The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-17

hVIElb-hu-eIrOnH Ho N y "b "a Eebuy nl-
ways with ancient saws and modern In
stances to support tho historic legal dignity of
the woolsack.
W.. s. Gilbert has decided to write no moro
plays, His last effort, "The Fortune Hunter"
is hardly moro successful than his first. He
has been travelling round birmingham, Edin.
burgh, and other largo towns where Miss For.
tescue's company is performing tho play and
has been having his Anal fling at critics, actor
managers, and,the present condition OF the stage
generally in an interview published /. tho
Scotch capital. He says:
"Tho fact Ia, managers cannot Judge n play
when they SEQ II In manuscript, II Pinero
writes a play and sends 1t to Sir Henry Irving,
it. is accepted, not because 1t Is a good play, but
because It is by Pinoro. If a stranger who may
be q clover dramatist sends Sir Henry or Mr..
Tree or anybody else a play. 1t Is not accepted,
however, good It may be, because they can't
judge. Your manager nowadays crosses to
France, sees n play that goes well. and how it
can BIO slightly waterod down TO suit our cen.
serious society, and Immediately transplants
it,
The ox.savoy librettist thinks England ought
to leave the French stage alone: ''They have
good actors and atrociously bad plays. Their
plays are much more analytical than ours, writ
ten for the most part in a uasi-Thackerayan
manner. Sardou's plays elaborate character
to such an extent that they might'bc pages out
Of Thackeray turned into French. Their act
ors, OF course, can 80 speak and deliver speeches
us to chain the attention OF the audience, while
ours, why, we have no actor who can make a
thirty-line speech Interestingly Whoever heard
in this country all the worlds a stage do.
claimed by a Jacques who did not In every limo
make 1t plain that he had learned 1t of by heart.
There is always tho same dull monotony of de-
livery. Every living actor-Sir Henry Irving,
Becrbohm Tree, Alexander, excellent though
they may be otherwise, have that ~ulcmono
ony 81 delivery. They keep to one note right
through tho sentence and finish a semitone
higher or IA scmitone lower as tho case may DO.
II will write no more plays. l mean to retro
now. l AM disheartened by the erroneous point
of view from which criticisms are written in
London. They never seem to dissociato the
play from the author Of the play. ] am not
complaining Of bad criticisms. I have had
plenty and have learned much from them. b.
there 10 such q tendency to look upon the author
OF q bad or an unsuccessful play. not Us a poor
devil who has tried his best, but as a man who
has committed an outrage against nature. The
critics attack him as II he were q scoundrel OF
the worst type, and they 80 on at 1t week after
week. I don't feel disposed to put myself for.
ward rs a cock shy for these gentlemen. | think
It hotter to refrain from writing, as ! AIN no,
obliged to write. l prefer to work in II different
groove whore anything l will do may stand upon
its own merits"
Users Of tho Glasgow telephone system com
plain that it Is productive OF profanity. Rather
than holy Scotland should confess to such q
vice the municipality would run the business 1t
self. The National Telephone Company, the
present dc!inquents, who have an agreement
| ,rtNh ~ d. . r.a-nl -l-,,. H., .l-.-- III
lainy, and have bearded the Glasgow provost
and hailics III their own city, whore TN inquiry
into the alleged defects of the service Is now
proceeding. Witnesses unfold their tales o
woe with "A humor that refutes tho old charge O
a S~cotchman's incapecity to see or make a joke
A professor at the university laments that h,
made many personal complaints TO the company
at all times Of the night, and once found nj
operator intoxicated. He would not like hi
daughter to communicate with the exchang,
because she might hear bad language-othe
people swearing horribly at times. When b,
wanted to speak to some one himself, he go
quotations for soap, pig iron, and all mannc
of things. II the subscribers arc shut out o
heaven, the professor thinks they will have tn,
telephone company to blanc.
A leading merchant prefaced his evidence b.
announcing that there are no uaths In tn,
language strong enough to express my sent
monts to your company" The company sug
gested that tho faults complained Of might b
due 10 the wind, but he maintained that II wa
not his duty to go over the roofs OF houses anc
sort the wires he was not an Alpine noun
taiaecr. He personally did not want the mu
nicipality to take over the telephones. III,
magistrates had too much on their hands al
ready. II they had their way they would pro
vide midwives and hearses and take charge o
the whole pQDulntiOn. In n letter frnm thi
witness to the company he appealed to them IL
this strain: Fancy your own feelings every
time you try the cursed thing and twiddl
away at q damned handle that has no moro re
suit than II you were grinding a disembowellet
h~urdy-gurdy."
The harhor master OF Glasgow, speaking OIL
behalf OF the Clyde trustees, who pay owe
$1,000 a year TO the company. was content :.
say that their experience OF tho telephone wa
extremely cxasperating. Tho senior MaGis
trate OF Glasgow said they had been CONSTRAINED
to make their application because OF the gen
cral condemnation Of the present system. H.
dryly remarked that the National Telephone
Company had marvellous power over the Gov
ernment. He might have added that ST
James Ferguson, the Postmaster.G General, VIII,
granted the present one-sided agreement, 1
now a director OF the company. Where tn,
General Post Ofico does manage tho telephone
1t makes such "a mess OF It AZ to be REASONABLE,
suspected OF playing purposely into tho hand
of the National Telephone Company. 1t has ha,
absolutely TO close the Post ONCE telephone OK
changes in such important centres as Derby
Exeter. Plymouth, and Londonderry. In ls9,
1t had 100 subscribers at Leicester. In fou
years they had dwindled to hfly, and last yea
they were twenty-eight. II Is the same every
where. The npologists Of tho Glasgow system
maintain that tho locality is not favorable 10
telephone work, as tho atmosphere Ia charge,
with SCOT, which largely destroys the etficicnc,
Of tho insulators. Moreover. the moistur
causes leakage.
In self-defence tho company called some O
their Ill girl operators on their exchanges. The,
admitted continuous verbal complaints, bu
said the subscribers were almost always them
selves to blanc through not calling OFF afte
finishing a conversation. Their superintendent
said the girls were often exhausted before tn
end of tho day. Sometimes they were in hys
terics owing TO the language and behavior o
,,n,n .rl...tkona