The morning call., 1894-03-27

handed his questioner a copy of letter
sent to the editor of the paper, who puts
Mr.. Robertson's articles in shape before
they reach the printer. 1t reads as follows
To the Editor DEAR SIR: Permit me-
through your columns 10 request that the
owner OF the alleged play "Cagger ma Cailie'
VIII give me an opportunity TO see IL. i have
never read an Irish play.
/ venture 10 register bet of say 500 that
there is absolutely no similarity between the
motive, situation, plot or plots of my play and
that OF MIR. Clark. Two.thirds OF the play
written by myself came to me from the lips OF
my mother, and the traditions familiar to me
in my b0yhood are common throughout Tyrone.
Had known OF the existence of any Irish play
such as that referred 10 / would certainly have
read 1t with the view of getting more light on
the subject, but l have never until now even
heard Of Mr.. Clark's play. Yours, faithfully.
WILLIAM GREER HARRISON.
Then the playwright got confident tial and
told something more about his plays. "As
a matter Of fact" he said, 1.-The O'Neill.
with the exception of three or four people.
is purely imaginative. Queen Elizabeth,
The O'Neill. Sir Henry Ratcliffe and
Sussex are historic personages, but Rory
OConnor and Lady Geraldine Butler
Even if the O'NeiIls had been used before
would that be reason why l should not
essay play of the kind if l so choose ia
do? L am writing play on Mazarin and
another Oh Richelieu, and if plays of that
name have appeared before shall l be
called a plagiarist because | use those
names? Are not historic names public
property? One thing l can tell you and
that is that / have not been chasing the
Frohmans around for a decade trying 10
get them to accept rlay. which must be
villainously bad or they certainly would
have accepted it before this, if only to get
rid OF Peters importantly. The attack upon
me is mean thing, dealing not in facts
but IN innuendoes, aud calculated to hurt
and inJure me. l was so mad when | read
it that at first | threw the paper down de-
termined not to peruse it through. / can
didly admit l was mad, for the thing is
utterly baseless. Forty years apart, in
deed why it was Peters libIetto that ap-
peared in BlackwOod's forty years ago,
not The O'NeiIl.'"
"The attack upon Mr.. Harrison has Gre
ated much talk in literary Bohemia" said
a we'll known clubman. "It was astonish.
ing and every one seemed to single out
Peter Robertson as the author. The small
ness of the thing seemed to tit him better
than any one else. The fact is that Peter
is kind of Simon Stylites, who passes his
time seated on the summit of the lofty
pillar of his own self-esteem and reviling
those whose genuine merit causes them to
soar high above him. 1t is a well-known
fact that be is the terror of every manager
who comes TO town. whom he chases to
death to get certain play of his on the
boards. OF course as managers do not
want to play to empty houses the world
may never see his production. The fact
that he could never make 60 of il may
be one of the reasons why he never fails
to roast" the new productions of every
author in America. and has even gone so
far as to accuse James Hearne of stealth
his latest New York SUCCESS"