Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-10-22
HENRY ARTHUR JONES.
A SUCCESSFUL ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT
ROW IN NEW YORK.
Ills work Il Held In Very nigh Hepute
In England. aud one Of III, Plays -
sued in hook Form .. selling wen In
America.

fheu w heoh sofm - oNihhe WV ="
America.
Especial Correspondence.
NEW YoRK. sept. gs.-Thcro have come
10 New York recently two or three Of the
most famous play wrighis Of Gruat Britain.
Perhaps the chief Of all the modern play
wrighis ia Nc. Henry Arthur Jones, who
has thought Il worth while 10 come 70
America w that BE- may See one Of his plays
staged and satisfactorily produced There
will be q good deal Of dispute about Mr.
Jones rank a. a playwright, for there are
many who 40 not Ike his methods, and
there are Others who dnd serious fault
with his subjects. Yet, In Great britain
Mr.. Jones IA esteemed the most successful
Of the more serious writer's Of plays, aud
his plays have certainly made tho fame,
and to some extent the fortune, Of one Of
the most talented Of the younger English
actors. Mr.. T. S. willard.
since Mr.. Jones has been In New York
he has lived n rather retired life. yet his
society has been sought. not only by those
who are prominent In social circles. but
also by The best Of tho literary mcn and
women 10 the city Therefore, he Is a
celebrity. although his personality j. iittlo
known. While bis play, The Dancing
GIRL wa In rehearsal At ono Of the thea.
ters Mr. Jones was as patient, a. ursless
and A. thorough In the work Of rchcarsing
a. though no were an lnoonsplcuous stage
manager instead of the most fortunate Of
modern English playwright
There has been some disposition 4, New
York to match SIR. Jones' plays with those
Of lbsen. bat no person OF good fenae would
think seriously Of making any comparison
between these two writer's. Last winter
they tried 10 create an lbscn craze both In
New York aud Boston. IL seemed for
awhile a. though possibly u might sue
coed In Boston, but the failure Of the at.
tempt In New York was immediate. Pub.
fishers say that Ibscns plays In book form
have had quite large sale, and that those
who have read them, and who NJ the same
time have seen some Of them played, ~.
sert that they are much moro delightful
In the reading than the acting. That Is
because lbssns plays are all talk.
Encouraged BY the succcss OF the Ibscn
publications, publishing house has
brought out In very nice style. In clear
type, broad margins, flexible bindlngs and
heavy paper. Mr. Jones' play Of saints
and Sinners" aud. strange 10 say, the sale
Of u has been exceedingly good. II makes
very interesting story, and the wonder Is
\ that play which reads 20 we'll In covers
/ should have proved 70 strong when Il was
acted Ia England. TWAS not strong when
/ played In this country. although u was
| produced In one Of tao finest thoaiers In
/ New York, under the eye nf the ablcst ~,
/ rector of dramatic amusemeuy We have
ever had here. with exquisite stage setting
and scenery, and with Mr. willard himself
In the chief character part. yet Il was not y
great SUCCESS, aud people wondered why n
/ play which held the English boards 10
many months and brought thousands Of
dollArs into Mr. Willatd's aud Mr. Jones
purses should have ha such seant success
here. Those who read the play may say
that the very thing which makes Il AZ.
tractiye In the reading Is the cause Of IL,
mparatlvs failure as play In America.
Mr. Jones has had hard work to win hls
present great rcpuie. lie Il now about
nifty years Of age, and {. Just beginning To
realize upon his expenditure Of energy. his
patience, his trials and his dsappolnt.
ments. lie began TO write plays when he
was not much more than twenty ono year,
Of age. Like Bronson Howard, be had 4
trunkful before any Of them were accepted.
ilis first success came after he had been
soma fifteen years struggling for Il, and he
then experienced the truth OF the saying
Of Alexander Dumas that the writing OF
plays IA either feast or famine for him
who does H. IL was famine for n Ions
time for Mr. Jones. but now tho days Of
feasilng have come
His best known plays arc "salnts aud
Sinners,n Judah" "rhe MiddlouianH
and "The Dancing Girl" and they arc all
plays OF eontomporsn-ous life Ia Ctoai
! Britain. American are apt 10 think that
his sentiment Il mawkiih and false. aud
his humor is not very humorous TO the
people OF the United States. but his sltua
lions are strong, aud bis plays contain
healthy moral lessons aud almost all deal
10 some extent, with problems Of the day
Mr.. Jones has made money rapidly sine,
he won bis first success. He is reported e
be worth now nearly 10000. aud he Il
contemplating the management OF a Lon
! don theater ~ well as buying m Interest
Ia a theater In New York. These venture,
: will either add greatly TO his fortune Of
else will strip him OF that which lac nov
has.
, Few authors have become suecessfu
managers. Mr.. Harrigan has made goo,
deal OF money In his double venture, aud I
few years ago young man who was writ
Ing funny paragraphs for boston news
, paper wrote funny play. and has sine
written half dozen more. In ten year
: these plays have brought him half n mil
lion dollars, and he has now become tn
proprietor OF the beautiful Madison Squan
theater In New York. Hut Mr.. Jones doe
, not write the kind OF farces which Charlie
D 4 a A. al a %
become nm author.manngcr Of hn Amcrl
] can llsatpr A. 1 Eutv Auna