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8
EVENING LEDGERPHILADELPHIA',
TTTESDAY, MAtttfH 2, 1915;
lEtiipcr
PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY
ctrtus it k aunTis, rtiiiixT.
!ifl )i Unllnaton. Vlc lreslcnt i John C .Martin,
Secretary and Treasurer 1'hlllp fl. Collins, John B.
W mum. Ulrectara.
ED1TOMA1. UOAnDi"
Co It, K. Ccima, Chairman.
P. H. TMIALBY fcteeiitlte Editor
JOHN" C. MAnTIN. Central JIualneM Manaeer
- i i .
PuMiahed rfaliy at I'cuuo Lr.rosu llulldlne;,
InJependtnce Equare. rhlladlphla.
I.imm CesTiul. ..,,,. rtroad and Choalmit Btreeta
AtWjiTir '(it...- rreu-Vnlon hull'lin
Mvr tonic 1'0-A, Metropolitan Tower
Cntcioo BIT Hmr.e Inauranee tlulMInt;
Loxcon.. ....... ..8 Waterloo rtace, rail Mall, a. W.
WiiHitojTON tlnmiu. . ..... .,.,.. Thu Pott HuiMlna
Ntw Tok nriim ,. .. .The Timet iliilldlnt;
bmiii Htutir no rrlertrlrhatraMi
tStxj.v HtmtjtJ........ 3 I'all Mall Kast. H. W.
PjHU JJOJUV 33 Hue Louis lo Urand
sunscniPTioNi nnsis
fly rarrler, Dir.f ONLf, all cenla. nv mall, potipnM
inaln of Philadelphia, except irhera forelrn postage
t required. I)ilI,T Ont.t, one month, tweni-flve cenla.
etna
la i
f! Uail,T OittT, one year, three dollara.
All mall nib-
rcripuona paratt in advance
ij SEIX, S00O WAI.KUT
KF.TSTOJtE, MAIN 3000
Bsf Addma all communication) In Eitnlng
Llttptr. Independence Squart, Philadelphia.
sntmip it thi rniMDELriti rosTornci as secon
cuts tint. mattm.
rillMUF.LrillA, TUiJSIIAY. MAIILII 3, 1913.
The extravagant wife throws more out of the
t back door with a teaspoon than the
husband can pet In'al the front
door ictth a thovcl.
Policemen More Necessary Tlinu Councils
THIS Director of Public Safety wuuts 100U
additional policemen. Tho crime ther
mometer rises in periods of iincmploymciH;
1000 men given steady Jobs would reduce un
employment mid crime, too. The nlttiatlon.
therefore, offers a doublo reason for grant
ing tho Director's request. Besides, unless
DOO patrolmen arc added to the forco nt onco
It will be necessury to return to tho two
platoon system, which menus a 12-hour In
stead of an 8-hour dny tor present members
of tho service..
Thoro has probably been no greater In
crease In crlmo In Philadelphia than else
where. All largo cities havo been Infested
this winter with an unusually largo number
of social delinquents. But It Is true that In
eomo sections pollco protection Is so Inade
quate as to nmount to no protection nt nil. ,
Thieves havo done their will without Inter
ruption. Cracksmen and others havo worked
with more or less Impunity. Great ns Is tho
efficiency of the force, ono man has but two
eyes and two legs and cannot bo In more
thnn ono place at onco. It is simply a ques
tion of more officers of the law or a con
tinued violation of law.
Tho situation Is so plain that Councils
should not hcsltato a mluuto. But It will
hesitate, and delay, and pussy-foot along In
an exasperating way, unless all signs fall.
The reason? Sir. SIcNIchol and some of his
friends cannot get out of their heads tho Idea
that the police are still In politics. Ono
might suspect that they feared lest the nests
of criminals had been stirred up by tho Ad
ministration ns a mere device to get moro
policemen wherewith to intimldato voters
next fall. So it Is considered good politics to
leave; tho town at tho mercy of thieves until
after the next election. As to what will go
on then and how. no prediction is possible
until the votes havo been counted. Tho city
really could get along better without Coun
cils than without an adequate police forco.
Waiting for the Three Tribunes
IN A report from Harrlsburg. relative to tho
reconvening of tho Legislature, it is
naively stated that "unless Senators Vare,
lUcNichol and Crow return from Florida
early In tho week little but routine legisla
tion will be acted on."
Yet tho Commonwealth goes to the trouble
of electing scores of legislators nnd paying
them salaries. How much simpler and
cheaper it would be to havo these three great
tribunes of the people do their lawmaking
directly without tho uso of Intermediaries.
It has been suggested, too, that instead of
tho Legislature recessing- while Vare, lie
NIchol and Crow tako a vacation in Florida,
it would be a saving of timo to havo tho
other part of the lawmaking body go South
likewise. Doubtless an appropriation of
State money could bo secured to erect a
suitable assembly hall at St. Lucie.
No Landlubber Governance at Sea
THE seamen's bill Is a perfectly good cold
water spray for capitalists who havo been
thinking- of investing money in American bot
toms. It has the great merit of violating
many of our most important international
agreements, wherefore it is certain to in
volve us in disputes with foreign Powers. It
further penalizes American ships, increasing-
the cost of operation, and it has tho ad
ditional advantage of being as ill-suited to
t'he necessities of tho situation as any meas
ure possibly could be.
Farmers make laws for cities; city states
men legislate for farmers; landlubbers pre
scribe rules and regulations for the gov
ernance of those who go down to tho seas
Jn ships. The man who does not know tho
difference between a life raft and a life boat
delights to determine how many of each a
.ship shall carry and "safety at sea" becomes
a slogan of such tremendous force that It
floats to passage a bill which experience nnd
logic have shot through and through with
holes.
The President is not a seaman, but he
ought not to be fooled by so palpable a mas
querade aa this seamen's bill is. He should
treat R as he did the Immigration bill by
Indignantly vetoing It.
The lilockade Proclaimed at Last
AMERICAN relations with the belligerent
XI Powers will be simplified if the blockade
of qerman ports proclaimed by the Drltlsh
is made effective. A paper blockade may be
disregarded with impunity, according to nil
the international pre edents. That is, there
must be something more than a proclamation
that the enemy ports are closed to all ship
ping There must be a sufficient force of
warships to Intercept all merchant vessels
seeking to enter the interdicted harbor.
The Allies certainly can make an effective
bloi-Hade. if they set about It. The French
and British fleets ought to be able, not only
to prevent merchant ships front entering
German ports, but o prevent German war
ships from getting out to sea. The blockade
SEtmtmij
F riil not be effective unless it workp both
"ways.
1 We may expect, therefore, to see greater
nmval activity m the Nqrth Sea than has
been shown thus far. The fleets must be
moved closer to the Continent and must be
pi epared for any emergency, or the profits of
himtsdo running will attract adventurous
iptm and ld to nuuiy dispute over the
vlfvbta at tMNtfgl to trade with the beUig-
-nt&
1 1, Mtk,i4 u intended, of couim, ta
ivu Germany iota ub;sion, and to oon- 1
serve the food supplies of tho world for tho
Allies. Russia has 0,000,000 bushels of wheat
nt Odctsa which will bo shipped Id Franco
and England ns soon ns tho way to tho Mack
Sea Is forced by tho llect operating In tho
Dardanelles. Tho releaso of this mass of
food grnln will iclleve tho pressure In the
I'nltcd States, nnd should bo followed by a
rapid fnll In ihe prlco of wheat here and pre
vent the disaster of six-cent bread In tho
homos of the poor. So. nsldo from any In
letost In tho fortunes of either of tho groups
of lielllRprent Powers, every Amcilcan
should look with eager expectation to ihn
success of the iiRvnl campaign In tho Turkish
waters.
Incidentals .Must Not Obscure (he Main
Issue in the Transit Fight
A SIDE from the personal factor which has
been Injected Into tho right for rapid
transit, one big fact stands out. It Is that
Inst Mny tho P, n. T. recognized tho Taylor
piogram us practicable, reasonable nnd feasi
ble, frijm nn engineering as well an a finan
cial viewpoint, and presumably considered It
also tho best possible plan for tho realization
of tho hopes of Philadelphia.
The achievement of tho agreement then en
tered Into, Sir. Stotcsbury declares, was "our
expectation and desire, AND STILL IS."
Sir. Stotcsbury, It will bo observed, enters
no objection to tho plan. Ho Is merely
doubtful of tho ability of his own company
lo Mnniico Its part of tho undertaking, owing
to conditions In tho money markot nnd bo-
causo tho credit of tho company, ho avers,
has been attacked, It Is but fair to obscrvo
that tho campaign for transit was remarka
bly frco from assaults on tho P. It. T. Not
until last week was a demand made for a
statement from tho company, a statement
which obviously was necessary both for tho
protection of the company nnd tho Interests
of tho city.
Bo It remembered that the city proposes
to spend moro than $45,000,000 In the build
ing of high-speed lines. So vast a property
Is to bo turned over to tho operating com
pany, upon Investment by It of a quarter as
much, under specific guarantees against loss.
Tho credit of tho Institution would bo en
hanced by participation In so favorable an
arrangement, not Injuied.
Tho situation is not different from what It
was last week. There Is an illegal and trick
ordlnanco before Councils. It Is the business
of tho peoplo to seo that this ordinance Is
defeated and tho original legal ordinances
substituted In its stead. Tho time has passed
when participation by tho P. It. T, Is essen
tial, however desirable it may be. Tho con
struction, not the operation, of tho new lines
Is the subject under consideration. This con
struction must bo assured by the passago of
proper legislation.
Thero Is not less but greater reason now
why thero should bo a monster outpouring
of citizens Thursday afternoon. Councils
must bo made to seo what public opinion
really Is and compelled to respond to It. No
man who Is for rapid transit can afford to
bo absent from that demonstration. The
fight Is on. It must not be lost by default.
Tho city must not bo made tho victim of
Jugglers and tricksters. Now is the timo for
Philadelphia to get rapid transit If it Is ever
going to get It.
A Poor Reserve Is Better Than None
IT IS unfortunate that tho organization of
a first line of reserves should be left to
private Initiative. But It Is fortunate that
private citizens are taking enough interest
In the subject to begin the formation of an
American I.eglon to serve ns such a reserve.
Tho plan, which has tho Indorsement of tho
active oulcers of both tho army and the
navy, provides for tho enlistment of nil men
with military training and all men who aro
nble to tako care of themselves In tho open,
together with machinists, electricians, engi
neers, photogrnphors. chauffeurs, black
smiths and men skilled In nil tho trades and
crafts Involved In tho maintenance of an
nrmy In tho field. These men will bo required
to do no moro thnn to express their willing
ness to respond to a call when they are
needed, to report by mail to division quar
ters four times a year and to pay 25 cents
annually to defray tho cost of keeping tho
records.
Tho purpose Is to prcparo for emergencies
by securing tho promise of patriotic citizens
to do their part. No reasonablo person can
find any objection to this plan, savo the gen
eral objection to war. But evon that argu
ment against military preparedness will not
hold In this case, for thero Is no Intention to
increase tho size of tho army or the navy, no
plan to encourage military drill or to do any
of those tilings which offend tho pacifists.
It Is merely to find out how many men thero
nio ready lo respond in case their services
nro needed. As army reserves go this will
be a pretty poor excuso for such a lino of
defense. But It will be better than nothing.
That riot In Jacob Langeloth's model town
was a model riot.
March came in, not like the roaring lion
of tho fable, but about as the British lion
will feel if the Germans win.
It is understood that the proposed hospital
In the financial district of New York is for
the accommodation of the lambs who were
clipped too close in the shearing process.
"We are impressed with the bigness of this
great country when we read that "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" was played In Red Lion, York
County, for the first time a few days ago.
If the prairie dogs guess wrong on the
weather, the bead of tho "Weather Bureau,
who is a man gifted with brains Instead of
instincts, may be excused for his frequent
miscalculations. Perhaps It he trusted to
his bones he might guess right oftener.
The managers of the Panama-Faoiftc Fair
ought to send a resolution of thanks to tho
Kaiser for his submarine campaign. It has
frightened tourists from the Atlantic and
compelled them to look elsewhere to spend
their spare cash. Much of It will be used in
seeing America first.
The hunt In New York for a "conspiracy"
tp raise the price of wheat has failed. If
the search were continued over to Europe It
would doubtless be found that the real toa
iton for the war was the desire of the Euro
pe n statesmen to turn pretty peony In
-wheat s&eoylatloa.
POLITICS BUBBLES
AS CONGRESS ENDS
The Good-by Love Fenst in Wash
ington Senator Burton Planning
n World Tour Vice President
Marshall's Dnngerous Little Joke.
By J. C. HEMPHILL
AS CONCHtKSS approaches Its end politics
-O. begins to boll nnd bubble, not the politics
of debute In tho open by tho members Intent
only upon "making a record" for tho peoplo
back homo, nor of tho caucus with the
majority beating down budding Insurrection;
but tho politics of turning what has been
snld In debate and caucus to "popular" ac
count. Of course, on the last night of the ses
sion thero will bo a sort of love feast at
which Sllnorlty Leader Slann, Itepubllcnn,
will rlso at his plao and sny how much ho
really thinks of Speaker Chirk nnd Bull
Slooso Leader Victor Slurdork on positively
his Inst appearance, nnd the Speaker nnd
Sir. Sturdock will say how Sir. Slann has
btlghtcncd their lives and made tho days nnd
weoks nnd months and years of tho present
Congress "ono long sweet drenm." Thero
will bo tears and love for tho Pops, and
lovo and tears for tho Fops, and It will all
bo Just ns sincere ns anything this Congross
has done,
Underwood will bo leaving for tho Senate,
but Kltchln will have a chance now, nnd
Kltchln it no slouch. Sturdock will bo going
back to Topokn, wondering nil the way how
mnny people will be ul the station to meet
him. ITnbson will bo returning to Alabama
with not n, wet eye In the House at his going,
with the hope, possibly, In his heart of
coming bnck either to tako Thomas Riley
Slnrshall's place In tho Senntn by virtue of
being William Jennings Hrynn's Vice Presi
dent on a straight Prohibition ticket, or of
bcatl- g old Bankhcnd for his place In tho
upper house. The most of thoso who will
pass out will nover bo heard of ngnln In a
iintlnrml way, nnd tho pity of It Is that moro
of them arc not going.
Before Kansas Was Discovered
Tho Houso Is too big for a deliberatlvn
body, It Is big enough for a convention, but
It Is too unwieldy for offectivo work. This
Is what Representative Phil Campbell, of
Kansas, told the University Club last week.
He would cut down the number of Congress
men to about 141, and that would bo qultn
enough to do good and thorough work If
thero could be any way of assuring tho coun
try that tho HI would be less worthless than
tho 43.", who now encumber tho payrolls of
the Government. How Sir. Campbell hit
upon Ml as the right number Is not known
tho number of Rcpiesentatlves In the Second
Congress In 1S00 was 142, nnd that was
"sonin Congross," as the saying goes. But
that was 115 years ago, long before Kansas
was discovered, which Is why It Is worth
knowing that out of Kansas In this ago of
big business has eomo the solemn thought
that mere bigness Is not real greatness.
At the risk of giving offense It can bo said
that tho present Congress "averages up"
fairly well with the people who aro icsponsl
blo for It, nnd It is mainly valuablo as Ex
hibit A of what a pure Democracy would do
if it had tho chnneo. Thero has been much
criticism of tho President for compelling tho
Congress to do his will, and many persons
think that ho has gone too far; but it is only
fair to imagine, if ono can, what might have
happened if Congress had followed its own
will.
When Benjamin Harrison was President he
was quoted as saying. how hard he had found
it to handle "tho herd of wild nsses up on tho
hill," or something llko that. It is true that
the President has controlled tho course of
legislation; but suppose ho had not, what
might not havo happened? Ho has driven
tho team hard; but he has held It back some
or tho country would bo swamped with cot
ton currency, tho Government would havo
taken over the entlro cotton crop of tho
South at a prico agreed upon by tho owners
of tho staple; woman suffrage would have
been submitted to a vote on tho nnundment
of tho Constitution; the country would bo In
volved In entangling alliances which would
have meant the United States at war with
tho world, so that In many ways tho Presi
dent has saved tho country from Congress
even if Congress has not saved tho country
from tho President. Tho hand that has
driven has at the namo time held back, and
for this tho President Is entitled to slncero
thanks.
When tho Congressmen Get Homo
Ono of tho things the Congressmen, par
ticularly thoso who nre coming back, will do
when they reach their districts will be to line
tip their constituents for tho presidential
struggle, and there Is reason to think that
tho President himself will not bo wholly Idlo
during tho vacation period. When ho was
elected thero was a popular mlsapptehenslon
that ho was "not much of a politician," that
tho boys would pull tho wool over his eyes,
that ho "didn't know." The fact Is that ho
has shown tho old dogs a sldo of politics they
never drcamfrd of. and no President hoy over
been so absolutely tho master of his political
party. He has given offense to many who
helped to put him in ofTice; but he has made
friends of his former opponents nnd held
firmly to himself the great majority of those
who supported him for the nomination with
out any thought that In voting for him they
were doing something for themselves. There
Is no other Democrat vho enn win the most
active of tho Democratic leaders figure it
out that he can win, hands down. But the
Republicans do not think he can, and say so
as If they really meant it.
A Pennsylvania Republican who spent his
whole timo with the publicity end of the
recent contest in that State said yesterday:
"Any Republican can b.e elected President
next year. You can talk all you please and
until you are black in the face about the
necessity of tariff revision and spin out tho
old yarns about service to the struggling
masses and how all that has been dono has
been for their relief; but the people know by
this time how much they have been benefited,
and are only thinking this one thought;
When the Democrats are in power the coun
try Is In distress; when the Republicans are In
power the people are prosperous.' It Is on this
one issue that the next presidential contest
will be waged. The facts are here; seeing Is
believing. Any Republican can be elected.
Burton Around the World
"Senator Burton, of Ohio, would make a
great Fresident and would beat Mr. "Wilson
out of sight. After he gives up his seat in
the Senate en March 4, Mr. Burton will leave
the United States for a trip around the world,
and when ha comes back in time for the pres
idential campaign he will come back, J think.
to take the leadership of his party, and un
les alt my gifts of prophecy fall, hu return
homo will bo a sort of triumphal entry, llo
will not mako a speech at Sladlsou Square
Garden advocating dangerous doctrines to de
stroy tho business Interests of tho country,
but ho will tell his countrymen how thoy can
deliver themselves from tho evil spell that has
fallen on all our Industrial progress."
Tho samo Republican authority said fur
ther; "Sir. Taft Is gaining ovcry day. Sloro
peoplo are talking about him In a friendly
way than over before, llo has behaved so
splendidly in nil things since ho left tho
Whlto House, has talked so sensibly on all
public questions, has kept his head when ull
about him were losing thelis, has reproached
none of his former opponents, that he has won
his way Into tho hearts and consciences of alt
his old party associates. Could he be elected?
Why, without halt trying. Will ho get tho
nomination? That's different. Does he want
It? I don't know. But any Republican can
be elected."
There has been a good deal of qulot fun
about what VIco President Slarshnll said on
a recent festive occasion here. The story Is
that In tho courso of a variously appreciated
speech he said something llko this: "In JS70
wo elected Samuel J. Tllden President of tho
United States, and you fellows cheated us
out of tho election. I want to say now that
In 191i you won't havo to cheat us out of tho
presidency wo aro going to glvo it in you";
or, as another version has It, "Wo aro going
to foico you to tako It." But, of course, as
anybody can sec, tho VIco President was
"only Joking."
WAR INSURANCE
It Is Paid in Higher Wages on Ships
Transferred to tho American Flag.
From the Concrentlonal Record.
Sir. SWANSON. I desire to call up the un
finished business.
Sir. GALLINGEIl. Will tho Senator from
A'IrglnIa yield to me to make a request?
Sir. SWANSON. I will yield temporarily to
the Senator.
Sir. GALLINGER. I nsk unanimous con
sent to place In tho Record a statement con
cerning the wages on foreign and American
ships.
Thero being no objection, tho statement was
ordered to bo printed In tho Record, as fol
lows: Cost of Operating Kotelgn-built Vessels Tinns
ferrcd to Arneilcnn Flag.
30 Church Mreot, New York. X. Y.,
Fclmuiry 24, 1515.
Hon. J. 11. GnllliiEci,
Unltod States Senator, "Washington. D, C.
Bear Sir Your letter of tho 10th Instant, ad
dressed to A. J. Fnrrcll, president United
States Steel Corporation, has lieeu referred to
us for attention, as this company Is the sub
sidiary of tho corporation which owns tho for-elgn-bullt
steamers recently transferred to the
American flag. Tho present and former scale
of wagea on our steamers and the pcrcentago
of increase is shown In the following state
ment: Wages of captains under American scale vary
according to seniority.
Wages of other oulcers and the engineers are
fixed, being same on all steamers.
Crew. ilrltlah,
Avge. American
I
Captain 23
Clilef officer IS
Second ofllcer 11
Third officer 0
C'idet engineer 21
Xlret huh. enslneer ... l.t
Aige. Inc.
d. p. ct.
0 0JI'.'l.fi(l f n;.-, ;ir,.n
O Ob 78.00 01) 23.il
S 4 B1.34 70 28.8
0 0) 43.80 IIO .17.0
O 0 102.20 ISO 48 8
II 0 73.00 300 37.0
Second aiit. engineer.. 11
3 4 M.34 00 nn.ii
Third ant. engineer... 8 10 0 4UI0 80
D3.4
Safe-navigation money to captains, J300 per
year, payable annually January 1, on showing
a clean record for the previous months.
Tho wages of the following members of the
crew vary on the different steamers, depend
ing upon the Bupply available, and tho port at
which signed on. The steamship San Fran
cisco Is quoted as an example:
Crem. Ilrltlah Am. Inn.
umei iiBwiro n uE3H,iri
Second ateward 4 0 10.47
Mearoom ateward a 0 li.so
Chief cook T Os 31.07
Hacond cook S 0s 2I.S3
Carpenter T 031.07
Hoatawaln a 10s 81.63
Ballon 5 1080.71)
Firemen . ., c 10 20.70
Ollera A 0s Sd.2Q
Donkeyman , U 1031.03
5S 41 2
25 28.4
22 S0.7
40 17.1
25 2.7
4(1 17,4
8S 10.7
28 4.0
32 10.S
S3 19 0
33 10.T
Owing to the unsettled conditions which have
prevailed throughout the world since the out
break of tho present war Jn Europe, the In
creased cost of operation In the, other depart
ments can not be fairly stated, as we have no
basis upon which to make a definite com
parison. Yours very truly,
United States Steel Products Co.,
John Hughes. General Agent.
WHAT MEXICO MUST LEARN
From the Chicago Herald.
The Chinese government has given a pardon
to Pr. Sun Vat Sen and other leaders who
helped create the republic. It has Invited them
to mturn and accept hlch office on the sole
condition that they take the oath of allegiance.
In brief, China Is beginning; to learn the funda
mental fact that all government Is compro
mise and that a republic means toleration. It
Is a pity that llejilco gives no indications of
learning; the same lesson.
OP THE SAME BREED
XYom the Cleveland Leader.
It's better than an even bet that the man who
rushes by your open bedroom window every
rooming at 6 30 with, his auto muffler cut out
in a strcot car
i 1 1 i i i . ii , . zttt
UNDETERRED
AMATEUR THEATRICALS AS PLEASURE
Making a Bore for Friends Into a Boon for Playgoers What the
Washington Square Players Have Done to Solve the
Theatre Problem.
By KENNETH
or overynlght theatre-
mi IK pverjday
JL going public long ago learned this sad
truism: the trouble with private theatricals
is that thoy aro usually given In public. And
yet a group of amateurs who call themselves
tho Washington Sriuaro Players havo been
turning awny Rroadway play-goers every
night from a modest but thoroughly Interest
ing production of four one-act plays. Tho
answer, of courso, Is quality to begin with;
but It Is nlso several other things. And
those things aro rather Important to any
play-going community.
Quality First
To get over the question of quality first,
let us look nt the brief facts In tho case. At
tho Haiidbox Theatre a playhouse on East
B7th street, New York, that lives up to Its
name tho Washington Squat o l'laycrs pre
sented four plays on Friday, February 13,
and tepcated them or intend to repent them
on ovcry Friday and Saturday until tho
middlo of Starch; then another bill. Tho
organization Is made up of writers, painters
and actors from tho younger lights of Wash
ington Square; subscribers and ticket-takers
eomo from all over, and wander from Edna
Ferbdr nnd Fola La Folletto to peoplo Just
as staid and unobtrusive as all New Yorkers
think nil Philadelphlans.
Tho plays wcro as varied as could well' be.
They began with "Licensed," by Basil Law
rence, a realistic llttlo drama of lower mid-dlo-clnss
Brooklyn, questioning and testing
somo of our notions on long engagements,
Irregularities outside marrlago and tho
sterile attitude of some churchmen toward
these things. Its opinions aro manifestly
matters for debate, but its humanity and Its
art wero definitely enough established by tho
performance. On tho whole, it was typical of
tho modern spirit In social drama,
Tho second play was nn intellectual farce,
"Rugcnlcnlly Speaking," in which u very
modern young daughter of n street-car mag
nate picked out ono of his employes ns a
mato, put her parent In his place with, "Why
will you Insist on talking to mo as If I wero
n public service commission," and only re
tired defeated before tho conductor's nssur
nnco that a well-bred young lady already
had him In tow ns a eugenic hushaud. In
"Rugcnlcnlly Speaking" Edward Goodman
was often audacious, but always very level
headed and very crisp and biting.
Slaoterlinck's "Interior," tho principal
piece, needs no word of description or praise,
The naturo of Its production deserves sep
arata comment.
"Another Interior," a gastrouomlo allegory,
was Ingenious in itself while supplying a
bit of dancing and spectaclo to round out
tho bill. Suitable presentation of tho rush
ing emotions of a cocktail, an oyster, three
sauces, a meat and an irresistible liqueur on
encountering the dissolvents of Sir. Smith's
Interior, calls for more dancing ability than
amateurs muy furnish. But they can sup
plyand In this case they did s.upply a
scenic atmosphere.
The Scenic Sldo
If amateurs aro u lo anything which
others besides their rriends can bear, they
must learn, once and, for all, that scenery
Is not to be neglected. The ugly and absurd
warehouse relics of amateur theatricals sim
ply will not do. And yet hat doesn't mean
tho expense of Broadway scenic studio.
There nro any number of young artists to be
had who will supply brains instead. Ralph
Roeder, u young Harvard man, and several
others, put some of that valuable commodity
Into tho productions of the Washington
riaycrs. They used a simple, flat, palo wall
and corner for the Brooklyn play. They put
a narrow frlezo of fruit across as slmplo as
the wall, and with the aid of a few carefully
chosen chairs, produced a suggestion of a
well-to-do home that amateurs never
achieved before. "Another Interior" was
presented by two black curtains with a red
strip between and a hot red light from above,
while the Dlssqlvants danced Jn grotesque
yellow and green striped mother hubbards
and chalked faces, and the rest of the diners
had bits of bright symbolism in their cos
tumes. "Interior"' was the triumph of the evening
scenicaiiy as wen as dramatically, and It
proved Just what any amatours may do. Tho
Illusion was perfect: the gray wall of a
moonlit house with some garden bench in the
half light of the moon, and In the wall two
large and well-proportioned windows that
threw Into relief tho simple room of country
Joy within, lit by yellowing candles. Noth
ing, however elaborate, could have caught
Maeterlinck's spirit better. And it cost $39.
Economy and beauty are ra.dy for any ama
teur society that wants them
The evening began with an Impromptu
MACGOWAN
prologuo botwecn a well-known novelist In
tho audience, who said ho was a business
man tired a lady In a box nnd tho director,
Edward Goodman. Tho pretended nrgument
over tho time of starting put tho audience
into a new mood toward amateur produc
tions, and it ennblcd tho management to call
several novel facts to tho attention of tho
assembled play-goers.
First Aid to tho Theatregoer
Tho chief of these is what everj amateur
acting society needs to ponder and every
playgoer, too. Tho "Washington Square
Players nro trying to give a varied selection
from tho playB that peoplo can't see ordi
narily, and they are giving them to people
who aro qulto sum that these are tho sort of
thlngH they want to see. In other words, the
amateurs havo invoked the subscriber sys
tem by which fino editions and unusual
books aro issued. They will sell tickets to
the general public, but they ask first for nn
audience that, shows nn Interest by subscrib
ing to a season's productions.
This subscriber system, which is ready to
the hand of any set of amateurs who really
want to seo and give good plays, has reached
Its perfection In Berlin. There tho "Free
Peoplo's Theatres," beginning on ns modest
a scale, havo grown through good work and
genuine sendee to startling proportions.
They nro no substltuto for tho ordinary com
mercial theatre, but they aro a supplement,
and a very important supplement. Thoy
not only give certain play-goers what they
want and what they can't get In any other
way, but they exercise a tremendously stimu
lating effect on tho regular theatres and pro
ductions. Such organizations in America
would bo trebly vnluablo boeauso of the
necessarily wholesalo character of plays
which aro produced commercially to reap the
popularity of a continent.
I hnvo been tempted to keep the most sur
prising fact and most vital fact for tho last.
It Is tho key to drawing an Intelligent audi
onco of youth nnd age, rich nnd poor It
menna letting down the bars as well as sup
plying a real pasturago of art. Hero it Is:
Thn Washington Squaro Players chargo an
admission feo of EO cents.
WESSEX HEIGHTS
(1896)
. By Thomas Hardy.
There are some Heights m Wcssex. shaped as if
by a kindly hand
"'Inking dreaming, dying on. and at crises
when I stand.
Say, on Ingpen Beacon erward. or on "Wylls-
Neck westwardly,
I seem where I wan before my birth, and after
death may be.
In the lowlands I have no comrade, not even
the lone man's friend
lier who sufferelh long and is kind; accepts
what he Is ton wMt t ,h.
Down there they are dubious and askance:
there nobody thinks as I,
But mind-chains do not clank where one's next
neighbor Is the sky.
In the towns I am tracked by fantoms having
weird detective ways)
Shadows of beings who fellowed with myself of
earlier days;
They hang about at places, and they say harsh,
heavy things
Men with a frigid sneer, and women with tart
disparaging:.
pown there I soeni to be false to myself, my
simple self that was.
And Is not now, and I see him watching, won
dering what crass cause
Can have merged him Into such a strange eon-
tinuator as this,
Who yet haB something In common with him
self, my chrysalis.
I cannot go to the great gray plain; theie's a
figure against the moon,
Nobody sees it but I, and it makes my breast
beat out of tune; ,
I cannot go to the tull-splred town, being barred
by the forms now passed
For everybody but me, in whose long vision
they stand thero fast.
There's a ghost at Yell'ham Bottom chiding
loud nt the fall of the night,
There's a ghost In Froom-Slde Vale, thln-llpped
and vague, In a shroud of white.
There Is one n the railway-train whenever I
do not want it near,
I see Its profile against the pane, saying what
I would not hear.
As for one rare fair woman, I am now but a
thought of her, ,
I enter her mind and another thought succeeds '
me that she prefers;
Yet my love for her in its fullness she herself
even did not know;
Well, time cures hearts of tenderness, and now
I can lit her go.
So I am found on lugpen Beacon, or on Wylls-
Neek to the west,
Or eUe on homely Bulbarrow, or little PItsdon
Crest,
Where men have never eared to haunt, nor
women bav walked with "
And ghosts then keep their distance, and I
know some liberty.