The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-14

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NOW comes Onoto Watanna-who in
private life is Mrs. Burton Babcock-
and she ayers that Belasco's pIay is
stolen from a dramatized version Of
one OF her Japanese stories which she
mad submitted to Belasco. He has re-
turned the compliment by having her
arrested on q charge Of libel and sues
Der for $4,000. All things are possible
to a theatrical manager. The. suit
when tried will be interesting not
alone to the literary world. but to
| many luckless but confiding souls who
nave written plays sent them to a
manager and later seen their ideas
embodied in another play and the
tnlng produced under a different name
Mr.. Belasco's troubles are numerous
JUST now. In the January number of the
Crlt1c Japanese who writes anony-
mously laughs to scorn the OAR
ing OF the Gods" which, he saws. no
more resembles Japanese play than
q Hotlentot one. The remarkable
99IeLes Whlch have been heralded as
Japanese interiors;" he says. are in no
wise like any interiors he has ever
seen In his native land, and he adds
thdl the authors have wholly mis-
conceived the customs and WAYS az
Japan. Indeed he makes Mr.. ReIasco's
pray look like sorry travesty of what
~ Is intended to represent. OF course.
l.
1ul ana wonderfully clever, but it is
not Japanese. He says 1t is painfully
evident that both Mr. Long and Rel
dSco nave not the diInmest idea Of
what Japan looks like, or how its peo-
pie would act under given circum-
stances. The vital point, however, to
the Belascoesque mind is, that it is
great success. so it is not likely that
tne Two creators of the play will be in
the least disturbed by adverse and
rather cutting criticism,
:, AS might be supposed after the pub
ilcat1on of 1.-THE Unspeakable Sect"
by an Engishman OF the name of
Crosland. in which the Scot is made
responsible for every crime under the
sun, the challenge has been accepted
py one or the deSpised race and the re-
suit is a volume entitled 1.-THE Eyre
glouS English" Both these books will
make such delightful reading for an
american that it may be said we feel
IKE the woman who remarked when
her husband was fighting with a bear
that she didn't care much who won!
The writer of the answer is Angus
Neill, and the following quotation will
give one a fair idea of how we'll he is
fitted for the task:
TT has become the Englishman's
habit, one might almost say the Eng
lishmans instinct, to take himself for
the head and front of the universe.
The order Of creation began in proto-
plasm. 1t has achieved at length the
Englishman. Herein are the culmina-
Ton and ultimate glory Of evolution
airy processes. Nature, like the sew
enth standard boy in a board school,
can get no higher She has made the
EngllShman, and her work therefore, is
done. For the continued progress of
the world and all that in it is the
G will dIIn eli
He knows exactly what is wanted and
by himself it shall be supplied. There
is little that can be considered dis
tinguishingly English which does not
reflect this point Of view. AS an easy
going, entirely confident imperturb-
able piece Of arrogance, the English
man has certainly no mammalian
compeer. Even in the BLACKLIST of his
troubles he perceives that he is great
The second installment Of Mark
TWain's arraignment of Christian
Science appears in the January num-
Der of the North American Review,
and contains the, usual mixture Of
abuse and ridicule. The series is to
be still further continued. One of the
reviews of the month tells Christian
Science story on Jacob Riis which is
not bad. He was suffering with a boil
on his neck. but was obliged to go out
one night, and met Christian Science
friend who implored him, to do moth
ing for the boil, saying, 81 will do
something for you. Riis." Two days
went by and Mr.. Riis remarked that
evidently his friend had done some
thing for him as another boil appear
ed two inches from the first one!
An article which will probably call
much attention to the West, but hard
ly in an enviable way, is the Shame
Of Minneapolis" in the McClure's mag
azine for January. Not the revelations
Of Tammany, nor the Vaccinations of
the political machine in Philadelphia
can equal for cool audacity and frank
iniquity this expose of systematic
methods to rob a people which Lincoln
Steffins tells Of in this article. If true
and 1t is hardly possible that a writ
er would dare to invent with names
and places given-we blush for our
sister city, but If not true 1t is the
most stupendous libel of the times.
The Book Lover.
ST. Paul Jan. -, 1903,