'
8
! gtiaif ng'j
lEtfign
PUBLIC M2DGEK COMPANY
ovrttis it. U cunTis. rsntNT.
f?f?HHAt tr.r.t.,4lnrAn.VI,..PrfcMnt . .Inhn f! Martin.
iprtary nd Treasurer Philip S. Collin. John 11.
S-Jvil)lAni, Dirrctors.
EDITOniALnOAKDl
Cuts It. K. CcxtIsi Chairman.
I? WltAtET ... .Gxrcuthe Editor
mS.t I.W.ital.Mi..iiil....l...iMi ..,.-, , ,...
PJoUNCMAIVTW ....Otnersl Business Managir
Published dully at l'toi.io Lbihiui nulluing,
Independence Square, Philadelphia.
U.KN)tCNTlt.j.......Droa(l ami Chestnut Street
ATM Kite Llir. ... ...... ...... ..i'rcss-l'tiion nullum
Tittt YpiK. ............. ..1T0-A, Metropolitan Tower
Cdlildo. 817 ltnma Insurance tlutlillns
XoKpotf. ......... .8 Waterloo Place, Tall Mall, S. W.
NRWH tltltlKAIrn.
iSvAslttvfrrori Bbskau. . . The I'oit liulliiinir
;r.'w Yoas Bummu. The rime inilMIng
Rtnt.ift limtJUf. (10 rrleilrlchntraMe
ilJlNMlM Ilnnmlt........ 2 I'nll Afnll Mint. H. XV.
;JIS Bciu., ...... ... 32 Hue Louis lo Grand
SUDSCnlPTIO.V TtttMS
t 'T rrtr. Tlltf-T Ovt.T. l r.nta. tlv Infill. nnKtftnM
foiimljo et Fhlltdelphla, except nhere foreign pomace
I required, Ditl.T ONI.T, ono month, twenty-five centei
DliLT O.-itT, one year, three ilnMarn All mall villi
rerlptlona payable In Advnn"e
f BEjA, 3000 wainut
KHISIOM. M U.N 3000
bsj Addrvts all commuufcarloitft lo Kientng
I.tHptr, Independence Square, fUlladelpMet
MTEnto at IBs rniLADr.i rnu ronTorrics is urco.so-
CLASS MAIL MATTER.
I: . '
STATEMENT nv Till:
OWNERSHIP, MANAGKMKNT,
CIRCULATION, ETC
of the
opening
iErfigcr
APRIL 1, 19111.
Statement of the ownership, management, circu
lation, etc, of tho EVENING T.EDOER, ns of
April 1, 181G.
'Published dally except Sunday nt Philadelphia,
Pa., required by the net of August "I, 1912.
: Executive Editor P. II. Wlmlcy, Philadelphia.
Hailaainp Editor II. M. Eaton, Philadelphia.
P General .Business Manager John C. Martin,
Philadelphia.
If,Puosnr PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY, 1'hll-
;.: naeipma.
f Owner PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY.
15 Clt ASlttinlrlAfH linlsl I t-i rv 1 tmi nnnl m flirt nf
Wh total 'amount of stock Cyrus II. K. CurtlR,
A-niinucipiiia ; jonn uriuDci, l'liuaueipma.
y Known bondholders, mortgagees nml other se
curity holders holding 1 per cent, or moio of
total amount of bonds, mortgages or other
securities Pennsylvania Company for Insur
ances on Lives and Granting Annuities, Tins
tees for Estate of Anthony J. Drcxcl, de
ceased; Adolph S. Ochs, Gcorgo W. Ochs.
'Average number of copies of each Issue of this
publication sold or distributed, tluough tho
malls or otherwise, to paid subscribers iluilug
the six months preceding tho datu of this
statepient Dally, riS.792.
Average net paid circulation March, 1913
70?MT.
RThe circulation figures In this report are abso-
Ititsly net, and represent the actual number of
papers sold by tho PUBLIC LEDGER COM
PANY for cash. All damaged, unsold, free
nd returned copies havo been deducted from
the totals given in this statement.
JOHN C. MARTIN,
General Business Manager.
April E, 1915.
Sworn to and subscribed beforo mo this Gth
day of April. 1915.
Lincoln Carlledge,
Beal Notary Public.
(My commission expires January 23, 1919.)
riHlADELriHA. TUESDAY. Al'IUL S, 1913.
lit Vou are prepared to receive htm when
Opportunity knocks at the door
licvrtll not pass vpu 6i.
The Greater Chamber of Commerce
EM'
AYOR BLANKENBURG did not over
state tho case when he said at tho
Chamber of Commerce dinner last night
that the get-together movement was ono of
tho most significant things which had hap
pened in the 50 years of his resldenco here.
lt means that tho business men have de
cided to pull together. The decision has not
been sudden or unpremeditated. The ne
cessity for some great organization that
could adequately represent the business of
-the city has been impressing Itself upon the
minds of tho peoplo for several years. This
campaign for enlarging tho Chamber of
Commerce until It becomes such an organi
zation Is the result. No one man has done
it. although there have been individual
leaders who have distinguished themsclies
by their unselfish devotion to tho cause. No
"ono man could do It. The time was ripe
and. we aro now reaping tho harvest.
The campaign for membership, which be-
E(ns today, is already won, because the city
is ready for a forward move. And no ono
should be surprised If, at tho end of the
week, the new chamber has 10,000 members
instead of 6000, the goal fixed last week.
The Fight at Havana
BOXING as a science Is probably better
regulated and the sport ns a sport bet
ter protected in Philadelphia than In any
other place in the world. Tho number of
rounds is limited to six, which places a
premium on science rather than on brute
force. Incidentally, It Is a deterrent of bru
tality.
The contest nt Havana, whether hlgh
rnlnded citizens approved of It or not, cer
tainly held tho attention of the nation yes
terday. People showed scarcely less- Interest
in it than is usually exhibited in a presi-
rdeintl&J election. An excellent result will be
ie elimination of the expression "white
fcope" from the vocabulary of the street, for
the "hope" has bludgeoned Into an actuality.
Yet. judged from the standards of the pro
fession in which he excelled for so lone; a
time, the colored man gave in the ring at
(Havana yesterday an exhibition of which
Irtfouace. whatever the tint of its sltln, would
The Hopeful Business Outlook
WEIY? resume of business conditions that
has been made since the first of the year
! shown that there is a slow but sure re-
covery. The. period oi uncertainly nas coma
H an end. Business men are confident that
Uftere s no immediate danger of. more ae-.
Mimr conditions. They are ready to taKe
riaJl risks, and bank on the future. When-
their ventures pave proveo successrui
tv venture Httle more -with a slightly ln-
ci-aM confidence; and they find that the
tm censumln? public, of which they are
srt, is bttjlne wlttt the same increasing con-
ptlaee that they are showing1. This is, made
wlfat by the interviews with repres.sniR
Philadelphia business mm in tne vbn-
ll,DiBS.yeterday and by dispatches from
(the- industrial centres of the State.
f b demand for hardware is better than for
-wtv wamaa. ne noaiery nmmirjr jo
itwp. 4 ne 0O,' 4iUon that Is wor-
ytllt 4Bt Uu I ! w.tuvM.y " un.
pi iw um mill ar finding lbs demand
. .. &.&. ...a af fh iiInr
jsJ jmiFraw " r "
-te.r,i whm-wr WW jggp ms mm.
, "., in iir 'itoMKil wt
EVENING
with which peoplo .dispense In hard times,
nml conditions better than for many months.
The value of tho publication of such views
ns these business men express lies In lis
psychological effect. When It Is known that
big men nre thinking and talking ptosperlty
little men take oottrtiRe nnd follow the exam
ple of tho leaders In their lines. When tho
transportation men aro reporting Improve
inenls of tlto same kind ns discovered by Uio
producers and distributers, thero Is no reason
for nny ono to bo disheartened.
Local Option or Irolilbltlon?
THE local option hearing at Hnrrlsblirg to
day Is of far greater Importance than Is
generally supposed.
On the ono side Is the Governor, supported
by nn overwhelming public opinion and tho
Indorsement of thousands of business men,
many of thorn directors of great commercial
enterprises which have put the bar sinister
on t't Inking men nnd adopted ns a definite
Industrial policy the employment only of
workmen who are hnbitunlly sober. Big busi
ness has combined with llttlo business lo out
law alcohol, nnd both together call on tho
Stato Government to confer upon tho several
counties the right, In their turn, to bnnish
llnuor, If In their wisdom they sco fit to do so.
On tho other sldo aro tho organized liquor
Intel rsts, with millions Invested, which havo
sol out to obstruct the will of tho peoplo and
to deny them their Inherent right to self
novernnictit: which seek to pcrpotualc the
liquor business, whether tho people of tho
several counties wish It or not, and endeavor
by vicious, nnd probably coimpt, political al
liance to retain a general franchise through
out all tho Slate, without regard to the evo
lution In sentiment which has taken placo
and without consideration of tho now Ideals
nnd purposes which animate a people about
to engage In n great industrial campaign, tho
sun-ess of which depends wholly on the ef
ficiency of our producers.
The history of nntl-llquor ngltatlon In this
country Indicates that whoro tho liquor In
terests havo thrown tho Issuo Into politics
and by one means or nnolhcr sought to pro
vent temperate nnd sober legislation, they
have finally succeeded In whipping public
sentiment Into fury nnd have made Prohibi
tionists of men ordinarily opposed to such
dra'stlc procedure. To prevent local option Is
to leave but ono way In which counties op
posed to liquor can protect themselves against
Its sale, and this Is by Stato prohibition. To
prevent local option Is to lino the dry dis
tricts up ngnlnst the wet districts, to oppose
the overwhelming sentiment of ono commun
ity to tho contrary sentiment of nnothor, and
eventually to have a general law which Is
ns repugnant to some sections of the State
as It W agreeable to others. That means a
port of annrch. Tt has meant, In many
Commonwealths, brother ngulnst brother, fa
ther against son, and a period of unreasoning
civic hate.
It Is, therefore, to the Interest of nil, and
particularly of tho liquor people, that a local
option law be enacted. It is a safety valve.
It Is tho only guarantee the liquor peoplo tan
have against eventual confiscation of their
property, and tho only guarantee the people
havo against a deplorable period of whisky
politics.
Tho fight nt Harrlsburg, therefore, is of far
more Importance than Is generally supposed.
Indeed, tho situation resolves Itself Into a
dilemma: Local option now or prohibition
later.
How the Governor Feels
LOCAL OPTION was to hnve been killed In
I the Senate, but a poll shows that 28 of
tho CO Senators favor home rule on tho liquor
question. Governor Brumbaugh Is feeling
quite well, thank you I
A Premature Rumor About Austria
AUSTIUA may not be ready yet to negotl
jCxate for a separate peace, but she cannot
hold out much longer, as things aro going
now. The Itusslans wrested practically all of
Gallcia from her when they took Przemysl
nnd launched their troops ngalnst tho Car
pathian passes. Now It Is admitted from
Vienna that the Russians have taken one of
tho passes and aro pressing hard on tho
others. But It will not bo necessary for them
to hold the whole Carpathian range beforo
they can begin their active operations around
Cracow. The Carpathians will protect their
left wing ns they sweep on toward tho Ger
man frontier. When they take Cracow the
way into Austria and Hungary, as well as
Into Germany, will bo open.
Francis Joseph may hold out until the Rus
sian hordes begin to pour Into the plains on
tho south of the mountain barrier, but ho
must yield then, unless all estimates of tho
combined strength of tho forces that can be
used to resist tho Russian advance aro Incor
rect. Tho report that Austria is sutnir for
peace seems to bo premature rather than un
founded. Practice games win no pennants.
There is nothing for the Allies to do but
rename their "Jack" Johnsons.
Buffalo Bill is now judge advocate general
of Wyoming as well as a crack shot.
The tulip beds In Independence Square are
greener because of Saturday's snow.
Tho Supreme Court has decided that tho
right to bo hanged Is not Inalienable,
Senator Cummins still hopes to ba Presi
dent, but tho country has moved nway from
that sort of thing.
Whatever may be thought of log-rolling In
the Capitol, no one objects to egg-rolling on
the White House grounds.
It has been denied once more that Japan is
to send an army to Europe. And It probably
will be denied again and again.
The only surprising thing about the re
ported break between YIHa and Zapata is
that it was not reported earlier,
What a fine thing It would be Jf the wart
ring nations of Europe would settle their
differences through Individual champions 1
When the Austrlans find it necessary to
court'tnartlal 40 officers in a bunch it is Im
possible to escape the conclusion that some
thing is the matter with the Austrian army.
Firemen deserve praise in any circum
stances, but firemen who Can put out great
conflagrations with rotten hqse are entitled
to extraordinary commendation. And the
city 'hat permits them to work with rotten
hose is deserving of corresponding condem
nation. Probably tho I0S Representatives who
vottd to ovtrrule the Governor's veto of the
Habsood pewspaper advertising bin were not
b$ aniloua to ee the money paid as they
Tf fr k$P la the jgeod graiswi of the. nprfle
1 fattf! ft 1 tfcjr jrafvitogr of a 0hif Mmfa
ttve $, imlittcttl neawawii.
TTmER - PHILADflLffHlA - , TUESDAY, APBIfi 6, 1916:
THE NEW CRISIS
IN THE BALKANS
Bulgaria's Warning to the Allies
That Her Grievances Against
Servia Must Bo Redressed Some
Very Significant "Ifs."
By PRANK H. SIMONDS
ONE fact It la Impossible to escape as a
consequenco of tho now ntiarrel botweon
Hulgnr and Serb outposts In Macedonia.
Despite all rumors and reports to tho con
trary, tho differences between tho Sefvlan
nnd Bulgarian peoples In Macedonia havo
not been accommodated. Now, as at every
moment since tho Peaco of Bucharest tem
porarily terminated a dispute which it did
not ndjust, tho Bulgar Is ready to nttack
the Serb whenever the moment seems prom
ising. That the present moment l.i promising
may bo doubted. A few months ago a Bul
gar army moving west at tho hour when
Belgrndo had fallen and Sorb ruin seemed
imminent, might have Joined hands with tho
Austrian Invader and completed tho conquest
of tho bravest of tho foes of tho two Kaisers.
Cut now a Bulgarian attack would mean
prompt ravaging of all Bulgarian shores of
the Black Sea by the Russian fleet, while
tho nlllcd ships beforo tho Dardanelles would
quickly sclzo Bulgaria's llttlo window on tho
Aegean nbout Dedeagotch. Rumania nnd
Grccco ore, too, bound by nlllanco with
Servia to defend her from such an attack.
Bulgars Want Action
But If tho fortunes of Scrvla's allies at tlto
present hour are mounting too high to tempt
Bulgaria to any eleventh hour union with tho
two Kaisers, thero can be no mistaking tho
fnct that tho situation In tho Balkans Is
rnpldly becoming critical. Bulgaria Is ac
tually facing n condition In which her own
peoplo demand that Bho tnko somo action,
Thus the present attack at the preclso point
whero sho opened tho disastrous second
Balkan War, the new thrust nt tho Belgrade
Salontca railroad, tho life lino of Servia, may
prove nn adequate warning to tho wholo
nlllcd camp that Bulgarian grievances must
be redressed without further delay.
Theso grievances aro of two sorts. They
concern lands which were once Bulgar and
aro still inhabited by Bulgars. They also
concern somo hundreds of thousands of Bul
gars who nro being driven out of Mace
donia by Servian tyranny or aro 111 fact
fleeing to escape service In tho army of
their conqueiors. For Scrvlu, hard put to
It now for men, Is striving to fill up the gaps
In her ranks by drafting of Bulgar popula
tions of the Macedonian districts taken by
her in tho two Balknu wars. ,
Now, as at all times slnco the Peace of
Bucharest, Bulgaria asks that there shall
bo returned to her tho Bulgar districts of
Macedonia. But who shall decide what
theso are? The Treaty of San Stcfano as
signed to Bulgaria all of Macedonia from
tho Rhodoplans to Albania. By this agree
ment she was to acquire Uskub on the north
and touch tho Gulf of Saloulca on the south.
But the Congress of Berlin tore up this docu
ment. Another Scrap of Paper
A generation later the Serbo-Bulgar treaty
which preceded the first Balkan war sepa
rated Bulgar and Sorb spheres In Macedonia
by a lino drawn from Egrl Palanlta to Och
rlda. AH south of this line was to be Bulgar,
most of tho territory north unconditionally
Serb, certain districts, including Uskub, con
ditionally, and tho Czar of Russia was to
settlo the question. But Europe, in denying
Servia a window on the sea, destroyed this
bargain that Is, for tho Sorbs, who de
manded a new division to compensate them
for their Albania surrenders to the Concert
of Europe.
This Serb demand provoked tho second
Balkan War. In 1913, ns now, Bulgaria In
sisted that Servia should keep to the old
bargnln. But Servia, victorious In the sec
ond Balkan War, took not merely tho Mace
donian districts west of tho Vardar, which
sho had demanded, but the districts east,
Including Istlb, Kotchnnn, Radovlsta, leaving
Bulgaria only tho llttlo circle of Strumnltza,
from which she has Just made her foray Into
the Vardar Valley. Greece, for her part,
having consented that Bulgaria should have
all of Macedonia east of tho Struma and
north of the Veles Mountains, pushed her
frontier east to the Mesta and beyond.
Since that time, and particularly since the
great war broke out, tho Allies and Italy
havo been endeavoring to persuade Greece,
Rumania and Servia to recede to Bulgaria
portions of the territory taken In 1913. Ru
mania lias been promised allied support In
Bukowiua and Transylvania, Greece In
Northern Eplrus, Servia in Bosnia and Her
zegovina; but asldo from Rumania no ono
lias mado the slightest move toward con
cession. Servia, asked to cede tho region
between the Vardar, the Bregalnltza and the
Rhodoplans, has been unyielding. Venezeloa
has Just denied that Greece ever offered to
give up the Kavala region.
All these fruitless negotiations have plain-
THE SLANG OF
BRITISH offlcerH complain that the talk of
Tommy Atkins Is sometimes Incomprehensi
ble, If Tommy happens to come from the Wlilte
chapel district In London, no wonder. His
language, to the unsophisticated ofllcer who
overhears It, Is pure gibberish. Much of It Is
"rhyming slang," originally the special property
of thieves and loafers,
Some of the Invented terms had an allegorical
Intention, such as "I'm afloat," to represent th
word "boat," and "sorrowful tale," to mean
"three months In Jail." "Artful dodger" often
stood for "lodger." But on th6 other hand,
"elephant's trunk" signified "drunk." and "but.
lock's horn" was the way the slangy one an
nounced his resolve "to pawn." When this
language became popular 30 or 0 years ago In
the slums It was further developed, paradoxi
cally speaking, by curtailment. For Instance,
any gentleman who drank not wisely but too
well would bo said to be "elephants," and his
clothing, should he have pawned it, would b
described as "bullocked."
The bewilderment of any British officer over
hearing the conversation of his men-thousands
of whom come from the pooreat sections of the
great cllles can easily be understood. "Battl
of the Nile" stands for "tile," which is Tom
my's word for "hat," and a "flag unfurled" has
nothing whatever to do with banners, but con
veys the notion of "a man of the world." There
used to be a popular tone among the ladles and
gentlemen of Wbltechapel nd tho New Cut,
Larnbeth-a. tough district in South London
yesrs aso-whUh, trted with th following:
As I pat in front of th Anna, Jfarla
Wanning my plates of meat.
There came a, knok at the Rory O'More
That tsddft my raspberry beat
"Ants. UmW i , "pltM ot mwW
i
A
ly left the Bulgars Impatient. They rcallzo
that if tho war ends with Macedonia wholly
In Greek and Serb hands there can then be
no thought of reconquering thoso regions
and they will bo lost for nil time. On the
other hand, thero 13 a growing desire In
Sofia to Join the Allies against Turkey and
by moving south rctako Adrlanoplo and ro
ocrupy tho province of Thrace to 'tho Enos
Mcdla line, which was fixed ns the Bulgaro
Turk boundary at London In 1913 and sur
rendered to tho Turk nflcr tho disasters of
tho second Balkan War.
Tho Allies, now linlteil before the Dar
danelles, would manifestly welcome the as
sistance of tho veteran Bulgar armies before
Bulalr and at the Chatalja. Could Bulgaria
and Greece como to terms tho Greek nrmy
would also bo released; now It Is held to
watch tho Bulgar. Rumania, too, freed from
the danger of a Bulgar attack, If luck turned
against her In Transylvania, could take her
placo In tho allied battle line. Italy, anxious
beyond nil else that the Balkan Alliance bo
restored and Austro-Gcrmnn Influence south
of the Dainibo destroyed, would hall with de
light nny accommodation of tho existing
difficulties.
Bulgaria Runs Amuck
Bulgarian diplomacy Is notoriously bad. In
deed, It Is only ono of tho several resem
blances between the Bulgar and tho Prus
sian which have proved so disastrous to the
smaller State. Yet it. Is inconceivable that
tho Sofia statesmen should choose tho pres
ent time to Join tho war on the Austro-Gcr-man
sldo after having held back nt a time
when their entrance might havo desttoyed
stricken Servia. What Is reasonable to sup
pose Is that tho Bulgarian statesmen have se
lected this moment to warn tho Allies of Ser
via, tho foes of the'Austto-Gcrman alliance,
that It Is time to stop mere empty negotiat
ing and make some substantial concession
to Bulgar demands.
But If Bulgaria has again decided to run
amuck, as sho did In 1913, then Gieeco will
infallibly bo drawn Into the war, Rumania
will havo to tear up her solemn treaty obli
gations or go to tho defense of Servia and
the ports of Varna and Dedeagatch will pres
ently become targets of the allied fleets. All
this would mean a halt to the land opera
tions against Constantinople, for tho Turks,
with tho aid of tho Rulgars, could easily dis
pose of all allied armies available. Servia
would havo to face a new Invasion, perhaps
simultaneous attacks from tho west and the
east, by Bulgars and Austrlans.
All this would bo a tremendous moral vic
tory for Berlin, whose money has been busy
In Sofia for many weeks. But all this Is
quite unlikely. Rather It seems Bafo to con
clude that Bulgaria has given a warning not
too politely, but quite unmistakably.
MOUNTED NEWSBOYS
From the American Boy,
In Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, many
of the newsboys who deliver the afternoon
papers aro mounted on horseback. This city
has a population of 300,000 and has extensive
suburbs. It Is through these suburbs that the
newsboys ride.
TOMMY ATKINS
"feet"; "Rory O'More," "door," and '"raspberry"
Is slang for "heart."
When these people go out In the rain they
have an "Isabeller" (umbrella) to protect them
in the "Held of wheat" (street), and the man
will light his "cherry ripe" (pipe) to warm hla
"I suppose" (nose). He will devour a "Joa
Savage" (cabbage) for his "glorloua sinner"
(dtnner), and his favorite dish Is "bonnets eo
blue" (Irish stew), washed down with a "tonlp"
(back slang for pint) of "never fear" (beer),
Tommy Atkins Is an Inexhaustible nickname
maker. The Royal Artillery Band, for Instance,
long ago received the appellation ""The Forty
Thieves." During the reign of WllUam IV the
band composed of 40 players was In great de
mand at the Royal Palace. It was usual for the
royal household fo provide wax candles of a
superior kind as the lllumlnant, and after each
performance the partly used candles were ap.
proprlated by the bandsmen to light up their
mejsrooms in barracks. The constant supply
of new candles for the bond performances
caused an order to be issued from the royal
household requesting the musicians pot to. re
move the partly used candles. The news of this
Interdict spread, and the band was called "The
Forty Thlavps."
The Royal Scots Is the oldest regiment In the
British army, and It is from this circumstance
that It gained the name of ''Pontius Pilate's
.Bodyguard." It seems that a dispute arose be
tween the Royal Scots and the I'lcardy Beat
ment so far back a 1637 concerning tha antiq
uity of the two corps. Tho Picardy Regiment
claimed to havo been on duty on the night after
the Crucifixion. The Royal Scots, in reply, are
rport.d to havft atd, "Had wo bn on duty
I vva ijUuuia not hayo sU-pi at our pests."
DISTURBER HITS THE TRAIL
S2
:2 tmgimmmmBEm m m y-
MB RtVIVAU IpMllfl tp
SEEING THE DRAMA OF OTHER DAYS
The Revival of "Revivals" in the American Theatre "All-Star"
Managements for "All-Star" Casts How the Continental
Playgoer Used to Commune With the Past.
By KENNETH MACGOWAN
ANGLO-SAXONDOM Is developing a gen
XX nine fondness for theatrical research.
In other words, tho stage In England and
America Is going In for revivals of onco
popular plays. It Is easy to nccount for the
eight specimens now on view in London:
tho depression of tho war. But something
clso must explain our steadily growing
fondness for revisiting the histrionic scenes
of our childhood.
An "all-star" spring revival has been com
mon In New York, If not always profitable.
But by the end of this week Broadway will
seo thrco familiar plays. "Trilby" has been
revived, with Wilton Lackaye, Leo Dltrlch
stcln, Taylor Holmes, Brandon Tynan and
Phyllis Nellson-Tcrry. "A Celebrated Case"
Is to bo presented tomorrow night by an "all
star" management (David Belasco and
Charles Krohman), with Otis Skinner, Nat
Goodwin, Ann Murdock, Helen Ware and
Florence Reed. Last night Arnold Daly re
vived Shaw's "You Never Can Tell," with a
well-balanced cast that will probably outact
Its luminary laden competitors.
Revivals on tho Road
"The road" has had more than Its quota
this season. Graco George brought Clyde
Fitch's best play, "Tho Truth," to Philadel
phia In the early fall. About tho same time
carao Margaret Anglln In "Lady Winder
mere's Fan," and, later, Blanche Bates, Will
iam Gillette and Marie Doro in "Diplomacy."
The Llttlo Theatre has supplied many
"classics." Maude Adams revived "Quality
Street" at a matinee, and next year she
expects to present a whole repertory of the
plays by Barrio In which sho has appeared.
Within n month wo have had Shakespeare
and Bulwer-Lytton from Robert Mantell
and Gilbert and Sullivan from Do Wolf
Hopper.
Such a record means something. It seems,
on tho one hand, a real desire to recall
pleasant hours of other years, nnd, on the
other, an eagerness to see what an older
generation valued, to learn from it and to
rejoice both in" tho present and past. The
plays of the past servo a double purpose;
they give a double perspective. In them wo
seo the life, tho morals and the artistic
standards of another day: In them we find
much to admire, much to guide us toward
fmprovement. It is pleasant to find life rich
and full wherever wo touch it. Long-gone
evenings coma back pungent with re
membrance and tho sense of line tradition.
And these glimpses at the art of another day
give us new courage In our own. We note
technlcnl Improvement and n newer, a
fresher outlook, kindlier, more healthful, We
feel -our own day strong again with the
humanity of the paBt and push of the pres
ent. It is a sickly theatre that cannot give
us this. It Is a purblind theatre that doesn't
make constant provision for It,
Our American theatre system answers the
need, but only haltingly. Signs of change
nre in that catalogue of revival this season,
but oxceptforthe Shakespeare, the Gilbert and
Sullivan and tho promised Barrio the choice
and number of standard pieces' are only mat
ters of luck. The production of any new
play Is gamble enough. The revival of an
old piece Is buttressed with much less secur
ity. It may be tho piece peoplo will care to
see; it may come at the time when they feel
an urge toward recollection. But it Is a good
deal pater to depend on piquing Interest with
nn "all.star",cast. Even that Involves a
large salary Investment and necessitates
"limited engagements" to crowd In the dol
lars. On the average, producer and public are
both at the mercy of chance. "Diplomacy,"
for instance, ran through a whole London
season a year ago, while a revival of it over
here with three stars in the cast did poorly
on Broadway nnd only a fair business on the
road. Miss Anglln revived Wilde's "Lady
Windermere's Fan" with surprising success in
New York,, but found the cities outside It
cold. It was a gamble whether the public
would manifest a sudden Interest in the past
at Just the right time, and the public may
have felt a yearning for playgolng- memories
of childhood Just when there was nothing at
hand to satisfy it,
Playgoing Before the War
Before the great war began, an inhabitant
of any Continental city would have been
amused and puzzled at this situation in
America. Revivals were nothing to be
deeoxate4 with, stars. Indeed, he would
hardly have thought of calling tbjro re-
l vivaijt at all; J,h,tjr were, too mueb with bins
SvVv K.
Ono or moro of tho repertory theatres of his
town virtually tho only theatres In all but
France would bo giving some classic or
some standard play overy weok, Shake
speare, Mollere, Ibsen, Strlndberg tho play
goer of Berlin would find their plays shar
ing tho bill with tho newest farce or
tragedy. Tho earlier plays of Hervlou did
not seem to a Parisian as tho plays of
Augustus Thomas might to an American
departed pieces, lit subject of rovlval, Ho
would be used to seeing them In the regular
repertory of tho Comedle. "Faust" has
never become, In our sense, a "classic"; Max
Relnhnrdt and all tho other artist-managers
of Germany are turning their attention to It
each season as a pleco that draws modestly
but steadily, and that rewards the less
monetary sldo of tho theatre with endless
opportunities for new creative effort.
Old Plays vs. Long Runs '
There is always a public for old plays.
But It Is not a "long run" public. It can't
bo expected to keep a Broadway theatre
open four or flvo months or to concentrate
Its theatregolng tendencies Into the two
weeks that the standard may be seen In a
city like Philadelphia. Tho many excellent
revivals of the Llttlo Theatre this season
"Ctrlfe," "Tho Crisis," "Arms nnd tho Man,"
"Tho Piper," "Tho Servant in tho House"
havo done as well as they shot 'd, because
the public was expected to throw Itself of a
sudden Into tho mood for reminiscence and
to stay In that mental state for a fortnight,
no more and no less.
This Is not tho way to take the theatre,
and It is not tho way In which It is taken.
Tho desire for a look nt Shakespeare, Shaw
or Sardou may como upon us nny week, any
day. A sanely organized theatre makes its
living, as Continental theatres havo done, by
recognizing that fact mid taking advantage
of it. A general flexible repertory system
means a popular new play, let us say, three
nights a week, a less popular ono on two, a
couplo of revivals for single performances
each week. Such an arrangement, not only ,
gives the public choice and tho players prac
tice; It gives the management financial se
curity. The better-paying pieces can be
given the larger number of performances,
while the less popular plays revivals, for In'
stance, with a small but reasonably depend- ;
ablo public can be given Just as many
times, or as few, as there Is patronage for
them.
That sort of an arrangement means a good
healthy distribution of one's amusement.
When you realize that it was a fact over the
Continent beforo the great war, and will be
again when the war Is over, It makes you a
little dissatisfied with even tho promise of
moro revivals In America. Compressing your
Shakespearo nnd your Gilbert and Sullivan
into a fortnight each, seeing seven or eight
then and none at all the rejjt of the season.
is a pretty poor excuse for an unmixed
blessing.
TEMPTATION
Temptation Is a fearful word. It indicate
tho beginning of a possible series of Infinite
evils. It Is the ringing of an alarm bell whose
metancnoiy sounas may reveroerate tnrougn
eternity. Like the sudden sharp cry of "Flrel"
under our windows by night, It should rouse u
to instantaneous action and brace every muscle
to Us highest tension. Horace Jlann.
AN ISLAND
My dream Is of an island place
Which distant seas keep lonely,
A little Island on whose face
Tho stars are watchers only.
Those bright still Btas! they need not seenH
Brighter or stiller in my uream.
An Island full of hills and dells.
All rumpled and uneven
With green recesses, sudden swells,
And odorous valleys driven;
So deep and straight that always there
Tha wind is cradled to soft air.
Hills running up to heaven for light
Through woods that halfway ran
As if tha wild earth mimicked right
Tho wilder heart of man;
Only It shall be greener far
And gladder than hearts over are.
The placo is all awave with trees,
Limes, myrtles purple-beaded,
Acacias having drunk the lees
Of the night-dew, faint-headed.
And wan gray olive-woods whlaii 4m
Tho Attest foliage for a dreim,
Nor think each arched tree with wl
Too closely interlaces
To admit of vlstf out of reach.
And broad juoon-Ilshtd places
Upon who sward the antlertd. deer
Sliy view their double Image clear
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