April 21 Saturday – In the afternoon Sam presided over a meeting at the Casino Theatre to organize help for the city of San Francisco. The New York Evening World, p. 2, reported:
CALIFORNIANS ARRANGE TO GIVE AID TO VICTIMS.
———
Meeting at Casino Under Auspices of Mrs. Oelrichs and Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt, jr., Presided Over by Mark Twain.
Crowding the Casino Theatre from stage to entrance hundreds of Californians gathered this afternoon to discuss plans for aiding their stricken friends and relatives in San Francisco and neighboring towns. Mark Twain was in the chair, and under his guidance the business in hand progressed rapidly.
The outcome of the meeting was the announcement of a benefit performance in the Casino a week from to-morrow night, a benefit euchre party of the California Club at the Waldorf- Astoria on April 27 and the appointment of a committee with Blanche Bates as chairman to visit the Mayor and ask him for the right to take charge of ordering necessary supplies of clothing to be bought out of the great fund already raised and to be sent at once to San Francisco.
All Anxious to Help.
Everybody seemed anxious to help in the meeting. Henry Miller, the actor, was his own stage hand, helping to arrange the tables and chairs on the stage for the speakers. When the curtain went up on the assemblage of speakers, there was a great burst of applause as Mark Twain arose in the centre.
“I take it for granted you all know me,” said he, “and if you don’t now you surely will before I get through. I’m here on a mission and I’m most always known as S.L. Clemens, which may be hard to spell.”
to-morrow night. ….
He then introduced Henry Miller, who announced the benefit performance for a week from When Mr. Miller concluded Mark Twain again arose.
“It hadn’t been forty-eight hours,” said Mr. Clemens, “since I threatened myself with never again appearing before a paying audience. Well, I haven’t for you paid nothing to come here, but you’ll pay before you go out. I mean that I want every one to resolve to buy tickets for the benefit performance. You’ll pay mentally before you leave here. I feel certain.”
Calls it Great Calamity.
He went on to say feelingly that he looked upon San Francisco as an old home, since he lived there forty years ago, when it was a small but growing town. He characterized the earthquake and fires as “the greatest calamity of ancient or modern times.” Referring to ways of helping the city now he said:
“Let us turn from the dead to the living. The dead are at peace. But consider that there are 300,000 homeless persons there now. They are many of them starving, half clothes, deprived of their means of livelihood. We must help them at once, and we will.”
In speaking of the subscription list for the sufferers he said:
“The poor are always ready to give money. The poor man out of his poverty gives one-half or one-fourth of what he has. The rich man gives one-tenth of one per cent of his fortune. The pennies and the dimes and the quarters are what will make the present fund the size we need.
He then paid a tribute to the Salvation Army and said it should be represented on all committees working in the area of destruction.
At 21 Fifth Ave, N.Y. Sam finished his Apr. 20 to Charlotte Teller Johnson.
Saturday Eve. No, it was only the “drowse”—plain dulness, intolerable stupidity, lifelessness, almost amounting to the condition which we call “dazed.” It came of ragged sleep. You see, I am in bed these by compulsion. There is nothing animating about it. It doesn’t even move my temper; it merely petrifies me. And when is it to end? Maybe Tuesday, maybe Wednesday; maybe—well, the doctor can’t tell. / Sincerely SLC [in left margin:] I didn’t even thank you; but that was dulness, not intention [MTP].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: Lyon pasted or copied a newspaper clipping from an unidentified newspaper with a poem titled “Farewell” to Mark Twain.
John Horner wrote from Belfast, Ireland to Sam and included a second book by Mrs. Emanda M’Kittrick Ros, Delina Delaney (Belfast, Ire. No date), and a copy of Barry Pain’s humorous criticism of Irene Iddesleigh (1897), another book by Ros he’d sent before. Sam inscribed the book with his name and “1906”. Horner requested a signed photograph of Twain in exchange [Gribben 588].
CALIFORNIANS ARRANGE TO GIVE AID TO VICTIMS.
———
Meeting at Casino Under Auspices of Mrs. Oelrichs and Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt, jr., Presided Over by Mark Twain.
Crowding the Casino Theatre from stage to entrance hundreds of Californians gathered this afternoon to discuss plans for aiding their stricken friends and relatives in San Francisco and neighboring towns. Mark Twain was in the chair, and under his guidance the business in hand progressed rapidly.
The outcome of the meeting was the announcement of a benefit performance in the Casino a week from to-morrow night, a benefit euchre party of the California Club at the Waldorf- Astoria on April 27 and the appointment of a committee with Blanche Bates as chairman to visit the Mayor and ask him for the right to take charge of ordering necessary supplies of clothing to be bought out of the great fund already raised and to be sent at once to San Francisco.
All Anxious to Help.
Everybody seemed anxious to help in the meeting. Henry Miller, the actor, was his own stage hand, helping to arrange the tables and chairs on the stage for the speakers. When the curtain went up on the assemblage of speakers, there was a great burst of applause as Mark Twain arose in the centre.
“I take it for granted you all know me,” said he, “and if you don’t now you surely will before I get through. I’m here on a mission and I’m most always known as S.L. Clemens, which may be hard to spell.”
to-morrow night. ….
He then introduced Henry Miller, who announced the benefit performance for a week from When Mr. Miller concluded Mark Twain again arose.
“It hadn’t been forty-eight hours,” said Mr. Clemens, “since I threatened myself with never again appearing before a paying audience. Well, I haven’t for you paid nothing to come here, but you’ll pay before you go out. I mean that I want every one to resolve to buy tickets for the benefit performance. You’ll pay mentally before you leave here. I feel certain.”
Calls it Great Calamity.
He went on to say feelingly that he looked upon San Francisco as an old home, since he lived there forty years ago, when it was a small but growing town. He characterized the earthquake and fires as “the greatest calamity of ancient or modern times.” Referring to ways of helping the city now he said:
“Let us turn from the dead to the living. The dead are at peace. But consider that there are 300,000 homeless persons there now. They are many of them starving, half clothes, deprived of their means of livelihood. We must help them at once, and we will.”
In speaking of the subscription list for the sufferers he said:
“The poor are always ready to give money. The poor man out of his poverty gives one-half or one-fourth of what he has. The rich man gives one-tenth of one per cent of his fortune. The pennies and the dimes and the quarters are what will make the present fund the size we need.
He then paid a tribute to the Salvation Army and said it should be represented on all committees working in the area of destruction.
At 21 Fifth Ave, N.Y. Sam finished his Apr. 20 to Charlotte Teller Johnson.
Saturday Eve. No, it was only the “drowse”—plain dulness, intolerable stupidity, lifelessness, almost amounting to the condition which we call “dazed.” It came of ragged sleep. You see, I am in bed these by compulsion. There is nothing animating about it. It doesn’t even move my temper; it merely petrifies me. And when is it to end? Maybe Tuesday, maybe Wednesday; maybe—well, the doctor can’t tell. / Sincerely SLC [in left margin:] I didn’t even thank you; but that was dulness, not intention [MTP].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: Lyon pasted or copied a newspaper clipping from an unidentified newspaper with a poem titled “Farewell” to Mark Twain.
John Horner wrote from Belfast, Ireland to Sam and included a second book by Mrs. Emanda M’Kittrick Ros, Delina Delaney (Belfast, Ire. No date), and a copy of Barry Pain’s humorous criticism of Irene Iddesleigh (1897), another book by Ros he’d sent before. Sam inscribed the book with his name and “1906”. Horner requested a signed photograph of Twain in exchange [Gribben 588].
Entry Date
Links to Twain's Geography Entries