In the early 1900s, the automobile suddenly leapt from rare rich man’s toy to ubiquitous rich man’s accessory. It had not yet reached the masses in 1905, but the automobile business was already making fortunes, and dozens or hundreds of firms went into the car-making business.

In Pittsburgh, Alvin P. Shumaker was one of the first to make his fortune selling cars. He secured the agencies for a number of brands, including Packard and Searchmont, and he was manager of the American Motor Company, which opened an office in one of Pittsburgh’s towering skyscrapers, the Park Building, and planned a big garage downtown where the rich could leave their cars for the day.

In 1905, we read that he was building a house:

PITTSBURGH, PA—Architect Titus De Bobula, Farmers’ Bank building, has completed plans for a brick and stone dwelling and garage, to be erected in the East End, for A. P. Shumaker, Park building. Cost, $25,000.

—The American Architect and Building News, April 8, 1905.

This was the eye-catching fact that led to an hour’s research into the Shumaker story. Titus de Bobula was the extravagantly eccentric modernist genius who would later give up architecture to become, in succession, a wastrel playboy, failed would-be Nazi dictator of Hungary, and an arms dealer. His surviving works are few. Was there an unidentified De Bobula house still standing somewhere in Pittsburgh? It would have been a fine house: $25,000 would have built a mansion fit for a rich family, at a time when $4,000 would build a good-sized house, with servants’ rooms, for the upper middle classes.

But it looks as though this house was never built. By the end of the year, Shumaker was dead—run over by a train in Union Station in Pittsburgh.

That is where the story becomes interesting. The coroner’s jury returned a verdict of suicide. The story was that Shumaker had found his wife with another man, and—according to one witness, a waiter—had run out declaring, “I’ll end it all!” Throwing oneself in front of a train was a popular if messy form of suicide in those days.

But there were life-insurance policies—four of them, each worth $10,000. When the insurance companies refused to pay, the widow sued. The various legal proceedings kept the insurance trade journals interesting for months. The insurance companies alleged not only that Shumaker committed suicide, but also that he had made false statements in taking out the policies in the first place. His wife was not his wife, at least not at the time, and he was not a man of “correct and temperate habits.”

Claiming that their policies on the life of Alvin P. Shumaker of Pittsburg are voided in that he committed suicide and was not accidentally killed, as shown by the verdict of the coroner’s jury, four accident companies, each having $10,000 insurance on the life of the deceased, are contesting the payment of the amounts to the widow. Mr. Shumaker was killed by a train in the Union Depot at Pittsburgh on the night of December 12, 1905. He had accident policies for $10,000 each in the Preferred Accident, the Fidelity and Casualty, the Travelers of Hartford and the Central Accident of Pittsburgh. The bill of particulars filed by the Fidelity and Casualty in the case alleges that a breach of warranty was made by Shumaker in the statement that “the beneficiary is Ella H. Shumaker, relationship, wife,” when the plaintiff in the present action was not at that time the lawful wife of the assured. The lawyers for the insurance company contend, too, that the policies were procured by perjury and fraud. Shumaker, when he took out the policies, declared that he was a man of correct and temperate habits. The lawyers of the companies will try to prove that he was ever of “extravagant, reckless, dissolute and intemperate habits,” and that policies issued on such a man’s false statements should not be valid. The outcome of the suit is awaited with interest.

—The Weekly Underwriter, May 11, 1907.

Much of the case hung on the testimony of that one witness, the waiter who claimed to have heard Shumaker say “I’ll end it all.” He was summoned to give his testimony—and then he disappeared.

With the waiter missing, there was no testimony. Three of the insurance companies, unwilling to face a long and expensive trial, settled for less than the total, but still a substantial amount. The waiter was later found and arrested, but the settlement had already been made.

THE SHUMAKER CASE.

Three of the companies carrying accident insurance on A. P. Shumaker, of Pittsburg, who was killed by a train on the night of December 12, 1905, have settled on a basis of sixty per cent. Rumors have, however, been current that these companies confessed judgment in order to prevent a scandal in high life, and on account of these Judge Buffington of the United States Circuit Court has made a demand on the attorneys of the defendant companies for the exact terms of settlement. The defense of the companies was suicide and untruthful statements in the warranties. The disappearance of W. Willis Burnett, a waiter, the principal witness, caused the settlement. He has since been arrested in Cincinnati and returned to Pittsburg, where he is held under charges of contempt. Kimball C. Atwood, of the Preferred Accident, explained the reason for settlement by his company as follows:

“We settled the claim against us for 60 per cent of the full amount alleged to be due, but not because somebody indemnified us. The chief witness, the waiter who heard Shumaker say, ‘I’ll end it all,’ as he left the place where he is said to have found his wife with another man, was spirited away. All the companies spent considerable money in trying to locate this man, but he escaped. The last place in which we found any trace of him was Los Angeles. While we are all assured that it was a case of suicide, and therefore a vitiating of the policies, I came to the conclusion that it would be very difficult to prove our side, as well as very costly. For that reason, and for no other, the Preferred decided to settle on a 60 per cent basis. I have no doubt that the other companies felt as I did, and that they also confessed judgment for the same reason. We are not blackmailers. and to accept indemnity from any person to pay a claim would, in my opinion, amount to blackmailing.”

—The Indicator, June 3, 1907.

So that is the story of the car dealer who would have had a remarkably interesting mansion in the East End of Pittsburgh if he had lived long enough. It sounds as though he and the equally extravagant Titus de Bobula would have understood each other perfectly, and we can only regret that we do not have the house De Bobula designed.

In larger theaters that could afford more than a piano player to accompany the pictures, the drummer would supply sound effects; or, in large metropolitan houses, there might be a separate effects man. Here Clyde Martin gives some miscellaneous advice about sound effects. His list of the effects every drummer should have on hand will be invaluable to anyone supplying sound effects for silent films today.

Working the Sound Effects

By Clyde Martin

One of the most important and useful effects that will be found in the average drummer’s collection of traps is the “baby cry” imitation, and still there are many drummers in the business that do not seem to appreciate the usefulness of this little effect when handled in the proper manner.

Some drummers are inclined to believe that every time a baby appears in one of the pictures they are supposed to get busy with the baby cry imitation. This is a sad mis- take that is made by many.

To my notion, the “baby cry” imitation should be used in very few dramatic pictures unless there is a vein of comedy mingled with the dramatic scenes. During the showing of a purely dramatic production, the use of the “baby cry” is entirely out of place, as it only has the tendency to burlesque the scene portrayed and sets the audience laughing, which spoils the theme of the story and makes the audience lose interest.

As an illustration to my argument, I will use the Kalem release of August 23rd as an example. In this picture, “Don Ramon’s Daughter,” there is an important scene that shows the mothcr and her small baby arriving at the monastery where the child is to be cared for. It is a pathetic scene, a parting of mother and child The use of a “baby cry” imitation would be entirely out of keeping with the seriousness of the scene and would be out of place, notwithstanding the fact that the child is crying all through the action of this scene On the other hand, where you have a chance to work the crying effect in a comedy picture, never let the scene get by you, as it only helps the intentions of the producer along. It is a good idea to never work the baby cry even in a comedy picture unless the audience can plainly see that the child is crying

Not long ago I had the pleasure of playing for the Essanay picture called “Summer Babies.” It was a short educational subject on the same reel with “Gossiping Yapville,” the Essanay release of August 22nd. In the closing scene of this baby picture it shows a group of babies in a very discontented mood: in fact, the majority of them were crying. On this occasion I cut out the effect for the simple reason that the drummer had but one “baby cry” imitation in his collection, and the use of one imitation would have been far from realistic, considering the fact that several babies were shown crying. In such a scene as this, five or six “baby cry” imitations should have been used in order to get the desired effect. Don’t do things half way. If you cannot put on an effect in a realistic manner, it is better to cut it out entirely.

Another picture of recent date in which the “baby cry” came in to good advantage, was the Edison release of August 9th, a seven hundred foot comedy with a crying baby as the center of attraction. If you have not as yet run this comedy, be on the lookout for it, as it is out of the ordinary and gives the effect man several opportunities to get in some good work.

The “horse hoof” imitation is another effect that is used with little discretion by many of the drummers over the country. The “horse hoof” imitation is one of the first effects that the average drummer will secure in making up his collection of traps. Most all effect men and drummers use “horse hoofs” on a marble slab, which is very good indeed when the scene shows the horses running or walking on a brick or stone pavement, but great care should be used when the horses are shown running on the grass or even a country road, which is usually the case in most Western and riding pictures. One of the best ideas I have found in use where the horses are shown running on the grass is to use the imitation on a leather cushion or a padded board, thus giving it a muffled effect.

From this, some people may be inclined to think I am trying to get the working of such effects down to a fine point, which I am undoubtedly trying to do. and you will find that I am right. The picture fans of to-day are critical and they will comment on your effects the same as they do the music. There are many people in your audience that delight in looking for the mistakes; they watch for flaws in the pictures; they watch the piano player to see if he will play ragtime through a death scene, and you should bear in mind that they are watching the work of the drummers and effect men. If they were not, the manager would have little use for you. The piano player can easily smooth over a little mistake, but the effect man never can.

In a great many of the picture theaters that I have visited I have found that they have been working the electric door-bell overtime. It seems to be the general opinion that the common electric bell will take the place of everything, from a telephone bell to the bell on an electric runabout. You wouldn’t think of using a cowbell for a cathedral chime. Why then should you use a little doorbell for a telephone bell? There is certainly as much difference.

There is hardly a program in your theater that does not call for a telephone bell and it is just as cheap in the long run to give them the real article. It is a very easy matter to pick up a junk phone from your local telephone company and the difference in the effect will soon show a marked improvement. At Louisville. Kentucky, I found a drummer that had mounted all of his different bells and gongs on a large board. Most of them were operated by batteries and he had a keyboard of push-buttons arranged in such a manner that he had no difficulty in working them. The board arrangement is very simple and inexpensive and would prove a valuable addition to any effect outfit.

I have, in the past few days, received a number of inquiries as to what effects are the most essential in making up a list for a picture theater. I will print this list and trust it will prove what the correspondents desire:

Railroad imitation, railroad bell, air brake, street car gong, fire gong, auto horn, electric doorbell, telephone bell, small table bell, small hand bell, cathedral chimes, wind whistle, canary whistle, cow bawl, steamboat whistle, locomotive whistle, rifleshot cushion, surf and steam or sand blocks, horse hoofs, slap stick, police rattle, sleigh bells, tambourine, castanets, thunder sheet, hen cackle, duck quack, rooster crow, baby cry, tom-tom, large Chinese cymbal, Chinese musette, wood block, cowbell, anvil, auto chug-chug, wind machine, crash box.

There are some of the above listed effects that you will find little use for; still, it is best to have them on hand, for you will find that, when the opportunity does come to use them, they will be greatly appreciated by the audience Then, again, you will find many traps listed above that can be made by the effect men, but it always pays to have the best so you will find that it is better to buy them from some good firm where you are getting the advantage of its years of experience.

The railroad imitation made by every manufacturer is the steam engine effect, and this same imitation can be used m pictures where dredges, steam shovels, etc., are at work, with the correct effect. When the train is shown pulling into the station the audience hears the engine, the whistle, the locomotive bell, etc., but when you go into the detail of letting them hear the whistle of the air brake, you have won a point, and a good one.

I recently found a very good detail in working a telephone bell. If the scene shows an office or a dwelling and the telephone is calling someone, it is a very good idea to keep the bell ringing until the party takes down the receiver from the hook. This is just another one of my “crank” details, but it is good. Try it the next time.

The Chinese musette that is mentioned in the list is one of the traps that you will find very little occasion to use; still it should be included in the collection. The Vitagraph Company recently released a comedy picture called “Queer Folks,” and in this picture it shows the bally-hoo of a side-show with the oriental snake charmer doing a few stunts on the platform in front of the tent. The effect of the Chinese musette in this scene alone would justify anyone in buying one of these horns. Then they come in to good advantage in Chinese or in any oriental scenic pictures. In some of the scenic pictures it is hard to supply the music let alone the sound effects. But in any of the celestial scenics a musette would make the hit of the evening.

—The Moving Picture World.