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Show MAROONED ARTISTS j GIVE CHARITY SHOW Las Vegas Entertained Because Be-cause of Washout on Salt Lake Route. EVERYBODY IS HAPPY Orpheum Players Raise a Substantial Purse for Traveling Invalid. Three passenger trains of the Salt Lake Route arrived from California .yesterday from twelve to fourteen hours late because of a washout between be-tween Las Vegas, Xev., and Caliente. Because of that washout, Saturday was one of the greatest days in the history of Las Vegas, Xev., and a fevered, wasted youth, whose face was as white as the stretcher upon which he lay, was made richer by nearly $30. Saturday will be long remembered by Las Vegas and the youth on tho stretcher, because Gus Edwards, songwriter song-writer and vaudevillian, stalled in the Nevada town on account of the washout, wash-out, conceived the idea of giving a show in the "opery house." The train upon which Mr. Edwards and his company and other acts on this week's Orpneum bill were traveling, was one of the three held up by the washout. "With no prospoct of the tracks being repaired for some hours, the actors, in common with other passengers pas-sengers on the stalled trains, started out to "see Las Vegas.' Invalid Is Helped. When Mr. Edwards beheld the sign, ' ' Majestic theater, ' ' his professional interest was at once aroused. He noted that no attraction was billed for Saturday. Sat-urday. Also, at the depot he had noted a young man ill upon a stretcher; Someone had said that the young man had been very ill in a Los Angeles hospital hos-pital and was now on his way to relatives rela-tives in the east to be cared for. It was said that the invalid was also down on his luck financially. Thereupon Mr. Edwards had an idea, lie sought the mana-ger of the Majestic theater and finally reached him on the telephone. j "I want to give a show at your theater thea-ter this afternoon,'' he said. v "I'll be right down town,'' said the "opery house" manager excitedly. In a few minutes he came cycling down Main street, and when he reached the theater he and Mr. Edwards had a little conference. The result was that half an hour later there came fresh from the press of the local newspaper handbills announcing a Broadwa- show in Las Vegas. Cowboys in Service. "Oh, You Lucky Las Vegas!" read this handbill, which then went on to state how Gus Edwards and his com pany (mostly girls), the Volunteers and Xan Halperin, all headliners direct from the Orpheum circuit, but stalled for the time .being in that dear Las Vegas, would positively appear that afternoon at the Majestic all for tho absurdly low tariff of two-bits. A group of cowboys, in from the mesa, were impressed" into service as couriers. They showered Las Vegas with handbills until it looked as if the town had been smitten with an early-snowstorm. early-snowstorm. Actors and other enthusiastic enthusi-astic passengers from the stalled trains ballyhooed for the show , on the main streets. At 2:30 o 'clock the Majestic theater was packed. All Las Vegas citizens who could get away from such business as there was and muster 25 cents were crammed into tho theater, together to-gether with most of the passengers on the stalled trains. Even Beat Minstrels. The actors and actresses "40 people peo-ple 40" then proceeded with the show. Their costumes were in the baggage car ahead, but they went on in their street clothes. Deafening applause greeted every number. The dramatic critic of the local paper said that without doubt it was the best troupe that ever came to town, not excepting even Richards & P Pringle's minstrels. After the expenses of the theater, rent and so forth had been paid, Mr. Edwards Ed-wards turned the contents of the box office drawer over to the invalid, whose mumbled thanks and flush of gratitude amply repaid the actors, actresses, passengers pas-sengers at large and cowboys, who donated do-nated their services to the stunt. There would have been an evening performance, but the washout was repaired re-paired aud the stalled trains moved on toward Salt Lake. At the scene of the washout the passengers .behold a locomotive loco-motive almost buried to in ihe sand, t had left the track when it hit the washout, but the passenger train "behind "be-hind it was not wrecked. |
