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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1908)
4 41 H & By Homes E. Thomas. FOR a city far from New York, the American center of things the atrical, Portland is well favored In the standard of its playhouses and the attractions they present. For many years the Pacific Coast had diffi culty obtaining high-class plays, but the enterprising managers who look after the interests of Portland theaters and those of other Coaa,t cities have been untiring in their efforts to bring to the Far West creditable productions and leading artists, fith the result that local theatergoers are given the op portunity to s"e the best road com panies and stock organizations that would reflect credit on any city. Portland's theaters have kept pace well with the industrial progress and growth in population of the city. Year by year there has been marked im provement in the offerings of the local showshops and the present season has been no exception in this respect. The rtandard of attractions this year has been high and the. schedules arranged by the various managers for the re- nalning months promise even better things before the season's close. The Heillg Theater, at Fourteenth and Washington streets, the Marquam Grand on Morrison, between Sixth and Seventh, and the Empire, at Twelfth and Morrison, are the Portland homes of traveling organizations. Stock com panies are maintained at the Baker, Thlid and Yamhill, and Star, Park and Washington, while vaudeville is the offering at the Grand, Park and Wash ington, and Fantages, Fourth and Stark. The Hcilig Theater is a member of the Northwest Theatrical Association, which is the largest organization of the kind west of the Mississippi River, controlling SO houses. Calvin Helllg, president of the association, is manager of the Heilig Theater, and W. T. Pangle is resident manager. Both men are pioneers of theatrical business in Tortland and have done much to bring to this city the best attractions. The chief Klaw & Erllnger attrac tions are presented at the Heilig. Of particular merit is a series of musical cfTerings, several of which have been Riven and others dated at intervals during the remainder of the season. Among the engagements for the re mainder of the season, which will last until June, are the following: James T. Powers in "'The Blue Moon," Willie Collier, Grace George, DeWolf Hopper, Frank Ianlels, Francis Wilson, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, John lrew, Mc Intyre & Heath In "The Ham Tree." "The Man of the Hour," and probably "The Merry Widow." Among the re maining musical attractions are Kubelik. Wilherspoon, Madam Homer, Madam Blauvelt. Paderewski , and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Musical comedy has neld the boards during the greater part of the past six months at the Marquam Grand, which has enjoyed a most prosperous season. The San Francisco Opera Company, which opened the house last Summer, wa3 followed by the California Opera Company, and that in turn by another rngngement of the San Franciscans. S. Morton Colin, manager of the Marquam, and Charles N. Ryan, assistant man ager, are to be complimented on their choice of these companies, and it is with regret that local theater-goers see the San Franciscans return to the South. Throughout the remainder of this season the Marquam will share with the Helllg the Klaw & Erllnger attrac tions, the more popular priced com panies playing at the latter house. "Arizona," the present attraction, will be followed in turn by the following engagements: "The Passion Play," Florence Roberts, "Way Down East," Devil's Auction." "The Liehtnlng Con ductor." and many o-thor good plavs. Thurc is little that can be said about if t Ml? 1 I I K .. Ml ailllMIIMH lfOHUMJJMI I WtaWMl.al.aM.MMBiffffWPfWMa, J ptj " yg(fiW!Big"g'S tJ 1'' ' 3 . . 4i : 8 ? H f IF : - 4 - Him s the Baker Stock Company that peopl of Portland, or the entire Northwest, for that matter, do not already know. It Is a fixed Portland Institution, and one of which this city may well be proud, for it compares favorably with any stock company in the United States, and occupies an enviable posi tion in a class which can almost be counted on tho fingers of the two hands. The members of the present com pany are Marion Barney, leading woman; Austtn Webb, leading man; Louise Kent, second woman; Robert Homans, heavy man; Donald Bowles, leading juveniles; Maribel Seymour, Ingenue; Mina Crollus Gleason and William Gleason, characters; Howard Russell, James Gleason, Earl Dwire, Ronald Bradbury,- Charles Lewis, Fay Bainter, Elsie Garrett and Mamie Has lam; stage director, William Dills. Among the plays to be produced in the near future are "Soldiers of For tune." "Zaza," "The Mills of the Gods," Hoyt's ' "A Milk White Flag." "The Climbers." "David Harum," "Charley's Aunt," "GrauRtark," Hoyt's "A Bunch of Keys." "Raffles." "The Eternal Cfty," "When We Were Twenty-One," and many others numbered among the greatest of modern productions. The Empire is another of the George L. Baker interests, and has for the past three years been devoted almost entirely to the famous Stalr-Havlln circuit of Eastern melodramatic road companies, playing week stands all the time during the regular season. This house is under personal direction of Milton Seaman., who business manager for all the Baker interests. A few of the attractions atill to be seen at the Empire this season are Arthur W. Atsten's "At the Old Cross Roads," "A Desperate Chance," "Big Hearted Jim, "As Told In the Hills." "Peck's Bad Boy." "Lost in New York," "A Man's Broken Promise." "A Royal Slave," "No Mother to Guide Her,'' "Sis in New York," "What Women Will Do," and many others mostly new. The French Stock Company at the Star Theater has grown very rapidly in pub..c favor and Its productions at popular prices, are of exceptional merit. R. E. French, manager of the Star,' has been fortunate both in the selection of plays and the personnel of his company, and has a good list In store for the remainder of the season. Crowded houses are the rule each night at the Staa. Lovers of vaudeville have had no com plaint to make of the bills put on at the Grand and Pantages. The Sullivan & Considlne circuit includes the Grand and has brought West some of the most cost ly and best vaudeville acts on the Ameri can stage. Pantages, managed- by J. A. Johnson, is a member of the Pantages cir cuit wbioh has come to stand for high merit in vaudeville affairs of the Wist, THE JtORXIXG OREGOXIAN, WEDNESDAY, mm?; mmdWml II mil v.' 4tt.:-.'.u ,u ... m -mm ' 3Sr I "'11 2 IjtesLisviiiani' xj; f The patronage of both vaudeville theaters has been limited only by their seating ac commodations., J. H. Brickson, manager of the Grand, has announced that within the next few months that theater will become a mem PORTLAND'S PUBLIC SPIRIT By E. C. CUtnrr, Secretary Chamber of Commerce. r F contributing money to commend able enterprises at home and help ing those overtaken by disaster In other localities, is an indication of pub lic spirit, no city in the United States can equal the record of Portland. Dur ing the year 1906 there was subscribed for the Young Men's and Young Wom en's Christian Association building $350,000; for the Commercial Club building, $350,000; for the relief of the sufferers In the San Francisco lire, $262,000; for the relief from sufferers from famine in Japan, $4800. and many minor sums a total of nearly $1,000, 000. This large sum of money was subscribed following the exposition jear, which, ia itself, was a great show nayi i ll wcijck5 .ft. f I PI ber of the Orpheum circuit. It is ex pected that these acts will come to Port land about April 1. and they will be a distinct gain to vaudeville patrons in this city. There is need in Portland for a theater ing of public spirit and which called for nearly $500,000 in contributions, and was a success from every point of view. Of the exposition fund $350,000 . was raised in 48 hours. Portland has taxed itself, without complaint, to make necessary improve ments in the Columbia River that should have been made by the General Government, having expended over $2, 000,000 for this purpose and this amount to help a territory extending into three states and improving a water highway that Is second in Importance in the entire United States, and of great national importance as well. While complaining at the tardiness of the General Government the public spirit was such that this matter was taken hold of, and acted on, which f If H If ill l?tX if ill !7l .1 JANUARY 1, 1908. Imi ,. v!cm r rfn f ----- - i l 'yt' sf- ri 0 larger than any of the present houses. This demand has been evidenced for sev eral years and it is probable that it will soon be supplied. When the new theater comes It will house the Klaw & Erlinger plays now showing at the Heilig. OFTEN PROVED shows a great difference between public spirit and the lack of It that is often shown by complaining and not acting. Over $100,000 has just been sub scribed for a Country Club " to raise the standard of excellence of horses and cattle, and an equal sum is now being canvassed tor, and will undoubt edly oe suoscnueu. lui & nuet .mu . . which, in a few years, will become as noted as the Mardl Gras at New Or- leans, for Portland has the finest roses In the world, and a natural setting be yond comparison for any kind of fes tival or exposition. During all of this time Portland has liberally supported the Chamber of Commerce, the exploitation department of the Commercial Club, the Board of Trade, the Manufacturers' Association and Sfveral Kast Side clubs, to the ex tent that they have all thrived and Alii I 3S3m have done a large amount of excellent and necessary work for the city. From the standpoint of an officer of a com mercial organization, Portland's public spirit cannot be called into question. The wonder is that with so many organizations, all having the same end in view, they get such loyal support. It ia certainly a strong tribute to Port land's -public spirit. I cannot speak for the other organi zations regarding the amounts that have been spent by them, but during the year 1906 the Chamber of Com merce spent for transportation mat ters alono nearly $14,000, not a dollar of which was taken from the dues of the Chamber, but was contributed by GROWTH PORTLAND SCHOOLS By I. N. FlelBchiier, Member Portland Board ( of Education. THB most noticeable feature of the growth of school population during the past year is the remarkable in crease in attendance at the Highland and Arleta schools. Notwithstanding the erec tion of an eight-room building at Vernon, and the transfer of many pupils to Irvlngton, Woodlawn and Williams ave nue, the Highland school is again crowded beyond its capacity, and meas ures must be taken for its further relief. Either an eight-room addition must be made to Vernon, or, what seems more probable, a site must be found for a new building somewhere to the south of Highland. At Arleta the number of teachers has increased to 16, and since there are . at this point only ten regular schoolrooms, it seems imperative that an eight-room addition he erected. At Sellwood the. increase in population has been steady, and six additional schoolrooms will be needed. It has been suggested by citizens of that neighbor hood that a small building be erected a few blocks from the existing building. It does not seem good policy to scatter small buildings withct grounds all over the city. Such lack of concentration is not economical, and does not permit of the best classification and supervision. While we shall relieve the congestion at Sell wood, our measures will probably take a different direction from that suggested. All the Albina schools are full. Room for further growth will be provided by finishing the Shaver school. This will give six additional rooms, and will take care of the situation for another year. The Board had expected to construct the new Williams-avenue building out of the proceeds of the sale of the Russell-street property, but as yet no satisfactory offer has been made for the purchase of that property. - Because of the deplorable condition of the old Peninsula school, that structure will be demolished and a new building erected on its site. Arrangements have also been made for the erection of a new four-room building at Richmond. This will afford some relief to the Glencoe and Sunnyside schools and postpone the necessity of building In ( tnose neighborhoods At both Woodlawn and Ockley Green, all the rooms are occupied, but none of them are overcrowded. It Is believed, therefore, that present facilities in those neighborhoods will be adequate for an other year. Last year the Board purchased In North Albina a three-acre site upon which to erect, at some future time, a hiKh school for the northeastern section of the city. It would seem that the time Portland's public-spirited business men. The entire amount received for dues, amounting to nearly $16,000 more, is all spent In the regular work of the . Chamber, and still more is subscribed for maintaining a permanent exhibit, printing books, etc. Portland supported the National Riv ers and Harbors Congress more liberal ly than any other two cities of the country put together, and as an ap preciation of this, very liberal sup port J. F. Ellison, secretary of that congress, writes: 'To no organization In the entire United States Is the Na tional Rivers and Harbors Congress moro Indebted for consistent nd loyal support than to the Portland Chamber of Commerce, and It gives me very great pleasure to bear truthful testi mony to the fact." And to this congress is due the credit for the $5,ODO,000 annual appropriation for rivers and harbors which will be come a Governmental policy. There are matters which upon first glance do not seem to show the proper . public spirit, such as the condition of our streets, but a Western city grow ing at an unprecedented rate, with every thoroughfare littered with build ing material Incident to such growth, can hardly be expected to keep Its streets in the condition of the older settled, slow growing cities of the East. And it Is better to have littered streets and healthy rapid growth than im maculate streets and stagnation. With the public spirit that Portland has shown in other things, this will un doubtedly take care of itself at the proper time, and our streets will be In keeping with the city in other re spects. The spirit is here, and it will soon show Itself In the demand for perfect streets, more parks and tine drives, to be consistent with the spirit shown by the individuals in the fine architecture of their buildings, both public and private, and the beauty of their grounds. Portland's public library Is one to be proud of, its free museum is an excellent one. There will also be publio docks in the near future, and a very large sum has been expended to secure the best water on earth, when any thing less thaif great public spirit would have taken the water at our doors, which is much better than the average city gets. A city has an individuality as much as, if not more than, a person, s and a comparison in any one particular means nothing, but, taking the good and bad together, there is not a city in the United States, even in the world, that can show the public spirit shown by Portland, as-instanced by the facts mentioned, which are but a few of the many. has arrived when provision should be made for such a building. Our present high schools will accommodate comfort ably about 1800 pupils. After the Feb ruary promotions they will probably con tain more than that number, and will be somewhat crowded. If a new building is now authorized. It will probably not be ready for use until September, 1909, by which time the need for it will be urgent. When the East High School was opened a year and a half ago it was thought that it would meet all needs for several years to come. So rapidly has the school popu lation been growing, however, that in this as in other instances, the Board of Education has erected buildings only to find additional accommodations needed as soon as they are completed. CITTS SECRET ORDERS By A. I- Barbur. WITH a total membership of more than 26,030. fraternal societies In Portland are prosperous and their enrollment Is constantly Increas ing, riaviivaujr nu uiucia ui tance are representee by local lodges. ' The Woodmen of the World, with 500 member;, has the largest enroll ment. The United Artisans rank sec ond, and other orders are represented as follows: Maccabees, 2200; Inde pendent Order of Oddfellows, 2000; Ancient Order of United Workmen, 2003; Women of Woodcraft, 2000: Masons, J900; Modern Woodmen of America. 1500; Knights and Ladles of Security, 1500: Benevolent and Pro tective Order of Elks, 250; Knights of Pythias, 1200; Royal Arcanum, 1000; Red Men. 500; Foresters, S50. The Eagles, Owls and several other orders have lodges, the membership figures of which are not available. The various orders own property with an approxi mate valuation of $1,350,000. The Mason? are the richest, their holdings fimfmntinir to about SfiOO.OdO. Thpv possess two very beautiful buildings the Masonic Temple, just completed, at West Park and Yamhill streets, and tho Scottish Rite Cathedral at Morrison and Lownsdale streets. The Masons also own their old temple at Third and Alder streets and a new structure on the East Side. . The Elks have one of the finest club houses in the West at Seventh and Stark streets. It is valued at $250,000. The Oddfellows hold property valued al $175,003; the Woodmen of the World, $145,000; tho Women of Woodcraft, $100,000, and the Knights of Pythias, $30,oOU.