Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-21

space. II VII be on piers between the two
bridges Another large Improvement contcm-
plated will be the erection OF = huge dam across
the Gene-ee at nj Morris Al q cost of about
VI 600 and the construction Of a nam
moth storage reservoir for water poser for
our rapidly increasing manufacturer interests.
In dry seasons the river runs low sna the sior-
age water will furnish an abundant supply %
all seasons as well ss additional water pO~er."
"a successful playwright" aid David BE-
lasco 9, the Arlington thi. morning to rus
sr,R representative. gives his audiences the
credit OF critical intelligence. Which. ~hiie
perhaps not as fuely trained a. his own. 10 ofa
high standard. MANY dramatisis make their
PLAYERS tell the audience too much. IL s ad-
visable to leave considerable 20 the imagina-
ton. which stimulates the interest. hxe~ the
attention and srouses the feoliags OF the aud
fence. The writing Of piay. consists Of more
than the mere dlctAtion Of elegantly turned
sentences and pretty speeches. In n pantomims
TIE attention Of the audience ~ held Tor hours.
yet not a word Il spoken. and laughter or tears
are produced so with the drama. one-half de-
pends upon what We term stage business
Every situation. scene movement act 10
the result OF careful preparation. great FORE
Thought, close scrutiny OF details. contrasts
and effects. One NAV reel OF dialogue BY the
yard, the thing is 20 say just enough, 10 use the
right words IN the right places and 20 mike IL
pointed The blending OF patho. with humor
50 as 90 produce she rroper effect is IN art
When II Is remembered how much = snid a. a
done and the imaginary sight Of time all in
couple OF hours one realizes that the modelling
OF a drama is most difficult task. The work
does not end in the initial performance. IL
Is then that the pruning process begins In
earnest. Scenes altered. acts cut down.
sentences shortened or rcmoielcd stage bust
ness altered or added and a score Of things
overlooked at rehcarsar and the preliminary
private production changed aud improved
l never read rlay manuscripts submitted 70 me.
used To. but have stopped tho practice. Nearly
all deal with the emotions OF love. jealousy OF
anger, and ambitions authors are prone 60 de-
clare your ideas as their own ~ they can tsist
your idea to resemble their own. The number
OF amateur and professional drsmat fists IL sur
prisinS. aud thousands OF PLAYS are annually
written IN this country that not 20 much as
read except by the authors themselves Nearly
every manager IN New York Will receive from
100 10 200 PLAYS wear for reading. Some NAH
ayers employ readers who read all submitted
lhe instance Is rare where a rlav N iaid aside
Tor consideration. II was only the other aav
that Washington journalist told me that he hsd
written fifteen plays and that none had been no.
ticed BY managers. He said be had read every
book in the Congressional Library on the drama
and asked me If could not suggest a book that
would aid him. gave him the same reply that
have hundreds o; others-that the writing Of
PLAYS is not 20 be derived from books. play writ
ing. like poetry. is mainly inspsrational A thor
ough knowledge of the stage and stage business
Is absolutely necessary. The placing OF the
Characters. the effects. the dramatic and comedy
arrangements and the innumerable accessories.
20 the successful drama demand tins knowledge.
This is one Of the many reasons WHY successful
authors are not successful dramaiists. IL one
knew the labor of writing plav in the frat
instance and then Of Its mounting aud final
production. OF the scores of times whole scenes.
dialogues and acts are rewritten and rear
ranged. IL would occasion surprise. But this i-
behind the scenes business. and all the public
witnesses is the finished and completed work.
Charles D. Ballard, president OF the Louis
vile board Of trade. is at the Shoreham. In
discussing the condition OF trade in the south
with The STAR representative be said: 'Bssing
my Judgment upon the promptnees with which
collections made at Louisville At present
and from my general knowledge, I should saw
that the merchants OF the south are doing well
and that money is comparatively easy. The
short cotton crop and consequent prevailing
good prices has brought money 20 those who
had il 10 sell. As for Louisville. there never
was a time in the history OF our city when No
were more thriving. We have n large southern
trade which is expanding constantly, while our
export trade has developed into gratifying pro-
portions and is yearly increasing"