The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 3, 1903, Page 5

PLAN T0 RETURN SPECIAL TRXES Supervisors Await Opin- | jon on Smith’s Rec- ommendation. ttorney to Determine s Obligation to Small Taxpayers. Attorney Lane will in a few days with the Board of Super- the legality of returning ollected under the special $240,000 for new schoolhouses and a hospital declared illegal by the Supreme I recommendation that the rned to the small taxpayers had neglected to protest formally ainst paying them came from Tax - or Bdward J. Smith as far b when rd to adopt a reso- 1 taxes paid for 2 be dees i to bha THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 3, 'SPLENDID PRODUCTION OF «BEN HUR” . WITNESSED BY FASHIONABLE AUDIENQE Thrilling Chariot Race and Succession of Artistic Pictures Arouse Plaudits at Grand iOpera House, While Clever Actors Portray the Various Roles - Ben Hur"—a ge! > bow for the scenery. remind of grand opera, e Black Crook,” but et brought ng, filled the Grand 1 top to toe, and did its ery that they humb t, the dramatized s done material thirteen in lucid and pic- at gives hand the superb stowed upon the Gen- He has s of he story set- | Values like this make furnishing /easy | $7.50 | The sort of an offer that convinces the economical . ||| home furnisher that this is the place to trade. has been maintained regardless of price. A strongly built iron bed, enameled white, green and Brass knobs ornament the corner posts, and the three finishes are priced alike—$7.50. blue. Don’t fail to see the new line of weathered oak tables we've just received. Handy tables for the living room or the library and surprisingly inexpensive. One meas- ures 24 by 24 inches square and has two shelves be- Price, $7.00 neath top for books. A few weeks more and we will be over in our new Geary-street building. There will be no removal sale. * (Formerly the California Furniture Co.)' 957 to 977 Market Street, San Francisco Quality | MONIDE S AS;R'VAL AT THE DOWAR OF SHIEK ILLDER'™M where credit was due. | oks the | to the actors, who | indeed as the rest. | rt of the | applause | s well as | | tableaux | | where Ben Hur, now a slave, is chaine | and Arrius’ promise to Ben Hur to make | Simonides, quietly and impressively | impersonated by Stephen Wright, and Esther, his daughter, a slight but pretty interpretation by Miss Julia Hearne, |are “seen in their palace at An- tioch. To them Ben Hur comes land is told of the slavery of | is the daughter of her father, James A. | Hearne, and shows decided promise in | acENE - FROW RSV ] NES FROM THE SPECTACULAR DRAMA, “BEN HUR,” THAT WAS PRODUCED AT THE GRAND OPERA-HOUSE KLAW & ERLANGER'S SPLENDID COMPANY. LAST NIGHT BY 1903 MAKE CHARGES NGHINST MNUTT Sisters of Isabella Clark Accuse Him of In- terfering. In Contest of Her Will They Say Doctor Used Undue Influence. The will of Isabella D. Clark, who com- mitted sulcide at McNutt's Hospital on September 10 last, is the subject of a con- test that was brought yesterday by her sisters, Alice Ann Hart of this city and Mary E. Carter of Paris. They ask'that it be refused probate on the ground that Miss Clark was incompetent at the time it was made, the day before her death, and that it was procured through the un- due influence of Dr. W. F. McNutt, who is named in the will as executor, and to whom the decedent left her library. The rest of the estate, estimated to be worth $250,000, is in the will bequeathed to Grace | E. Strohn, another sister of the deceased. who resides in La Grange County, Illinois. | The contestants allege that they were | not mentioned in their sister's will be- | cause McNutt, “by harsh, cruel and ua- true accusations,” poisoned her mind | against them. They say that during her | entire life she always displayed great love and affection for them, but that MeNutr, | during the five vears she was an iamate | of his hospital, obtalned great influence | over her. She was mentally weak, taey | say, begause cf her aflments and W easily susceptible. They claim that duri all the five years, except at very rare tervals, he would not allow them o v | her, or any other physiclan or person to | treat her. They accuse McNutt of teiling the patient that the contestants caredi nothing for her, and of repeated$; in:e fering in her business and domestic af- fairs. They denounce his interferenca as unwarrantable, and say that but for it the will would never have been mad | Since the death of Miss Clark, ner estate | has been a bone of contention hetween | McNutt and, the disinherited sisters. It commenced = when McNutt ap through his son, Attorney Maxwell M Nutt, for letters of special adminis*r alleging the estate was in such a co tion that it required immediate car=. liis petition was never granted, for he with- | drew it in the face of the vigorous opp: sition of the attorneys for Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Carter. Though the will was in Mec- Nutt’s possession during all these proceed- | Ings, he did not file it until the very last of the thirty days in which the law pro- vides a will shall be held after tn» death | of its maker, which the members of the new stock com- | pany demonstrated not only thelr versa- | tility, but their ability to do ample justice to the parts intrusted to them. Chief | among the funmakers is James Durkin, who as Augustus Billings has the brunt | of the comedy work on his shoulders, which certainly are broad ones and equal to the emergency. Durkin enters into the spirit of the part and the ease with which he gets out of trying situations excites the admiration and risibles of the audi- ence. Marie Howe made an unmistakabie hit as the irascible mother-in-law and | contributed in no small way to the humor — % about them ir » last word in e second picture is on Ben Hur's pa picturesque re one is i o their star being ng marveis. the roof of »m, whence.a | pl ew scds suec » Scenery not infri ts out of the picturebook | rikes the hu | ethier will be mantic hero of drama that Sa year. Then and graceful young actor | seemed and seems fitted for more exact- | S 1 | e and a delightful | ce. Mr. X o has the same qual- s in slighter degree but with less sug- tion of sxperience, was comparably | less ng as Ben Hur than Mr. Dethier as Messalz Next is pictured the Roman galiey. his oar with a score of others, rowing dear life. The picture 1s most inter- esting and valuable as a correct repro- duction of 2 Roman galley. The tribune | whom one meets here, has a sort | y-school *Boy-stood-on-the-burn- | ing-deck’” delivery that indeed afflicts all | the lesser members of the ®ast. A dark change then shows Arrius and Ben Hur| cast on a raft from the wrecked galley, him his heir and give him his name. sea scene is excellently handled. The | these two to his household. Miss Hearne her work. Simonides’ house changes to| the Grove of Daphne—as the author says, “nobody can describe it—only beware.” It was begun by Apollo and completed by him. He prefers it to Olympus. People go there for one look—just one—and never 2 They have a saythg that “Better be a worm and feed the mulberries of Daphne, than a The picture is sumptuous- ly realized. Dancing girls, fauns, shep- ‘herds, little loves and taller loves, in cos- tumes the most beautiful, crowd in until the great stage is a whirl of lovely color, a Roman Venusberg. For this ballet, alone worth going far to see, there has been music written by Edgar Stillman Kelley that admirably carries out the spirit of the scene. The big chorus sings well and there are dances of charming and characteristic sort. The fountain of Castalia, revealed by a rising backdrop, serves as background to introduce Iras the Egyptian and her father Balthasar. A sumptuous figure Miss Nelletae Reed is as the Egyptian, carrying out fully the Circe suggestion of the author. Ilderim, again, by Charles M. Collins, is another portrait of Oriental splegdor. The tent of Iras, another fine picture, and a Nile scene de luxe follow, and pre- cede the extraordinary illusion, world> famous, of the chariot race. Sixteen horses, @rnessed to four chariots, are here seen skimming away at the rate of apparently a mile a minute. Whips hiss, sparks fly, the beasts bend and quiver and lean to their work, the background on King’'s guest.” races by, with its thousands of painted faces, and the illusion is complete. All but. Sometimes the chariot wheels don’t go round! Only last night has the scene been tried with sixteen horses. Not even on Broadway, in New York, were the stage exigencies capable of this experi- ment. The scene as given here is cer- tainly unique. It was a complete tri- umph last night and the audience howled for the winner with the Hebrews and Ro- mans on the stage. The last scenes include a dream picture be miszed. The religious side of the story, | it #hould be said, is touched throughout with dignity and here r mination. But Hu a living storybook, not a drama, but more a gor- geous peepshow that no one may wisely miss, BLANCHE PARTINGTON. Fischer’s. ““Rubes and Roses” brought to Fischer's ast night a packed house,-a delighted audience and two new stars, who received a royal California greeting, and who well deserved it. The new people are Ben T. Dillon and Georgia O'Ramey, and they had fnot been on the stage two minutes befote the people saw that they were ckajacks in their line. Miss O’'Ramey was Susie Snowbird, a guileless maid from the bucolic precincts of Grassville of the Si Hogkins variety, different, and the difference was charm- ing. She made the audience laugh with- out ‘half trying, and at the close of the fifst act she had to come up to the foot- ghts and make a little speech of thanks, which she did very modestly and very gracefully. Mr. Dillon as Hiram Catchem, constable of Lake County Indlana, was a funny | travesty on the hayseed peace officer. His fun is spontaneous and is of the kind that lasts. ; The music of “Rubes and Roses” is bright and catchy and there is plenty of it, affqrding all the leading characters an opportunity for a solo. Maud Amber, graceful and sweet voiced, made a great hit with her solo, “If My Heart Had Wings,” and it was encored agaln and again. Central. The Central delighted an immense house last night with a splendid production of the stirring historical drama, ‘Wt Valley Forge."! the.play and the stage setting and cos- tumes are brilliantly picturesque. As the name suggests the plot is founded on in- cldents of the dark days of the American struggle for indevendence. The hero is a captain under. Lighthorse Harry Lee, and he Is captured while making love in- side the British lines. He has a Tory nobleman as a rival in love and this en- emy seeks to have-him shot as a spy. The girl in the case uses diplomacy until the right. moment comes and then she sets her lover free in a sensational man- ner. One of the climaxes of the play is capped by a gorgeous fableau of Wash- ington crossing the ice-blocked Delaware, and the. audience demanded the effective scene half a dozen times. Herschel Mayall made 4 spectacular hit as the revolution- ary -hera, and in his dramatic defense of the heroine in the closing act, as well as in his duel scene with his Tory rival, he roused the galleries-to the highest pitch ot enthuslasm. In the thankless rolg of the tyrannical British officer Henry Shu- mer had the most difficult character in the cast, and to his able work was due largely the success of the strongest scenes of the play. Elmer Booth suppiled the greater part of the comedy clement in his fine representation of the blundering Hesslan commander, and Edwin T. Em- ery contributed to the amusement by his clever, impersonation. of the over-polite representative of King George. Ernest Howell, as 2 patriot, used his opportuni- ties to excellent advantage, and George Nicholls won applause.in his part of the British soldier with American sympathies. Charming Eugenia Thais Lawton was at her best inl the role of the self-sacrificing heroine, whose fidelity Is rewarded in the good old way when her hero brings the news of Washington’s final Ariumph at Yorktown. - Georgie Woodthorpe also de- gerves special mention for her commend- able work- in the Vikable character of Aunt Tabby, an outspoken friend of the rebels. *“At Valley Forge” will draw big audiences all this week. The comedy season was inaugurated at the Alcazar, last night with a very clever of Calvary that is another picture not to | production .of ."Too l_luch J(_)hxuon." in but a little | This success was followed with There is a wealth of color in | of the piece, which Is of the infectious sort. Miss Adele Block made a pretty pic- ture as Mrs. Augustus Billings, but the part is not one to give full swing to her dramatic powers. George Osbourne was as ever reliable as Francis Faddish and his initial entrance on the stage put the audience at cnce into good humor. Fran- ces Starr, the ingenue, was graceful and | charming as Leonora Faddish, and Harry | S. Hilllard gave a splendid interpretation of the boy lover, Henry Mackintosh. Too | much cannot be said of Fred J. Butler, | whose Joseph Johnson was a fine bit of character acting. John B. Maher was | excellent as Leon Dathis, the Frenchman, whe wants to kill somebody. The small | | parts were in capable hands and the piece | is undoubtedly in for a good week’s run. Columbia. “The Storks,” at the Columbia this | week, is the brightest, flufflest thing that has come our of the East in many moons. It is all froth and bright colored bubbles, | but as a chromatic spectacle it beats the old-fashioned kaleldoscope. A blaze of many bewildering shades, a bevy of pret- | ty faces over pretty shoulders, bright | songs, lots of ginger, and there you have | “The Storks.” | From the minute the curtain goes up until the last boom of the kettledrums there is a zip and zim to the plece which | carries it along in beautiful style. None | of these cut-and-dried musical comedies ! is “The Storks”’—a few songs strung on | foolish dialogue. It has songs and good | ones; it has pretty girls and lots of them; | | it has color thrown on with a lavish | | brush. | { In fact, it is the brilliant setting and | | | the well-drilled and well-groomed chorus which carries the piece. Very few musi- | cal frivolities come out to the coast with the richness of stage setting and wealth of cloth of gold that Manager Tillotson's company has. The night sceme in the second act, where a blood orange moon rises over the hills of Nod and real (Chi- nese punk) fireflies flit between the wings, is as pretty a stage picture as has been | | presented here In several seasons. e e e i SCOTT’S EMULSION. NOW IS THE TIME. Take Scott's Emulsion of | Cod Liver Oil now. Not next week or next month, but | now. You need it to put fat | on your bones and strength | in your body to stand the cold and trying weather of the next few months. Nine-tenths of the popula- tion would be benefited by taking Scott’s Emulsion regu- larly three times a day for a | month or more every fall to | fortify and strengthen the system against the cold and constant changes that occur through the winter. The benefit is particularly marked with young, delicate children. No food that they can take begins to compare with Scott's Emulsion. Pure cod liver oil is scarce but if you get Scott’s Emul- sion you'll be sure to get only the purest and best oil. Wel send you a sample free, upon request. SCOTT & BOWNE, 409 Pear] Street, New York. ADVERTISEMENTS. o S AVegetable Preparationfor As— similating the Food and Regula— ting the Stomachs and Bowels of | INFANLS ZCHILDREN Promotes Digestion Cheerful- | ness and Rest.Contains neither Opium, Morphine nor Mineral. |E Nor NARCOTIC. A écl Reméd forCons| I‘lo!:gour Slouzch.Diamm ‘Worms Convulsions, Feverish- | ness and LOSS OF SLEEP. FacSimile Signature of A Fltedon. NEW YORK. EXACT COPY OF WRAPPER. For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of For Over Thirty Years JGASTORIA THE CENTAUR COMPANY. NEW YORK CITY. AMUSEMENTS. A FRANG'SCE GOLUM B A LEADISG THEATR Every Night, Including Sunday MATINEE SATURDAY THE MERRY MUSICAL FANTASY, Direct from a Five Months THE STORKS Presented By the Best Tour, Including Pamous Rosebud Garden of Girls. EVERY SONG A HUMMER. OPERA GRAND 5565 TO-NIGHT at 8 0°Clock. Ma Wed. and_Sat. Each, Week. Curtain ning: Ma! + L Until After Prefude KLAW & ERLANGER’'S ¢ General Wallace Stupen Pioduction s 330—Persons in Production—350 No Seats Laid Asids. No Teleph: rder re filled in ¢ MIN AVERLY'S MINSTRELS. Headed by the Funn ! Minstrel Last Night Was the Ni So It Was, | RUBES AND ROSES g HIT. A CYCLONK UNEQUALE:! Our t.including Kolb and DIl Winfleld Blake. Maude Amber, Georgiz O'Ramey, Ben T. Dillon .. NOTICE...... From the ns Read Complete Stage To-night. Ele DON'T FAIL TO see the beautiful COURT Lounging room, the EMPIRE PARLOR, the PALM ROOM, the LOUIS XV PAR- LOR, and the LA- DIES’ WRITING ROOM. Palace and Grand Hotels Coal Reduction American Cannel Sold by All Reliable Dealers. DIRECTORY OF RESPONSIBLE HOUSES. Catalogue and Priee Lists Mailed on Applieation. FRESH AND SALT MEATS. JAS. BOYES & CO. OILS. LUBRICATING OILS.: LEONARD & ELLIS, 418 Front st., S. F. Phone Main 1719. E. C. HUGHES, Clay. Tel. Main 1294. .PR!NTER. 511 Sansome st., S, ¥ Run at Chicago. | ganization on | Shipping Butchers, 104 Saturday Matinee, E BILL—— a e, ERIA RUSTICANA™ And Leoncavallo's Lyric Drar | “PPAGLIACCL” Wednesday, F and Saturday Nights, Dontzett’'s Splendid ra “LA FAVORITA™ PRICES USUAL—25c, 50c, TSe. —JOVIAL VAUDEVILLE!— | “Village Choir” Quartette; Max Wal- | dom; Clivette; The Two Roses; Mec- | Watters and Tyson; Goleman's Dogs and Cats; Three Richards; Crawford and Manning and We- the Stage To-night. CENTRAL™™ & Ma Proprietors. near Eighth. Phone South | Belasco st., | MATINEES SATURDAY AND SUNDAT. The' Magnificent Comedy Drama, “AT VALLEY FORGE.” Th ory of Patriotism and Love! PRICES : Matine & Mayer, ALCAZAR'?: F Seneral Ma “The Alcazar Playing in Luck With Its New People.”—Examiner. | Election Returns To-Night! Writ Onme of the Funniest Comedies Ever 'TOO MUCH ' JOHNSON. | &= Evgs., 25c to 75¢; Mat Sat. & Sun., NEXT MONDAY—The Famous Farcicai Com- edy That Won't Wear Out, THE PRIVATE SECRETARY. GREENBAUM Wl Lkt Every Night TII o-Night. oo g —aor ELLERY’S ROYAL ITALIAN BAND MATINEES SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. NOTE. To-day being a legal holiday. seats will be on sale at Alhambra Theater from 9 a. m. Popular Prices, $1, 75¢, 50¢ Saerat Ad- LEW WELLS, WORLD and KINGSTON AND A GREAT SHOW EVERY AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE THEATER. DON'T FAIL TO SEE B THE COLOREP BABY In the INFANT INCUBATOR, ELECTION RETURNS Will Be Announced From the Stage TO-NIGHT. ADMISSION, 10c; CHILDREN, 3e DEWEY, STRONG &C0. 27 SATENTS, ) 330 (ET ST.SF.