The times., 1899-01-08

presence becomes distasteful and they can
not be allowed to dominate long.
And right here crises question as 10
whether their IN az car lot be made ntlil
and void by legal ~l"ars Mr.. F'iske should
have no difficulty il proving before the
Supreme Court that the syndicate Is tahlhs
unlawful means and means detrimental TO
the public good for the purpose of keeping
his wife from entering the best theatres
in the country, and if he can DO that an
order for the dissolution OF the trust shouid
be forthcoming at once. The IDEA Is az ieaSt
n feasible one and might bear thinking
over The public wants to see Mrs Fiske
and there seems no reason why the matter
should not be arranged. The editor the
atricai friends having proven faithless, he
NAV now find new ones in the law.
And speaking OF the Law, Judge Gross
cup, of the United States District court IN
Chicago, has ruled that typewriter manu-
scripts of plays do not fulfill the purpose
of printed ones, and that accordingly those
authors who have filed only the first form
of record are not protected b. any copy
right whatever Th:' lling looks very
much as though jude osscup INTENDED
to adhere to the law o ely that he can
have nothing to do W.t5 stice. Certainly
his decision is the Nu = ind OF harashlp
on the average dramn> >ic writer. The cost
of printing a work is considerable-more
| than many authors can a1ord-and, since
an edition is never used for any other pur-
| pose. the protection will have cost consid-
arablv over 500 before it has been secured.
Such a state of affairs will bear most heay-
| Iiv on theatric production and IS warranted
| to divide the harvest by goodly number
! if it is kept up.
The heavy ia seems to be utterly with
out reason. True, the law says nothing
| about typewritteu copies of manuscripts,
hut then an excellent excuse for this may
| be found in the fact that the typewriter
had not been invented when this statute
| was framed. One form of printing is quite
as legible Just as indelible and not whit
| less lasting than the other, and serves the
purpose of the library equally as well. Al
| together Judge Grosscup's verdict seems to
| be only a stupid and senseless effort to
| keep within the letter of a law that is at
best hardly just 10 the playwright.
| More than two-thirds of the pieces now
| recorded at the Library of Congress are
| tvpewritten, and if the Chicago decision
| is to hold good most OF the valuable the-
atrical property in this country VIII prove
| riskless prey for the pirates. With three
| excenti6ns. every success of the year is
| filed in this form and hundreds OF the
| hest works known to the stage are thus
| left to the mercy of any one who cares
| to take them Bronson Howard, Paul
Potter. Augustus Thomas, John J. Nc
| Nally and many other writer's OF note are
| among those who have paid the price
| asked for copyrights and who now find
| themselves absolutely without redress in
| case of injury Under the circumstances
| II seems that Judge Grosscup's ruling is
| an Injustice of the most hagrant order.
| Fortunately the decision is not unfeVersi-
HE and il is to be hoped that when test
case reaches the Supreme court more
sensible conclusion Will be reacneu'
Manager Grieves. of the Bijou. receives
| some funny letters from would-be ana
haye-been yaudevillians. Many OF these
| epistles have been printed by ihe Ilmes'
but the latest, which came to hand Only
a few days ago, probably SHOWS nioic isHo
rance to the square inch than did any oi
its predecessors Without eXagseratlCn
or changes of any sort, the note reads:
,;,,,,, dcsernber 80. Is 9s. der sur mana
gar of The blu thater. | tax the pane ioF l.
right two for 4 jarb Wish You wud CIV one II
van can want mos the stag now hpl
tbat YOU vii right back two me let me no 50
will no what to do when l ncr irum YOU your
Manager Grieyes withholds the name OF
the writer because that individual is a
Washington boy. This is all very gener-
GUS and kind of Mr.. GrieVes, but never
theless it does seem pitiful that the rhet-
orician who composed that final sentence
should die without leaving some knowledge
of himself to posterity.
William b. Loyaire. who was once an
usher in a local theater. has just recov-
cred from IN attack of grip. He has sent
to The Times a copy of name arrange
ment compiled during his illness. 1t reads:
| While Lost in siberia ''one Summcr't bay
| | met .'Zaza'' with .'iicr Husbands Friend. snt
asked why Smith Lett Home with ''rh'
French Maid to what Happened to Jones,
| The Man From Mexico" immediately She
said They Met The Belle OF New York.
The Girl From Paris and The Telephone
Girl with The Wrong Mr.. Wright and -
Jolly Musketecr.'' making "a Whirl of th
Town. while ont on .'One Round of Pleasure. >
They attended The French Bali in '.Gayes
! Manhattan The Sidewalks OF New York,
| and there found The Hon John Crigsby," wh,
had Just had "A Hot Old Time Going to tn
Races with "a Lady of Quality" who had beei
| "A Spring Chicken In the South Before tia
War;" and "a Dangerous Maid' who called her
| self IAN American Beauty from Down il
! Dixie" although she had only been "a Garnet
bagger' who had been Rescued from ..Secre
Service" and being "iIeld by the Ecnelny'' b
the Bluff OF "A War CoTrespontlent Th