The Wichita daily eagle., 1896-06-03


comic opera and failed.
The confession was forced in a pecu-
liar way. The foreman of the Atchison
Globe let a piece Of plate,matter in re-
gard to Ed Howe slip into the paper
last Friday evening. Howe raised a
row. Saturday evening the foreman
came out In a public card and apollo
gized to Howe. The dispatch which
caused the TOW was this:
Cleveland, May 26.-One can hardly
pick up a daily newspaper in the east
without reading some article in it re-
printed from the Atchison Globe. / ran
across the editor of that paper the other
day, whom 1 used TO know in the west
years ago, and had talk with him. He
IS z. w. Howe, and he is scarcely less
well known as a. novelist than as
newspaper proprietor and editor. the
Story of Country Town" The Mys-
terry OF the Locks" "a Man Story" "A
Moonlight Boy and 'An Anterior
TEN Statement are works OF this writ
er's which have received more than
passing notice from eastern critics. No
less a parsonage than William Dean
HoweHs has seen fit to write about the
former book, and Mark Twain declared
il 10 be the "best American novel yet
published" when ii was issued. Mr..
Howe is about 40 years old. He is OF
middle height and has a stern, practical
face In his square set jaw, gray eyes
and sturdy figure one sees determine
ton and courage, and he has become
one of the foremost writers of his part
of the country through sheer force OF
will, coupled with natural ability.
A warm personal friend of HOwe's is
ex-senator John J. ingalls,, who also
Hives in Atchison. Ingalls, once told me
he regarded the AtchisOn Globe worth
$500, 900. But" he added, Il don't
think ii would be worth cents with
any other man than Ed Howe as edi-
tor" OF late Howe has confined him
self largely to newspaper work When
in Salt Lake City a few years ago, he
wrote the 1fbretto TO a comic opera
about the Mormans- He is much inter-
ested in amateur theatricals, and when
1 met him there he said he had come
east to get somebody 10 write the music
for his opera When this Is done, he ia
going TO produce it at his home. His
many friends and admirers would much
rather hear that he was at work upon
another novel. AID. VANCE
The foreman, in his public card, said
the thing slipped into the paper by mis-
take and that the editor knew nothing
about il.
But the mischief was done, and Howe
refutes the statement that he is writing
an opera In and following unique state
ment:
In a recent newspaper letter, It was
stated by one Ad. Vance that I was
lately in Cleveland, looking for a man
TO write the music for a comic opera
The only time ever attempted to
write comic opera was six or seven
years ago, when 1 lived neighbor TO
Louis Stapper, the piano player. 1
had a habit of going over to his house
every Sunday evening for luncheon, and
he had a great many German things to
eat that 1 finally learned TO like. The
principal dish was Holland herring,
which he fixed up by taking the bones
out, and making a sort OF gravy TO go
over them He was as proud OF this per-
formance as the man who makes his
own salad dressing for lettuce. We al
ways had rye bread, butter. and pota-
toes boiled with their jackets on, to go
with the fish, and kind of root beer
that Germans are fond OF.
We finally organized a. Schwab club,
and took Mrs. Stapper in. Mr.. Stapper
always said that his wife was a Schwab,
although he was not, so we named the
club in her honor. Schwabs come from
a certain district IN Germany. They
are a very dun people. II is related that
in a Sehwab village IL was once noticed
that grass was growing high up on the
church steeple, and the villagers did not
know how TO get rid Of II. Finally they
concluded to pull a bull up TO eat it
This was done by putting a rope around
his neck. and when nearly up, and the
bull put out his tongue In the agony OF
strangling. the Schwahs said:
''See, he Schmells the grass already!'
The mayor OF the same town was
presented with gold headed cane.
and, finding It too long. he cut OF the
top. Being asked why he did not cut
off the bottom, and save the head, he
replied:
at wasn't too long down there
It was q Schwab who, being unable
10 get as many eggs in a barrel as he
desired. tramped them down. and II
was a Schwab woman who said TO her
husband: What sort OF sailor do you
employ? I have sewed your buttons on
three times. and still they come off,
The Schwab club had officers. Mr..
Stapper was '''The Worthy Mayor"
(who cut off the cane). and was the
Most Mighty Church Warden" Cwho
stranCled the bulO. Mrs. Stapper had
an office. too, end while have forgot
ten what il was. I think & was THE
Cook" We took in a new member once.
but as he told around town the next day
that we irugged him. We did not repeat
the experiment.
Out OF the Schwab club came my only
attempt 10 write a comic opera Mr..
Stapper was to write the music. I was
10 write the words and Mrs. Stapper
was TO have the proceeds, in return for
her services in waiting on US while we
were engaged in writing Il. The title
OF the comic opera was saints on
Earth" and the scene was located in
Salt Lake City. The members OF the
male chorus were United States SOL
diers. the captain singing the principal
tenor part. The female chorus was COM
posed OF emigraats. The funny man was
called General Terror" a sort OF
DANTE chief. His great misfortune was
that everybody loved him: 50 much. .n-
deed, that he had fifteen wives. who
came IN on him with requests for rib
hons and corsets whenever he made love
10 a pretty girl General Terror was
a killer. in the estimation OF his sub
jects. but a. heart an arrant coward.
One OF his songs began as follows:
Oh. lions saints. they can't agree,
on. why can't they agree:
Except to this. they all love me.
In this they ali agree.
They send me of on dangerous 1auut.
Cp 10 the hills where soldiers haunt,
They say can. say cawn't
on. Way can't We agree.
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