OCR Text |
Show Lincoln Ceme to Aid of Harassed Actors There Is a tale in Joseph Jefferson's autobiography which is worth repeating repeat-ing for several reasons. His actor-manager actor-manager father and family were touring tour-ing the Middle West. They had played the thriving town of Chicago, then glorified In Its fine new board sidewalks; side-walks; had proceeded to Galena by wagon, sitting on the horsehide trunks covered with the mottled skins of defunct de-funct circus animals; had passed on to Dubuque in sleighs over the frozen river, the properties and scenery breaking through the Ice and getting well soaked; had acted in all sorts of theaters, from courthouses to barns, In many of the towns just springing up In the Middle West, and had at last reached Springfield, 111. Here they had a real theater, built by themselves them-selves a tremendous undertaking in which the family of Jefferson had risked literally everything. "In the midst of our rising fortunes," says Jefferson, Jef-ferson, "a heavy blow fell upon us. " A religious revival was iu progress at the time, and the fathers of the church not only launched forth against us In their sermons, but by some political polit-ical maneuvers got the city to pass a new law enjoining a heavy license agaiust our 'unholy' calling; I forget the amount, but it was large enough to be prohibitory. In the midst of their trouble a young lawyer called upon the managers. He had heard of the injustice, and offered, if they would place the matter in his hands, to have the license taken off, declaring declar-ing he only desired to see fair play, and he would accept no fee whether he failed or succeeded. The case was brought up before the council. The young lawyer began his harangue. He handled the subject with tact, skill and humor, tracing the history of the drama from the time when Thexpls acted in a cart to the stage of today. He illustrated his speech with a number num-ber of anecdotes, and kept the council In a roar of laughter; his good humor prevailed, and the exorbitant tcx was taken off. This youiig lawyer was very popular in Springfield, and was honored and beloved by all who knew him, and after the time of which I write he held rather an important position in the government of the United States. He now lies buried near Springfield, under a monument commemorating his greatness and his virtues his name was Abraham Lincoln." Lin-coln." San Francisco Argonaut. |