Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-29

heaviest built chair in the room-his avoir-
dupois is not adapted to triiing with frag-
lie furniture-threw back the lapels of his
coat, showed his hands in his trousers
pockets and began to verbally unravel his
skeln of life. He was never more like the
county chairman than in that genial free
and-easy attitude.
you see" said Mac-it was the most nat
ural thing in the world to call him Mac
under the circumstances, and, in fact he
alluded to himself by that abbreviated des-
ignation-'yOu see l don't have to really
act the county chairman and he winked
his eye confidentially. II just go on the
stage and live over some of the things in
my earlier life, speaking the words Mr.. AIDE
has provided in the situations in which
am placed by the play. That part is all
real life TO me. Why, / never even go up
to that old pump In the first act and joggle
a few cups of water out of it, fed from a
barrel behind the scenes, but what l think
of the cool, clear water ! pump out of
well on my own farm up in st. Lawrence
county, New York. l was born in Texas
you know. My father was a Scotchman
and my mother a Virglnian, and when
was ~ youngster l went to school in Glas-
Cow, Scotland, and Boston, L. s. A. / was
prepared for Harvard a school in West
Newton. Mass. My parents intended me to
become an Episcopal clergyman, but that
idea was sidetracked, and 1 went TO Gal
weston in 1888. Father got me job in
drug store at S15 month. AT the end of
ST. for breakage and other damage l had
done to the business. A position in a hard
ware store lasted me two weeks. and then
we moved to Dallas. where father set me to
| managing his large stock ranch.
II would probably be there today, but
father had higher ambitions for me and
placed me in a Dallas bank. / didn't like
to be near so much money, and finally de-
cded TO quit the bank and take a fall out
of the world on my own account. In 1885 l
| turned up in Texarkana, Tex, and began
studying law In an office there being ad-
mitted to the bar in 1887, four months be-
| fore my twenty-first birthday. In my first
| case | was assigned by the court with an
| other young lawyer to defend a murderer,
| and we cleared him. Practice was pretty
| light and 1t was hard to make both ends
| meet on my fees, which consisted chieny of
/ broken-down live stock and inf1rm agriCul-
| tural implements. While waiting for ellen S
/ studied Plutarch and committed to mem
DRY nearly all of Shakespeare's plays.
~ suppose my career really began In
| 1883. when l became candidate for justice
| of the peace in Bowie county. Tex. There
| is where l lived and participated in scenes
am now depicting in The County Chair
| man.. Look at this picture
| Mr.. Arbuckle exhibited a tin-type taken
| in October, 1885, showing him at the age of
| twenty-five, in long linen buster. CARRIED
! for campaign trip out among the voters.
| 1t was a close resemblance to his makeup
| In The County Chairman"
II certainly was in pretty hard lines" he
! continued. and that campaign was god
q, send 20 me. 1t gave me an opportunity to
| attend the barbecues and fill up TO the limit
| at critical intervals. / had credit up to
| $3.50 Il month with Italian restaurant
| keeper by the name of Tony, in TeXarkana,
! and when l ran over that amount all he
I would feed me on was squirrel stew. | ate
! so much squirrel stew that when I was
| riding along the road on my campaign trips
| and would come to tree | could hardly
| keep from jumping off my horse and climb
| ing 1t. Do you like that one? / told that
| Joke to some reporters in London and they
| didn't laugh nearly so hearty as you did.
| 1t was during my campaign for justice of
| the peace that l began to unload my
| Shakespeare. For effect and to lengthen
! out my speeches l would recite whole
| scenes from Richard III Hamlet Hen
| ry VIII. 'Othello' and other plays. with
| the tail-end of n wagon for my stage and
| the boundiess prairie for an auditorium.
| The people liked my Shakespeare immense
| ly and wouldn't let me close my speeches
| without a scene or two. But ii didn't seem
/ to bring me many votes. Ali / could offer
/ the voters was justice and eloquence while
| my opponent was a grocer and he could Of
| fer meat and canned goods. He won.
| Shortly after that Pete Baker came
| through the town with his show company,
| In which there was a vacancy caused by
| the Illness of one of his German comedians.
| The local opera house manager told Baker
| that there was "a young lawyer in the town
| who could knock the stuffin' outen Shake
| speare,' and Baker sent for me- / went on
| and tried to play the low German come
dams part with a Shakespearean atmos-