davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

ton. Under the old Morton House J.. M. Hill
still managed the Union Square Theater. One
street further south was the Star, where
Cranes long run in David Lloyd's and Sydney
Rosenfeld's The Senator and other plays was
to occur before the passing Of that historic
house. North Of Union Square, where now
stands the lofty Century Building, was the hos
pitable Everett House, while to the east was
Riccadonna's, famous for spaghetti and the
patronage Of the Salvnis, father and son.
These, with the Academy of Music, then run by
=. G. Gilmore, and Tony Pastors own theater
just behind it, put up their ancient claim for
attention. But the fashionable town was NOV
ing north.
"At Twenty-fifth Street two tides Of easy
promenaders joined in the downtown drift
and returning there divided for the northerly
walks. Life itself had gentle pace, social
intercourse more genial temperature
Friends, meeting stopped to exchange /. word;
men in groups told stories, laughed; policemen
did not ask them to move on. The molds of
form, the glasses of fashion, were John Drew
and Herbert Kelcey, Robert Hiliard and
Berry Wall. Equal centers Of interest and
prompters Of good nature were Barrymore.
Coghlan, Goodwin Hopper, Digby Bell, Dixey,
Charles Stevenson and Frank Carlyle. A GER
tain challenge went with Ted Henley or
Lackaye."
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Della Fox Was Learning
Her Lessons Then

In one hotel where the company suffered
through blizzard it was necessary to break
up the pine sides and backs from the drawers
OF the bureaus and the shelves of the ward
robes to keep fire going in the fireplace in
ane one room having any heating facilities
Inc hotelkeeper was apprised of what had
been done, but, recognizing the necessity mt
III no bill.
This brave company of transformers. in
spite OF anassing book of press notices which
Mr. THOMAS says almost any New York mana
ger would have envied, finally gave up the
struggle Mr.. Thomas went to ST. Louis and
engaged in newspaper reporting on .sThe POST
plspateh." he votes yes in the recently dis
close to life. He SAYS:
When younger men have asked me what
70 do to tit themselves TO write plays have
advlsed three pursuits: The study Of good modA
esn plays both on the stage and printed. Az
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Buck Mcneil Formerly
Cruised in a CAB

Buck Mcneil has always loved the EasE
front. but he has not always been exsdl1
part of it. For a number of years be ssf
cab driver. In those days he was Ref ana
not Buck. He cruised the city's streets as "
independent cabby, but finally he got tarea q
it and SO did his horse. The horse wen
the country and Buck went to the Battery;
Had Buck Mcneil established himself alM
Battery at the start and not bothered sMs
hacking he'd have enough medals 70 take ~
of his country relatives and all his frienos. =
it is, he has half dozen, and II persons W.
bidly inclined do not entirely boycott the re
terry seawall, there's no telling just how Asaas
he will have before he quits. One medal tnas' s'ss
Neil does want--and one that his friends aF,
sist that he should have had long ages sps
Carnegie medal. He has yet to recesys slss
despite the factkthat he has been honorea e
the Humane Society, the Lifesaving Sesss'
the State Comptroller and by boatneE at ~ y
Battery. 1t is the medal given hia py e
Battery associates that Mcneil perhaps pias'
most highly. This was presented oniy
Gently and was purchased by fund u0'1
had many contributors.
Two OF the thirty-fve persons saved ies
the bay by Buck Mcneil were dragged 7ys
beneath the paddle wheel Of the steamer VI',
in 1914. There was no suicide about tnss L.
mate and a deckhand had tumbled IRON fra sss
boat, and when they were seen to so dexasss us.
meath the wheel number of persons wispY.
ing the accident felt that hope of saving nss
was lost. The paddle wheel was in rnoss.s,
surely they didn't have chance. But an. y.
Mcneil, ex-cabman, didn't think thai IS, !.
didn't think anything save that it was Rlss.e /.
somebody to jump in after them and sas2 q. &
was that somebody. He jumped. Three &C. s,s
bobbed out of the water few seconds s'.sS rs
Mcneil had plunged in. Mcneil had cons ,s rs 4
with the pair, holding one in each arm Vss sss q
grip of steel. The trio were lifted abcsfs sss'
Orient, and Mcneil then did his cusloe''1sss
vanishing stunt.
The Battery boatman doesn't kneMSJ
when he learned to swim--or how. He
remember when he couldn't swim. Hes Isl
tive New Yorker. lives in Canal Stress 81 II,
has wife and nine children, He hss s.s' 3.
been at sea or in politics, hut knows lo, ssss
them both. sSs'
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Wher, Life is, New York
Went a Gentler Pace

Mr.. Thomas was engaged as playwright ex-
traordinary' by A. M. Palmer, but one or two
failures prompted the manager to announce
that the engagement was ended One Thomas
play remained to be Observation-Disclosures"
lin which the manager had lost faith But
it proved to be a success and brought other
offers to the playwright, among them one from
Nat Goodwin, for whom "In Mizzoura" was
written.
list of Mr.. Thomas's plays, printed at the
close of his book of delightful "reminiscences,
shows an astounding number Of successes. In
fact, he did not seem to realize what failure
meant, as plays which were not successes when
first produced were rewritten in later years
and their central ideas were successfully car
ried to the public. A glance at this list will
be sufficient of itself to show how thoroughly
Mr.. Thomas earned the title of dramatic ar
bitter which he now holds.
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
WV r EST is East-just' east Of Madison
" Avenue, New York City. Not, the
passers-by reflect as they gaze at

WN Avenue, New York City. Not, the
passers-by reflect, as they gaze at
the bronco-busting and steer-bull-
dogging posters festooning the outer pillars
and crannies of Madison Square Garden, not
the West of sugar beets, tire factories. auto
tourists and canvas water bags, but of the old
West.
But that isn't quite right 1t is the not-so-
old West which has moved into Madison
Square Garden. 1t is rodeo outfit up to
the best standard of wooly fiction; the side
rooms of the Garden are filled with tanned
and booted men who would have delighted
the eye of q roundup foreman of the 'SOs.
and the West Sixtieth Street stoclyards are
filled with as good cow ponies as any. There
are new something's which would have puzzled
the oldtimer, however, like slender girls who
can stay aboard broncho as well as a man
and Brahma steers instead of Texas longhorns.
The history-at least, if the phrase may be
concocted, the fictional history-of the cattle
country might have been written differently
if the Brahma steer had been known in the
days before the fence. The red-blooded cow
boy, instead Of having to depend upon red
might have got his thrills as he worked For
these relatively new-fangled steers are the
meanest things that ever went into pack
ing plant to make devled ham
Mean animals are nothing new to Madison
Square Garden. Occasionally the prize fight
ers get little too rough and circus brutes
galore have snarled and swished their tails at
cracking whips. But they have all been ham,
pered in their activities by cages; even the
prize fighters have been bounded by squared
off ropes. In the rodeo which is scheduled to
run until November 10 the Brahma steers will
have the whole arena devoted to their enthus
iastic devilment. Only on Armistice Day, No
vember Ii, will the particular brand of devil
ment be known.
Just cattle" The phrase applied, for in
stance, to the throng walking up the gang
way from the B. r. T. platforms to Times
Square. is intended to convey thought Of un-
reasoning docility. The phrase was first ap
pied before the Brahma strain of cattle came
along, with its unreasonable hostility.
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

The one cigar that got came from nss
who looked me up long time after the ate
of the rescue. Since I've been at the BstsY
it's been the men and not women who one,
down on that suicide business. Only ets Fua.
an in the entire thirty-five, as far as Isaass.
member. And one girl
Buck McNeiPs rescues have been made Il
broiling summer and freezing winter. JJs
or January-it's made no difference to hin
He has never suffered any i'll effects, as al
as he knows, from a plunge into the icy Ia!
III midwinter. Only the inconvenience Of pee
ing off wet clothes, and he's done that so 0fta
he doesn't mind it. The last rescue that be
made was in June. A man, broke, despoadert
and in i'll health, plunged overheard when BE-
thought Buck Mcneil wasn't looking Bu&f
wasn't, but somebody else was and that wns,
body yelled "Man overboard!" and in aaulnx:
instant the massive figure of the Battery dos.
master was seen to disappear over the strlsfs
piece. Five or six strong, swift strokes as
Buck was beside his man. The would-be q
eide had no chance then. He was ch;la g
the rescuer's arms--a rescuer apparently y
handicapped by heavy clothing and tobsa
4
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
By JOHN A. CHAPMAN

Out in Cheyenne, Wyo., where the first
Wild West contests were held twenty-six wears
ago, Brahnla steers are looked upon to supply
some excitement and comedy. In the arena
there two men with movie camera and one
with press camera were awaiting the next
bucking horse riding number at a Frontier
Days celebration, when a Brahma steer
kicked the Stats out of a chute where it had
been imprisoned and was thus confronted
with freedom-and the three photographers.
One of them was wise. He counseIed his
companion: Nov, we'll both stand by the t1.i
pod and just before he hits you jump one way
and I'll jump the other" The two movie men
did their scene without rehearsal. and the
steer careened on with pieces of tripod and
camera and curlicues of film decorating it's
person. Photographer No. 3 was in splendid
action, galloping for the nearest fence. The
stands roared with laughter, and those who
knew the Brahma strain feared for No. SIS
life. He saved his life, unwittingly, and put
an artistic finish on one of the funniest scenes
the crowd had seen, by stumbling prodigiously.
The steer went on over him, and did not
charge back.
fed Sublett, who is one of the features at
tne Garden show and whose funny farmer
makeup and zebra striped mule are known
IN every town where Wild West show is nut
on, is an authority on the bad manners Of the
Brahnla steer. Sublett rides 'en, because thew
are SO energetic in the way they buck him
Off that he can fall in funnier ways than he
can from Mexican steer.
They're born killers" says Red. "Why. If
Ia th'ow my hat in front Of one Of 'em first
thing he'd do is jump on it," But Red
wouldn't, because his sombrero costs as much
as a months rent on high class Bronx apart
ment They get so darn mad they can't see
straight, though, SO it's easy to dodge 'em.o
The Brahrna steers used in rodeos are not
pure bred The original stock is from India.
and Texas border cattle men have found that
cross between the Brahma and the ordinary
Mexican steer, which has replaced The long
horn, is an ideal range animal, because 1t il
immune to many border diseases. It's hide Is
thick and resists the attack of ticks. which
often necessitate dipping less hardy animals.
1t is handsome animal, presenting smoother
and more even-colored appearance than the
Mexican steer.
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

ing professionally for while; reporting on
metropolitan newspaper In fact, Mr.. Thomas
says he dragged much OF the material for
sixty plays out of his journalistic experiences.
Regarding the financial rewards Of jour-
nalism, Mr.. Thomas is not SO enthusiastic. He
points out that he wrote a one-act play for a
Sunday newspaper. Tt was not used, but
later the editor dug it UP and sent it to Mr..
Thomas. He sold it to Maurice Barrymore,
who used it several seasons. The author real
lied altogether something like $4,000 from
this brief sketch, which he had written as
part of the days journalistic work. But
Sunday editors are no more inclined to ac-
cept one-act plays for publication than they
were then, so the present crop Of playwrights
seems to be safe.
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

III one OF the Vokes comedies Fred had a scene
IN which he endeavored to carve a tough fowl
lhls was an old stunt with him, thoroughly
elaborated and filled with all manner of tricks
Irom shooting the resisting bird into lady's
lap to pursuing it with his knife up and down
the leg OF the table, where he led it with his
fork. AS there was dinner scene in our piece
we resolved to introduce that foolerv. with
which was perfectly familiar Three or four
other interpretations convinced us that we could
pad up the evening to something like the re-
quired length. We cued in these few turns and
got ready to leave town, a very apprehensiye
bunch of Transformers
IN week Mr.. Thomas says they were Civ
ing smooth performance of what the people
calied good show" Also they were meet
ing with sufficient success to keep them going
on lhey had to put up with poor accommo-
datIons in hotels and theaters. At Muscatine
Iowa, the janitor stopped the show at an ex
citing moment of "Editha's Burglar while he
trimmed one of the. coal-oil lamps which
hghted the stage. Evidently such interrup
tions were common, as there was neither
laugh nor protest from the audience when the
man trimmed the lamp carefully and then
said: Go on"
After the company had been on the road a
while it was Joined by the late William G.
Smythe, afterward manager and producer and
David Belasco's booking agent.
In that day there was no central BOOKING
authority in New York. Each theater mana
ger booked his own attractions by letter or
wire. Ihe transformers went on, receiving
good notices from some Of the best critics in
the Middle West at that time, for a clean.
wen acted show. One Of the conditions gov
ernlng Della Fox's presence was that she was
TO carry her schoolbooks and her studies were
not to be abandoned. The role of teacher
1eil TO Mr. Thomas. and he says:
AS we weren't paying salaries with anv
regularity and as her money went home any
way, the usual theater fine for breach of
discipline meant nothing, but to fine her one
extra lesson was effective.
1T was not always possible to get first
class trains. On more than one trip we had
TO be content for short jump with the com
pany huddled in with the trainmen in their
caboose One awkward booking forced us
into that kind of travel overnight. We
reached our hotel early in the morning. Della
walked to the hotel desk. The clerk, noticing
her disheveled appearance, said: What's the
matter, kid?'
Della answered: I've been i'm a calaboose
all night
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Out With Julia MarIoIue,
"A Young Actress

Mr.. Thomas became dramatic critic of q
Kansas City weekly which failed. Then at
thfrty-one he found himself ain $40 Job to
count tickets for young actress on her first
trip as a star" That young actress was Julia
Marlowe, whose gifts Mr.. Thomas is most
lavish in praising. It was at his suggestion
that the word american" was used in her
advertising, instead of excellent" "distin-
guished" and other adjectives which her man
ayers were considering for posters they were
about to have printed. After several months
with Miss MarloWes company Mr.. Thomas
walked out" on account of difficulty with
the manager, and was hired as press agent for
Bishop, the mind reader, who suddenly died.
While he was out Of work in New York Mr.
Thomas met Smythe his fellow barnstormer
and was told of a chance to write the "burg-
lar" sketch into a four-act play for Maurice
Barrymore. This play proved to be success
and was played for ten years-but the author
received only $40 week royalties for it,
whereas it should have brought him fortune
However, it served to establish him as play
wright, and he settled in New York and went
seriously at the work which he had always had
in mind. Of New York at that time he says:
8 In 1889 Madison Square had Just won from
Union Square it's claim to be the theatrical
center. 1t was the smart and modern SPOT,
although many actors of the comic page, fur
trimmed intensity still haunted the older
Rialto. And at Fourteenth Street there was
still considerable theatrical power and vibra-
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Lef's Write a Play and
Take It on the Road"
, NE of the things that the motion pic
ture has done is to put an end to the
transforming Legitimate" company.

Under the conditions imposed by the movies
it will no longer be possible for a few talented
but unrecognized young persons to get together
and say, Lets write play and take it on the
road Yet that is what Mr.. Thomas and some
stage companions did in the Middle West in
1883, when the Dickson Sketch Club came
into being. The venture was frankly expert
mental. Among those who took part in it. be-
sides Mr.. Thomas, were Edgar Smith, later
prominent as playwright, who was then
working 'very rebelliously" in his fathers gas
fixture establishment in st. Louis. Della Fox,
who was the professional infant" around
Popes Theater. in st. Louis, was engaged to
play the part of the child in MIR. Thomas's
sketch, "Editha's Burglar" She later was
light-opera prima donna with the Comlev
Burton Opera Company AID was featured still
later with De Wolf Hopper, and her "Della
Fox curl' in the middle of the forehead became
the fashion among the what would now be
termed "1appers."
Frank David, drummer who also had mi
metlc talent, was the principal comic Viii
liam Sullivan, errand boy, usher and bill
poster. was second comedian. Smith and
Thomas set about to write comedy contain
ing songs and dances that would carry the
evening with "Editha's Burglar" But the first
performance showed that it lacked a great
deal.
After the play we knew enough of the the
ater to call the company together again for re-
hearsal," writes Thomas. Edgar Smith and I
met in the morning for heroic work. While
merely triaing and waiting about at odd mo-
rneiitz during weeks Of preparation it had been
the occasional practice of David, Smith, Sulli-
van and myself to get together and sing what
were known as barber shops quatrains from
the popular songs, with very close harmony at
effective points, all marked out and reh4arsed
hy David. We would do one or two Of these.
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
During the that Buck Mcneil
Battery he has made ##
By WARD MOREHoUsE

OR eleven years persons who have gone
H to the Battery sea wall to commit sui
IL eide have generally come away wet and
repentant and dimly aware that they
were yanked out at the going-down-for-the
third-time instant by some one with long and
powerful arms and shoulders enormously
broad
Because of the presence at the tip Of Man
haitian Island of long armed and powerfully
built individual, who is now almost as much
of fixture at The spot rs the squat Barge
Office Building itself, seIf-destruction by means
of a plunge over the sea wall into the bay is
considered by Battery frequenters as being
next to impossible.
There are certain places on this island of the
lean and hungry look-many, in fact-to which
one might go to write a farewell note and then
take leap into the water secure in the knowl-
edge that there'd be no meddlesome person
about to upset ones plans. The odds would be
in your favor most anywhere along the East
River OF the North River. But at the Battery
they just won't put up with that sort of thing
That is, Buck" Mcneil won't, and Buck" Nc
Neil is the owner cf the massive shoulders and
powerful arms
Now this lifesaving business isn't 'sBuck"
McNeils regular job. He is not in the employ
of some anti-suicide society. With him the
trick of dragging drenched and strangling hui
man beings out of New York Bay is merely
side line "Buck' is Civil Service employee;
his job is that of boatman. His unofficial
title is that of Dockmaster
During the eleven years that Buck Mcneil
has been jumping Notwithstanding with
coat and shoes on and watch and keys in his
pockets-he has made thirty-five rescues For
. these thirty-fve rescues his compensation has
been as follows: One cigar, thanks on five
occasions, $40 and several medals AS YOU see.
the pay isn't so good. But Mcneil didn't take
up the lifesaving job with any secret notion
that it would be good. If he had he'd have
dropped the thing long ago. A man of means
accidentally falling overheard and being hauled
TO safety in good time, might, conceivably, dig
deep into his pockets and handsomely reward
rescuer: but it's not that way with would
be suicides. The majority Of those rescued by
Mcneil in eleven years have been persons with
out funds-persons whose financial straits, as
much as anything else, drove them to a lean
over the sea WALL
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Here's a Sure Cure
For Suicide Blues

When rescued persons have been in q condi
ton to speak after being hauled out they have
generally sputtered something about being
glad they were saved, and further incoherent
something about being determined to buck up
and start life all over again. A bath in the
bay, with Buck Mcneil ready to hop overheard
at the opportune moment, is sure cure for
the suicide blues.
They're usually mighty glad they didn't
go through with it" said Buck. aThey have
notion, guess, that If they are kept from
going Through with it, and when they were
really in earnest about it, they had better just
go ahead and let things take care Of them
selves. When mans dragged out of the
bay and is full Of water and an ambulance
gong is Changing and crowd is pressing close
round him he isn't In any mood to try to find
out who It was that pulled him out. Two or
three times, however, I've had fellows come
up to me five or six years later and give me d
shake Of the hand and say, Glad to meet you;
been meaning to come and see you for long
time--you saved my life once. Thought mgy-
be you'd remember it,
New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

Thsater in 1885 May yIrvinuu the maid
BY ARTHUR CHAPMAN

~ NE of the things that the motion pic
q ture has done is to put an end to the
- transforming 'legitimate' company
By so doing it has taken most pic
turesque and colorful segment out of Ameri-
can life, as one will realize fully if he reads
Augustus Thomas's '"rhe Print of Ny Remen1-
brance.''
Much Of Mr.. Thonass book deals with his
first dabbling in theatrical affairs and with
Life on the road in small company, most
of the members of which became famous in
after years--Mr. Thomas the most famous of
all AS dean and arbiter of the American
drama Mr.. Thomas writes in reminiscent vein,
and subtitle to his book might be s'It Never
Can Happen Again. for it is doubted, in view
of the havoc played by the movies" in one
night stand territory, if any such material will
again offer itself to any actor whose memory
is retentive and whose literary style is as
graceful as Mr.. Thomas's proves to be. Rem
iniscepce Of stage deans in the future no doubt
will be confined to adventures on the lots Of
Hollywood or son location for motion-pic-
ture companies. Perhaps such "reminiscences
will have the charm Of the stories of barn
stornaing days and of the golden era of le.
gitimate productions in New York, of which
Mr. Thomas writes, but one is inclined to be
-heretical on that question at the outset.
Mountain advocate., 1922-12-08
VICTIM OF HUNTING ACCIDENT

The first serious hunting accident
of the season in this section. occurr-
ed last Wednesday afternoon, when
T. Croley, age 21, was probably
fatally injured, by the accidental
discharge of a shotgun in the hands
of his companion, Mike Lay. Young
Croley is the son Of w. M. Croley
and resides about miles West of
Williamsburg.
The accident occurred late in the
afternoon, and owing to difficulty in
securing medical assistance, lit is
feared that /. Croley's chance for re-
coyery is slight. He was taken to
Knoxville Thursday afternoon, by
DR.. l.. B. Croley, and placed in a
hospital, where an attempt will be
made to remove the shots from his
wounds. Up to the time of our going
to press. reports were to the effect
that his condition was critical, with
little hope entertained for his recov-
cry. Whitley Republican