KinSource - Tale of the Week - Blue Ribbon Wearers

KinSource

Minnesota Tales

The St. Paul Daily Globe, March 2, 1885, p. 3

BLUE RIBBON WEARERS.

An Interesting and Productive Meeting of the Murphy Club at the Comique.

The Theatre Comique was literally packed last evening by people about town eager to learn temperance doctrines as propounded by the loquacious philosophers of the Murphy club. The monotony of the array of faces which met the eager and ever watchful eye of the galaxy of oratorical lights was refreshingly broken by the presence of a goodly number of the fair sex seated pretty generally in the parquet.

The speakers had an earnest and sincere penchant rather than the humorous attributes which have, perhaps, been the distinguishing characteristics of previous gatherings of the club on the vaudeville stage. Their name was legion, filling the entire length of the stage. John G. Woolley, the ardent reformer, was the first to break the stillness which had fallen over the assemblage after the audience had become comfortably seated. He did not attempt, by resorting to sophistry, to convince his hearers of the happy results of absolute reformation, or total abstinence from the wine cup, but he recited incidents written in indelible, incontrovertable and unmistakable characters on the tablet of his memory, and from his personal experience.

Judge Baird, the patriarch, followed. He had a few anecdotes to relate, which were relished, more especially by the boys. An obstreperous youngster in one of the upper boxes confused and aggravated the judge with his incessant chattering until a sort of a riot act was read. Then silence again reigned supreme.