The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-09-23

and in exploiting a patent cure for the
tobacco habit. George AIDE still smokes
but in vending the cure with the as
sistance of a band of darky singers to
draw the crowd he accumulated a
vast amount of information about peo-
pie. This he is still using. 1t helps
to pay his very moderate tobacco bills.
He went on the Chicago Record as a
reporter at S15 a week and he soon
began to make himself felt as a new
man who could handle an intensely
conventional incident of city life IN
singularly fresh, droll way, His story
of a fire did not begin: AT IL o'clock
last night flames were seen issuing
from the rear windows of an apart
ment building at 1000 East Chestnut
street An alarm was turned I'm from
near by box and the department res
pended promptly" etc.
No, they were very different.
Still there was no straining after
novel effects. Little unassumlng. un-
forced touches of human nature were
brought out in a simple way. People
used to the passionate style of the
average reporter-who was Tar more
passionate fifteen years ago than he is
allowed to be now-read the AIDE stuff
with delight He really founded a new
and a saner school of newspaper writ
ing in Chicago, and the old hamboyant
style has never since been tolerated on
the reputable papers. SO from the first
George AIDE was an influence. But
few people outside the craft knew who
wrote the engaging little reports until
he established the "All Roads Lead to
the Worlds Fair" column, i'm The Re-
cord and kept it going every day dur
ing the exposition summer of 1893. At
ter the fair closed came the "Stories of
the Streets and of the Town" column,
in the Record, and there Mr.. AIDE be-
gan definitely to develop and utilize the
enormous resources of his observation
and of his simple, intimate style. There
appeared the series of sketches relat-
ing to Artie, Pink Marsh and Doc
Horne, and there, too, was printed the
first of the Fables in Slang. Later
the best of this streets and Town"
matter was touched up and a bit am
plifed, and came out in book form, in
the following order: "Artie" 1896; PINK
Marsh" 1897; doc Horne" 1898; "Fa-
bles in Slang" 1899; More Fables, "
1900; Breaking Into Society" THE
Girl Proposition" IN Babel"
About the last three volumes their
author refused to be explicit, declaring
they were only old newspaper stuff be-
tween book covers.
There is a pamphlet issue of some
= l..
upon in secondhand book stores. IT
contained unassuming notes of his first
visit to Europe in 1895 illustrated with
drawings by Mr.. McCutcheon and call
ed What a Man Sees When He Goes
Away from Home" 1t was published
without the authors name.
In 1897 the first of the fables APP
peared i'm the Record and it had no
successor for a long time. But johnny
jerks of the Athletic Club kept say
ing, George, why don't you write
another fable" and was so persistent
that the author, always disinclined to
estimate his own work very seriously,
began to think there might be some
thing i'm the idea of series of them.
The result everybody knows. The
Fables" made George AIDE, created an
eager public for anything he might
wish to write for the stage and so
when he grew tired of turning out a
Fable" a week he was eagerly well
coined into the dramatic field. With
the last of the Fables" his newspaper
career closed, and then began his work
as playwright. 1t may be briefly
epitomized thus, the dates being those
of the first formal productions of his
musical comedies and dramatic pieces:
'SThe Sultan of Sulu" March II, 1902
Studebaker Theater Chicago
Peggy From Paris" January "a, 100;
The Auditorium South Bend, Ind
THE County Chairman" August 81
1903 Studebaker Theater Chicago.
The Sho Gun" March 80, 1904 David
son Theater Milwaukee.
THE College Widow" September r.
1904, National Theater, Washington.
For the immediate future are pro-
missed:
THE Bad Samaritan" September 8
1905, National Theater, Washington.
THE Varsity Man" 0hough another
name may be chosen). October ?, Park
Theater, Boston