The billboard (Dec 1895)

BILLBOARD ADVERTISING Is Urn Official Organ of the Associated SIR Posters' Association. 5 A Monthly Resume Op Ail That Is New. Bright And Interesting OnThe Boards. Vol. IV, No. 4. CINCINNATI, DECEMBER 1 ■895- PES YEAR. ti.c The Unexpected Witness. BY CHARLES K. DAY. HE arranging for the billing of the town for the attraction I represented brought me to the bill post This is the way that he told his story : ■■ Nick Forrester was one the few suc- cessful touring theatrical managers of his fortunes, none of which, I am sorry to sav, he was able to keep, as be died poor. Nick! managers of to-day would stick up their noses at that in these times, hut it was t business, and it scored for the bos- ce every time. ■Now it is not about"either of the iresters that I am going to tell you s be accounted for as they only figure in the story incident- in several ways : he was a genial, whole- ally as it were. Now in his best days souled fellow, made many friends on the Nick played this town many times, and and while lime by inditing a few letters, hut this in- tention was frustrated by the running the men of the paste and brash who were laying out their work to fit the stands on their respective routes. First their talk amused me. and then a story told by one of their number in- tensely interested me. My attention was first attracted by their shrewd com- ments upon the local managers and their methods, and the current plays and the merits of the players. There was not so much elegance of language in their opin- ions, but there was a deal of knew pretty well what they were talking about, and were keen critics of the drama. For a while they talked of the bitter feuds and wars of rival bill posters in the larger cities, but, as this subject elicited mand of the foreman^who exclaimed with some asperity: " You fellows just cork up on them chestnuts ; fights don't go in this office." All the bundles being made up for (he routes and put awav, the foreman, sitting on the folding table, after prefneing his tale with some reminiscences of the past, in the days when the bill posters dealt ' istearl road, and his wife, the leading lady, s, he started off with , o hold the rant "The support of the Forresters always good, the plays The foreman of the hill posters was 011c being a biller ami advertiser, the Forrest- on you of those few individuals gifted with the era prospered. One of Nick's best holds your lit. ability of telling n story effectively ami was lo make an announcement in front It il r thai of the curtain, and the Forresters were Forrcslc if he was relating- itnd was that popular that they always got a call their compan; re to tile truth. Without every night, in fact, scyeral of them, and wool or n pause to test his then it its long passed, he look us night's when my memory was better than it is now, and I have been thinking of a-good see by the bare condition of the top of my head. "But a name don't matter so much and . Well everytime to this town, they themselves and this young actor I am telling you about, stopped at the United hardly necessary to say that the read just such « rs had a nice lot of people' in such things in plays, an< They were all way up in you about this situation G, and very much attached to the show agine. that Nick announced the next and the management. One young fellow "You see this hotel c ■ along right well blooded, calculating el is cut out for an figuring it just in this «