Omaha daily bee., 1911-10-01

BE a good boy and learn your
lessons at school and some day you may
be president of the United States" says ~
Did Herr Donnerblitzen to his grandson,
Heinrich, in that far-off village See
what little Gus Rene has done. He went to Amer
lea and became such an artistic genius that King
Ak-Sar- Ben heard of him and now be is the princ-
nal man in the land of Ak-Sar-Ben. Every
year his genius brings people to the kings
festival from all parts of the United States
Make little Gus your example and when you go to
America you won't have TO be senator or trust
magnate to gain fame and fortune"
Little Gus is little no longer. Judging by his
looks he weighs close to 200 pounds, though Gus
hasn't had time this summer to get on the scales
Also those blond Teutonic locks that were the glory
Of Gus youth have passed away and the peak of
his thought dome is a skating rink for saucy flies
while the fringe Of hirsute filaments over his ears
and nape is clipped short.
Not one Of his sparse hairs is gray. lie passed
the fiftieth rlcstone this summer, but he looks
ike youth Of forty. II ole takes job under tho
ruler OF Quivera doesn't have any time either
to worry disspate, and therefore, one has no
reason to get gray, observes Herr RENEE.
Gus works the year around for his majesty
and what he says about not having any time to
idle is pretty nearly true. With building floats,
looking after limitations, designing Kings Highway
entrances and doing multitude of other things
winter, and even then his prayers are short For
a month before the big fall festival he is busy at
the Den day and night. Sunday included, putting
in about sixteen hours a day. Many time he has
threatened to organize union, with the eght-hour
day platform, but the threat always came to
naught, the nearest in his own vocation
is at Kansas City, and the next at St. Louis
and ali were busy that they didn't have time to
meet. Gus tries to rest from his work Sat
,trda nfv an tha ruah lint ha
always get away from the Den even that one even
Ing
Gus Is not periodic in his habits; he is very
regular He smokes cigars every day, drinks
enough hop and barley juice to keep his appetite
keen and misses being hand at the Den
initiation night. For seventeen years, since
Ak-Sar-Ben started he has been absent
from an initiation One night he was injured in
the initiation apparatus but the Monday night
he was on hand again. Nothing short OF typhoid
fever whole army of NapoleOnB would keep
a Rhine man from his post OF duty, says RENEE.
1t might De remarked. in passing. that nothing
but urgent duty would keep Gus away from the
banquet OF hot dog" hard-boed eggs and liquid
refreshments which delights the knights after each
ModAy nights initiation. With "wlenle" sand
wich In one fist and mug in tho other, Gus makes
figure at the banquet less picturesque than
that OF Sir William Kennedy himself, who often
acts IA grand mutt. Gus may not bestride a horse
rs gracefully as II. J. Penfold dance like WIN
Yetter but he is certainly there" with the boys
at the weekly banquet
He is sort OF tyrant in his own realm,
is RENEE. What he says goes or course the gem
eral results he aims at must be o. KID by the
Board of Governors, but in working out the detail
he is given a wide range and allowed to use his
own judgment. When Gus says certain figure
goes on a float It goes when he says a certain
piece OF initiation machinery must be arranged
thus and so, It is thus arranged; when he says
Den empIoye Ia fired. no rs fired. Tho artist who
writes the opery the ''drammer" for the initIa-
ton season must needs consult Gus or no will have
much OF his work for nausht. Gus builds the
stage and tho scenery and the play must be written
completely reversing the usual custom In stage
land The playwright has to find out from Gus
how many characters he can have In his cast
whether the scene Is to be laid at the north pole
or the island of Swat, whether or not the stage
VIII be strong enough TO hold up a horse and a
few other things. and then he is ready to dip his
pen in tho ink, or put new ribbon on his tyne
writer, as the case may be.
II have a beautiful little ditty here" sava
the playwright TO Gus. that want 20 use for the
ehorns at the pOi1t where the prais captain learns