
explained the game to his friends at
the whist club in New York as early
as the beginning of 1894. probably a
month or two before Lord Brougham
explained it at the Portland
\ little later in the year Barley
had arranged an incomplete little
taLle of rules and conventions of the
game, which he published for private
circulation, and in 1897 the game had
so far grown in favor at the whist
club that it issued the first complete
coce of bridge laws to be published
in this country.
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

T. HE actor whose life warrants the
writing of a biography after the
last curtain has dropped upon his
span of earthly days must necessarily
have been a man of extraordinary
strength OF character, and no one viii
deny that Richard Mansfield was such
man. His disagreeable personality,
his utter vanity, his brutal treatment
of the men and women who played un-
der him are no doubt resultant from
G distorted view Of humankind. There
was no truth existed in the world that
differed with the philosophy of Rich
ard Mansield-for him, and those who
did not bow before him he broke or
utterly ignored.
That he was an inspired actor, even
his kindliest critics do not maintain,
but that he was e man Of scholarly at
tainments, keen intelligence and cul-
ture, even his bitterest enemies were
forced to admit. Whatever there was
of greatness in his character or in
his ultimate success he owed no debt
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

TO any one. When bitter poverty as
sailed him and when actual starva-
tion was the portion of his younger
years he still maintained the theory
that appearance of prosperity arose
superior to any need of stomach and
rather bought a necktie than dinner,
went hungry that he might present a
prosperous appearance to friend and
foe alike.
Beginning as an entertainer in Lon
don he was a dismal failure, and at his
first important engagement, the Ger
man Reed entertainments at ST.
Georges hall, he tainted dead away.
Immediate discharge ensued and with
IL the accusation that he was the most
nervous man that ever drew the breath
of life The real truth was told by
Mansfield in his later years. He had
not tasted food for three long days
What money had been given him had
gone for clothing that he might ap-
pear well groomed. Often he stayed
in bed and slept because he felt the
gnawing pains of hunger when he was
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16
The question of Dl.carding

r HE best method OF discarding Cor
disgorgfng) at bridge has been
a matter OF controversy and jest
ever since the game was invent
ed. The discussion Is still raging all
over the civilized world
Every time we sit down to rubber
with a strange partner we are forced
to go through with that tiresome but
inevitable prologue: Partner. have you
any marked eccentricities in discard
ing? Are you a sane man or are you.
perhaps. . votary OF bizarrerie2 II SO.
will be you please be good enough to
draw me a careful blueprint and dia-
gram OF your system. not forgetting.
Of course. the Maltese cross to show
the spot where you suddenly iy of
from your system and ahght on an
otherT
Imagine inviting a company to din
ner and. before so much as attacking
the caviare. interrOgating all our
hungry guests as follows: Are you a
vegetarian-f so, green or Whitef
DO you Fletcherize your puree3'
'eWill you kindly permit me TO eat
starch foods IL 1 permit you 20 eat
grape-nuISF 'DO you prefer sugar or
maple syrup on your Oysters?
What a bore it is, TO be sure. this
eternal questioning and explaining.
Fortunately the discussion sometimes
leads Us into the pleasant paths of
humOr, as. for instance, in this little
anecdote.
Passenger on a channel turbine: II
say, dear boy. what ought a chap to
eat before making this devilish cross
ing? It's my first trip TO the conti-
nent, you know. A Johnny at the club
tipped to feed up jolly well-bloaters.
mutton chop, ale. apple tart. coffee. a
pipe, and all that sort OF thing Ny
mater, on the other hand. says only
hot water and a wafer OF plasmon
How say yCu-what?'
Fellow passenger: My dear old boy.
it's simply a matter of whether you
prefer to discard from weakness or
strength"
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

In America bridge has made giant
strides 1t has invaded, seemingly
every grade of society, and has, like a
devastating fever, laid low the rich
and the poor, the believer and the
skeptic, the proud and the humble
In Washington the throne of empire
has itself been threatened. President
Roosevelt even went so far as TO say
cruel and dreadful things about the
game.
The fever of bridge in America has
just about reached its height. W1u
there be gradual diminution OF IN
terest in the game? Ping-pong lasted
a year, diabolo two, bicycling nvei
bridge has lasted 15 How much
longer will il endure? 1t is worth
mentioning in this connection that
straight whist has survived two cen
les, only to be jostled, If not totally
displaced, by bridge.
Nearly 200 years ago Lady Mary
wortley Montague wrote to a friend
from Bath, where she had gone TO
take the water-presumabIy Tor
spleen:
Il am bored to death. 1 hear moth
ing but the eternai questions, wv nat
trumps? Who's to play?'
We have heard many people say
that bridge has killed the pleasures OF
society The grace, punctilio and de-
light of it has, they claim, been
swept away by this pestiferous game.
With all the emphasis and efo-
quence of which we are capable we
rise and say: No! Ten thousahd
tires nor
Reader, can you remember the for
NAL and gloomy dinners in New York
about 10 years ago before bridge had
come to bless and brighten them2 DO
you remember the agonizing hours you
spent at them? What terrible things
they were! Twenty ladies in tiara
20 gentlemen in stiff. straight, high
collars Course after course of dis
guised food products; then the gossip
among the ladies and the long, black
cigars among the men; the taxing talk
about stocks golf and politics. Then
most terrible of all-the meeting OF
the sexes in that stiff and impressively
formal drawing room; the chandeliers
blazing, the heat incredible; the bore
dom insupportable; those awful Louis
Quinze chairs those forced tete-a-tetes
and that general atmosphere of con-
straint and formality until the car
riages were called and the light eX-
tinguished. Can you say that bridge
is a social curse after remembering
the torture of those solemn gather
ings?
Now thank heaven the picture has
been changed. Small dinners-eight
or ten-a very few good things to
eat, turnover collars. liquors with the
ladies and bridge and chatter and
laughter and comfortable chairs and
cigarettes, and-best of aIl-go home
when you want to.
This is, to be sure, the point of view
of, a player For nonbridgee we can
imagine nothing more maddening than
the social tyranny of bridge. Our
advice to the man who dimes out in
society and can not or will not play
bridge is-suicidel A few of these
forlorn and melancholy spirits still
grace the dining tables of the rich.
but their lot is wormwood and their
sufferings must be excruciating. They
are pariahs at best-lost souls, super
fnumeraries.
Take bridge away from fashionable
society and it will pecome-what? An
Elsie book without Elsie!
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

brothers arrived in san Francisco with
the reputation OF being rising young
men in the theatrical world. Thatcher
was a dependable member OF the com
pany whose work was of the best
Barton Hill, the only one OF all the
group who is still alive. heard OF the
existence of the picture a few years
ago when he was in Stockton as a
member of Nance O'NeiTs company. He
availed himself OF the first opportunity
Of gazing upon the features OF those
with whom he had been so intimately
associated in the dim past As his
eyes moved slowly from one face to
another the memories of the old davs
came back to him afresh and he lived
over in his mind some of the pleas
ant little incidents that the picture
brought back to him
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

tone of the theater in this city. Bar
rett as an actor is still revered by the
older players of today for his able
legitimate.
Terrence. while man of much abil-
ity, will be remembered better, per-
haps, as the husband of Mrs. Judah. He
was the stage carpenter and property
man of the original stock company
at the old California. John Raymond's
admirable presentation of Colonel Sell
lers' won distinction for him from
San Francisco to New York.
Many there are of the older residents
who remember genial w. A. Mestayer,
a strapping fellow six feet tall, who
married Oracle Riddle. pretty girl
of San Francisco fully a foot less in
height than he The Burroughs
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16
who Is the Worst Possible Bridge
Partner.

4 EFT us go over in our mind all the
bad partners that we have ever
L met The assembly is, naturally. a
large one. Rabelias' celebrated list of
games is as nothing to it. Homer's
catalogue of the ships sinks into pitt
full insignihcanee beside it. For pur-
poses of reference. let us number the
better known types-up to 80. thus:
% The lady who has forgotten her
purse, but will surely send you a check
tomorrow-if she happens to remember.
CD The telephone fiend who really
would not dream of interrupting the
rubber, but "as this is a long distance
call / really ought to see who it is
so you wi3l please excuse me, wont
your
CD The superstitious man who is
constantly calling for fresh. cards, or
changing his seat, or walking three
times around his chair or placing some
magic charm on the table beside him.
"a The ruminati9e animal who
gazes intently at the ceiling when it
is his turn to play as if seeking in
spiration from some invisible Yogi,
or else listening to the call of a tuneful
bird hidden in the branches of a gigan-
tic tree.
CD The whistler. hummer, Taper,
kicker. swayer and drummer.
(6) The hog who pounces into the
seat to the left of the dealer so as to
rob his partner of the first deal.
% The man who will never stop
playing. (This gentleman is a posi-
tive first cousin to the negative gentle
man who always refuses to play more
than one rubber.)
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

Lord Brougham's account of the
event is curious and interesting Soon
after his return to London he went
into the Portland club, which is prob
ably the best known card club in the
world. The Portland at that time
was given over exclusively to old
fashioned whist. His lordship sat down
to play a friendly rubber, and when 1t
came his turn to deal forgot to ex-
pose the trump. At his next deal he
again forgot to turn the last card.
His friends. who had known him for
years, made a mental memorandum
that his lordship was beginning 10
lose his memory. He explained his
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16
give ladies' bzidge party-for prizes.
Judge (soleInnly)--Not guilty.
First Appearance of the Game-Both
Here and in England

~ URING the last few years we have
| been amazed at the spread of
bridge in America. not only in the
principal cities, but in the smallest vii
lagos and towns as well. In the last
six months we have seen listed on
book sellers catalogues over 60 books
treating of the game. This is con-
siderable mass of literature when it
is remembered that 16 years ago the
The San Francisco call., 1910-01-16

r HE best method OF discarding Cor
disgorging) at bridge has been
a matter Of controversy and jest
o,o- .t~-a .ba c-a-,,a ,,,as invent
The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1910-12-21
WEDNESDAY DEC. 81 1910

w. P. Walton in the Lexingto Her
aid has the following to say concerning
the candidacy of McCreary and the
weak effort of Johnson to pull the
wool over the peoples eyes," 1t has
been heralded all over the State in order
to bolster up Hon. Ben Johnson's candi-
dacy for Governor that he got the lar
gest majority ever given in the district.
The vote shows though that although
his majority was greater, he received
over two thousand votes less than he
did two years BEFORE in the same dis
trict, Notwithstanding that this was a
Democratic landslide year" The
paper adds that this was because the
Republican candidate laid down" on a
hint from the leaders of the party that
it would possibly boom Johnson and
make nomination for Governor, which
they so much desire, reality. The
Republicans believe that Johnson will
be the easiest man to defeat and will do
everything to secure his nomination,
knowing it is their only chance to win.
The Democrats will not walk into a
trap, however, but will follow the rule
of finding what their enemy desires and
then do the opposite. What Democracy
wants is candidate for whom no apol
ogies have to be made, one who can
unite all the factions and against whose
record political or otherwise no evil can
be said. Such man has signified his
willingness to accept the nomination
and we believe that he will be Demo
cracy's standard bearer.