The Oregon daily journal., December 13, 1908, Page 31, Image 31

THE
CHORUS
GIRL LIFE
FULL
OF
Has Studiecl the v Pretty Stagelings - and t Knows - of ' Wtat : She Speaks Bekind the -Vings, in the Vaudeville tike
Not a Pat Way V Roses
Says - Rose Stakl WKo
'First Production" Impressions of 'a "Leading : Lady '
ACTION
. .i By Rose Stahl.-:
WAS I ever a chorus grlrl? Never!
And I wai never In' vaudeville
until "The Chorus- Lady" was
transferred'; from a sketcrt tn
a magazine to a one' act play.
' I took it out on the continuous and then
to London, and It made such a hit that
it was changed a bit, made into a four
act drama and here we are.
While it is true that I never filled the
place of a chorus girl myself aside from
the fact that Patricia O'Brien is a good
photograph, of this particular womau
of the stage. I am tremendously fa
miliar with the chorus girl's life, from
the girl who gets 16 per and lives on
It, to the chorus queen, who, apparently
on the same income, rides in auto
mobiles. Funny and Pathetic.
There are lota of Patricias strug
gling, plucky, spunky, straight and good
" hearted. They are funny, but they are
pathetic, too. and they have a hard life.
I studied the ."chorus lady" on and off
the stage for years. It's a sight for
the gods and the humorist to see her at
a lunch counter on the road. She falls
off the train and rushes into the sta
tion to get a sandwich and a glass of
milk, or a doughnut and a piece of pie.
She gives her order as King Richard
might call for his horse, or Cleopatra
her barge, and heaven help the poor at
tendants If they do notify to do her bid
ding. She Is disdainful of her food and
scathing in her comments on the ser
vice. She pays her check with the alv
of an injured queen and stalks out.
leaving the lunchroom menials under
the Impression that they have failed to
please Mme. Duse or Sarah Bernhardt.
Then she goes back to the train and
will sit up half the night sewing frills
on her costumes, to make a brace show
ing on the opening night in the next
town, and then after a night of work,
she . trudges out of the station In the
chilly dawn to search for a lodging.
Must Save Earnings.
These girls have a long, idle summer
to get through" on their savings of the
winter, and many of them, like Patricia,
have a younger sister to look after or a
mother at home to help and they man
age somehow to do it. And most of
them run straight and turn down the
Johnnies who think, like the villain In
the play, that they can pay for tho
havoc they cause.
Where does the chorus girl comfi
from, and what becomes of her? Why
not ask. what becomes of the pins? She
comes from the country, as a rule. The
mirror .ever the washstand in her farm
house bedroom, she thinks, has told her
that the country Is no place for her, so
she packs her carpetbag, buys some
high heels and a big hat, and comes to
town to show New York what real
youth and beauty are. Once in a while
a girl may start with the ambition to
become a singer or an actress, but as ii
rule, the country girl seeks the chorus
because it is easier to wear tights than
to scrub floors and "sweller" to dance
than to stand all day behind a counter
please do not think by this that my
advice Is to go tnto the chorus rather
than do these things. One In a hundred
thousand becomes a star like Kd,na May,
Kdim Wallace Hopper and Lulu Glascr,
the others marry Its the onlv thing for
them to do if they are sensible.'
Behind the Wings.
When I was in vaudeville I used to
love to sit in the wings and make
friends with the performers. The
trained birds, the performing ponies,
and the India rubber acrobats; but most
of all the spangled "sosters" Just wait
ing to do their "turn." I think they
liked me because I liked them. They
wire used to chesty "legits'' who
snubbed them and you may be sure that
they had their own opinions of the
chesty legits" and It wasn't expressed
in blank verse, either.
Let It be known that Patricia O'Brien
is not a "chesty legit," but she has her
ideas and Inspirations, which many of
the inflated celebrities are sadly in need
of. She believes that there should be
always a tear behind the laugh In every
psrt. This Is the reason, perhaps, that
great moral, and teaches it without
preaching it. have played the char
acter something like 2300 times, and I
am quite as much In love with her to
dav as I was in my opening night of
the little sketch, years ago.
Cost of Living in India.
The following report showing the ef
fects of the increased cost of living In
Calcuta on Its salaried people and wage
earners is furnished by Consul General
William 1 1. Michael of that port:
The increase In prices of grain and
foodstuffs throughout India has become
a very serious matter on account of
the poverty of the masses and the low
wages paid for labor. There Is com
plaining among all clashes; except the
very well to do, that it is ulmost Im
possible to live becomingly on present
salaries and dally wages. The cause
of this advance in prices Is ascribed
by some to the export of too much
grain and other food commodities from
jlh country, thus limiting the supply
'and enabling a certain class of specu
lators to raise the price of food gYains,
etc. Others say that it Is due to the
fall In the value of the rupee; bnt this
has been so slight that It haraly ac
counts for the excessive Increase in
firlces of food commodities or in the
ncreased .rents for all kinds of city
house. Whatever the cause, this con
dition exists, and it Is hecomlng more
pronounced and serious from year to
year. Foodstuffs have advanced dur
ing the last two years in India easily
40 per cent and rents from 50 to 60 per
cent.
Rents of desirable residences, flats
and rooms hsve been advanced enor
mously .and the main cause thereof Is
the willingness of people who spend
only the winter months in Calcutta and
the rost of the year In the mountains
to pay higher rents because they need
the premises for so short a tiroes The
landlord takes advantage of this and
makes the short-lease price the stand
ard for the long lease tenant. Govern
ment officials on fixed Incomes are ask
ing the government to build houses and
rent them to employes at living prices,
which has been done to some extent at
Simla, the summer capital of India, and
Is being considered favorably in eonnee
tton with Calcutta. This may have the
effect of reducing rents generally.
A FAMOUS BATHTUB
Big Shoe in Which Marat Was Killed
Now in a Paris Museum.
The bathtub In which Marat was
killed by C:iar!otte Corday is still ill
existence. , A man wiio has seen It In
X'arls. where it in now on sale, says
that It Is totally unlike the bathtubs
with which we are familiar.
"It Is shaped like a sabot, or shoe,"
he writes in the London Illustrated
News, "and Is covered except for a
space where the bather gets in. It la
not long enough for a man to stretch
out comfortably. That would be Impos
sible anyway, owing to the shape. The
occupant must sit up. his head and
shoulders coming out of the ankle of;
the shoe.
"On the upper part there are two
hooks which could be used to support
a desk. A sort of stool in copper is
fixed to ,the bath which enables the
bather to 'alt and write. Under this
stool the heating apparatus was placed.
"The hath has not been used since
the murder, and even now. perhaps, the
blood marks of the 'friend of the peo
ple' can be seen. At least the sulphur
and other chemicals used by Marat, who,
as Is known, suffered from a skin dis
ease, have left their trace on the metal.
"After passing through many hands
the bath came into the possession of the
cure of Sargeau. who sold it to tut
Grevln Museum for 3000 francs."
Patricia O'Brien is so much loved by
her audiences.
It's all very well to make people
laugh, but Just laughter is empty. I'n
less there Is some iieart interest you go
nway and forget both pltty and player.
Of course a great many people pay
their money to lauah only, but most oi
them, I think especially that part ot
the audience comprisid of my sex en
Joy a happy galaxy of laughter and
tears; but the others, as I say. have
their rights. However, the one thing
I like best to do is to make a man ery
after I have made him laugh I think
Patricia O'Brien does get under his
vest at times.
The First Production.
When we first produced "The Chorus
Lady" many people thought, owing to
the title, that It was a musical comedy.
Something very funny and yet rather
pathetic happened at this time, or,
rather. I should say just previous to
the production of the piece. Some one
in New York oonncded with the pro
fession had given out a story that there
was a dearth of chorus girls, and un
less New York had a large number of
recruits from the small cities surround
ing It, It would be difficult to nil the
many vacancies for the chorus of the
new operas then in contemplation. This
story got abroad and hundreds of girls
who lived In the small cities and with
out the true knowledge of conditions,
came to New York, thinking that they
had only to apply In order to secure a
Rosltlon, when, as a matter of fact,
few York was over run with these
chorus women. We had scores of appli
cants during our rehearsals at the
Savoy theatre, they believing that "The
Chorus Lady" was a musical comedy
and many of them told me thev had
come hundreds of miles with only
money enough to carry them to New
York and keep them until they would
draw their first week's salary. Where
thev went or what thev did no one can
tell.
A Tragedy in Life.
But that Is one of the tragedies of
life of which no one has an intimate
knowledge. While as Patricia O'Brien
I try to come as near to that class of
chorus girls as possible, and to give
the auditor a true picture of the chorus
woman as she Is, there Is much more to
Pafrlela O'Brien than that. I take her
seriously because her life teaches a
Chop Suey.
They were telling a guileless, unsus
pecting Englishman how chop suey la
made.
"First." they Informed him. "the Chi
nese restaurant man catches a very
young chicken."
"Ah indeed.'"
"And he locks that chicken up in a
pasteurized coop."
"You don't say!"
"And he sets a trusty dog to watch
over that coop.''
"How Interesting!"
"And he feeds the chicken on milk,
infant mushrooms, iced tea, and sweet
pickles."
"Oh, I say how very curious!"
"And presently the chicken's wings be
gin to sprout." 1
"Yes.'r
"And the Chinaman outions the dog
to lie particularly watchful."
"Yes."
" And the dog goes to sleep."
"Indeed!"
"And the chicken pecks a hole In the
pasteurized coop and flics away."
"Oh, dear me!"
"And the Chinaman anpears', sees what
has happened, flies Into a terrible rage,
grabs the dog, make mincemeat out of
him. and serves It to his customers as
chop suey," and starts all over again
with another very young chicken."
"But, I say doesn't didn't "
He" could get no satisfaction.
Kurope Wants Our Grapes.
From Horticulture.
Vice Consul L. H. Munler of Geneva
sends s clipping from a Swiss newspa
per from which It Is noted that more
modern methods of grspe culture are
being adopted In Switzerland. The old
vineyards have been attacked by phyl
loxera. In fighting which the govern
ment has already spent $483,600. Now
it Is decided to replace the old vines
with the more robiAt American vines.
To aid the planters In the substitution
the government has voted an annual
appropriation of $!6,500, to extend over
a period of 60 years.
Hint for the President. ,
From the. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
There is an intimation that Mr.
Koosevelt may one day write a play.
Why not do himself into drama on the
order of "Too Much Johnson?"
After the Call.
Don't ou find Miss Tacit very dullf
She never has anything to say. Most
girls , have nothing to say, and say It.
Miss Tacit has nothing to say and
doesn't say It.
FABULOUS WEALTH IN THE SULTANS TREASURE HOUSE
Aside From Royal Owner and Guardians, Few People, Even Ambassadors, Have Ever Entered Its Doors
From a Staff Correspondent.
CONSTANTINOPLE. Nov. Is Noth
ing in the world equals in splen
dor the Turkish sultan's treas
ure house here, which has never
been photographed and scarcely
ever antered, except by its royal owner
and Its guardians. So priceless are the
treasures stored therein that even am
bassadors are refused admittance. It
Is only some grest favorite of the sul
tan's who may have a passing peep at
its wonders.
The -whole treasure house consists of
but two large rooms with single gal
leries running above each. The first
thing that strikes the eye on entering
Is the gigantic Persian throne, covered
with a huge crystal canopy. It Is made
out of beaten gold, one and a half inches
thick. The seat and the four thick
legs are covered with- eastern designs
worked out In thousands of huge pearls,
"qual in size and water, with topazes
and emeralds cut all alike. The throne
Is square In shape, measuring three
yards long and two yards high. It was
made In 1501 In Tabrys, In Persia, foi
the shah Ismael I.
There is yet snother wonderful throne
of Persian work In the same hall. This
Is rather different in form, having steps
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Tha beautiful Edith Uee Sutherland, daughter of United States Se-
ator George Sutherland of Utah. MIm Sutherland one of the most
attractive of this year WMnington aeDutantes. r . - , . y '.
and being supported by slender pillars.
It has n cupols of gold and is Itself of
golden foundation. Into this are ;n
crusted cedar and sandalwood designs
which . sre again richly studded with
rubles, emeralds, pearls and diamond.
I'nder the cupola, at the end of a gold
en rhalln.) hangs an uncut emerald, six
Inches long and two and a half inches
thick. It Is covered with texts from
the Koran. This throne was nade in
the sixteenth century and was used by
Achmed I, whose hobby wss swords nnd
who formed n collection of 1 01 S golden
swords set with precious stones of tho
very first quality.
In s crystal cupboard next to the
thrones repoe three of the largest em
eralds which have, up to the present mo
ment. Iwen found. They are from eight
to 10 inches long and from five to fix
Inches thick. In the eighteenth century
there wan a wonderful emerald in this
same cupboard which weighed 420 car
ats, hut Mustafa III gave It to be put
over Mohammed's grave in Medina,
where It hangs still.
I'nder the window, next to the cup
board, stands a splendid bronze statue
of Abdul Axis. In the midst of th.
glare of gold and stones such a thing
makes but little Impression. It Is, how
ever, valuable, because It Is the first
and. as yet. only statue of n sultan. The
Koran declares It to be a sin to patron
ise sculpture, and no other sultan has
dared to defy this prohibition of "tic:
devil's art."
Behind crystal cupboards between th
two windows are historical relics of
priceless value. . There hang the sword
of Mohammed the Conqueror, which he
carried in his hand on entering Con
stantinople for the first lime: the sword
of Constantine DragoSes. the last of
the Hyxuntlne dynasty: the crooked
sword belonging to Ba.lezet II when he
set out against the Germans amj Soil
man the Great's sword, which he car
ried during his conquest of Belgrade.
All these are of gold, studded with tur
quoises, sapphires, pearls and rubles.
Near them are the helmets, suits of
armor, lances, stlllettos and horse-trappings
once used by these eastern poten
tates. They are a blaze of diamonds,
emeralds, rubles and pearls, all large
enough to awaken the envy of duchesses
and so close together that the gold that
they are embedded In can scarcely be
seen. The effect Is thai of a series
of Jeweled rainbows which dazzles the
eyes and recalls the wondrous tales of
the Arabian nights.
The second room is called the "Jewel
room." Nobody gives such magnlfleeni
presents ss sultans ant shahs. Some
Idea of this will be gained hy the fact
that. In this second1 room, are a dozen
crystal vases, from 26 to 30 Inches high,
filled with pearls, emeralds, diamonds,
rubles 'and sappbh-eS. Through the
dazzle of these Jewels can be seen stone
of huge size which are again set with
smaller Jewels, in wonderful designs of
flowers-and beasts. Not even the most
beautiful ParisJan work can come near
this and those who have shoos In the
Rue de la Plx cannot imagine anything
approaching the magnificence of color
and the delicacy of workmanship that
make the gems csst into these vases, that
stand in a small room In Constantinople.
uniue. .. ,
In the middle of this room is a cup
board, crystal of course, containing a
fierfect colIeeWon of every kind of Mo
lammedan monev, from thf most an
cient times to the present - day. And
yet. rich as this collection fa. It could
not buy the atones In the vasea ODPosrte.
Besides the coins Is s collection of
flutes, stttdded with silver and precious
stones, which the caliphs, contrary to
the koran's decree, t lay upon. In a ens
ket adorned with liuge rubles He two
pearls weighing is grammes. In an
other casket, studiicd with diamonds, is
a ruby as large as a pear. This was the
gift of Persia's sluih to Sellni on his
coronation day. In yet another casket
is a diamond of the first water weighing
32 carats, which prnhahly once adorned
the Byzantine cron. A child playing
on the sands once found It in Alvan
KeraJ. where. In Kom;in times. It was
lost In tho midst of some great public
ceremony.
Many priceless relics came to the sul
tans from the Byzantine dynasty. There
Is a large piece of Christ's cross, given
to Constantine the Grcnt by the monks
of Golgotha. From Hie same source
came the sponge nnd the crown of
thorns Used at the r-iurifliion. It Is not
generally known that the head of John
the Baptist, given to Salome hy her
stepfather, and his hand, are also in the
sultan's treasure house. But such Is
the case, and they now lie. ghastly
relics, surrounded hv the orgle of light,
color and gold.
The galleries of the treasvne rooms
are lined with cupboards In which re
pose hundreds of Jeweled dresses and
drinking cups. The enormous quantity
of the latter Is explained by the eastern
custom of sending a rich drinking cup
with every present to tile sultan. There
fore, the eye Is almost blinded by the
dszzle of goblets and vases from Venice
and the west, from Holland. Italy, Sax
ony. China. India. Persia and Japan.
From the latter countrv are cups guar
anteed to fall Into pieces should poison
be poured therein. Besides these are a;i
unaccountable number of arms, from
Bagdsd. Toledo snd from Persia. al his
torical and all priceless. The collection
of watches and clocks dates from the
sixteenth century to the present day.
One clock, sent in 1740 from the Aus
trian eniporer to Mohammed I plays e
fresh minuet every hour, or 24 different,
tuns within the day.
Perhaps the most Impressive part of
this collection are the 24 costumes once
worn by sultans. The first dates from
the year 1463 the last from lS:i. The
magnificence of these dresses defies de
scription. Each Is worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars, even If you count
only the value of hugi stones that adorn
them, to say nothing of the (?old with
which they are sewn and embroidered.
Each dress Is different In shape, color
and design, according to the taste of its
royal owner.
The walls of the galleries are hung
with portraits of dead sultan, painted
after death. Next 'a the treasure house
Is tho throne room .f Achmed I and his
library. But the few strangers , who
visit these rooms pav It "little attention,
dazzled as they are by the splendor
they have already seen.
Photofrraphs Bullet in Air.
A scientist has succeeded in perfect
ing a camera so rapid that It not only
photographs flying bullets but tlv
waves of condensed air in front of tbem
and the rarefied air behind them.
Ingot as Pedestal.
The first ateel ingot ever produced
In Denmark, caet recently at' Copen
hagen, will be used as a pedestal for a.
bust of Q,, A. Hagemann, director of
that, cltv's Dolvtecbnlu school. ; .
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ttrraja. Bisail -itfrjEui erf forests; Kunta Nelson; chairman of lands; John DalxcH, t hair t. it ,',
miamls J7. I .yaraD.'-taasaaT general 'oi.-the JTnUed States army, chief of the ti'Inccia tf t' 4
teTway rrrannlrcr; H H. JCEtraB. a memoer vof the rectemailon aeTTl . .