Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-28
The Foreign Stage.
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
LONDON, April IS, 1907.
Owen Hail." who wrote THE Geisha"
and "Florodora," and who has Just died,
was not, of course, named owen Hall In
reality, but plain James Davis. 1t may not
be known to Americans, however, that
there was any special significance in the
nom de plume chosen by this amazingly
successful librettist but the truth is that
its selection was a grim pun on the part OF
Davis, who might have stepped straight out
of Henri Murgers Vie de Boheme"
owen Hall stood simply for Owing ALL"
and Days once remarked that perhaps Il
would have been still more fitting If he
had called himself Payne Nun"-"Paying
None"
This facile writer made money, yet he
was always in debt and frequently broke"
year or SO ago he wrote an uncommonly
candid autobiography, in the course OF
which he said: Il suppose | shall go on
working in harness till l get one OF the
only two experiences | have never had,
death and solVency." The first came to him
this week from acute gastritis-but solv-
ency he never achieved Money has all
ways been my stumbling block" he de-
clared in his autobiography. Il never could
get enough money and / never could man.
age It. l suppose l am cursed with an err
ratio temperament, or a careless one, or
perhaps a dishonest one, but the fact re-
mains that no matter how much | have
earned in my life / do not think + have
ever been out of debt since / left school at
Kew owing two-and-ninepence to the tart
woman
Most of the money that Davis made olt
of his stage pieces was lost at the track.
He is said to have received $4,000 for the
manuscript of "A Greek Slave" and to have
parted with every penny of 1t in three
ma tn inn
from "Florodora," AN Artists Model"
and of course, The Geisha." but they all
melted rapidly, for" he wrote, II make
1t a rule to allow my weekly expenditure
just to exceed my weekly income"
The story of how Davis. or Hall" began
writing musical comedies is interesting.
While in a train one day he met George
Edwardes, who had just produced a new
piece at the Gaiety. Edwardes asked Davis
what he thought of it, and Davis. who was
that he believed he could write better
one. "All right" replied the manager,
you shall do the next one. Thus The
Davis practically invented the musical
comedy as we know 1t today. and as Mr..
Owing ALP or owen Hall" he lost no
time In working the gold mine he had dis
covered.
He had found out his weaknesses before
this, however, his choice of a pseudonym
shows. He started out originally as q
solicitor ana mace money out OF the law
but his Bohemian tendencies soon got the
upper hand. He set up racing stable. At
one time he had twenty horses in train
ing, but within six months he had lost
every shilling and meanwhile had allowed
his legal business to go to rack and ruin.
Then he went into journalism and his adj
ventures in print were in keeping with the
rest of his career. To say that he was
"outspoken" is mincing matters: he. was
frankly abusive though in clever fashion.
Made dramatic critic of the Sporting
Times, which is commonly known as the
Pink 'Un." his attacks on all and sundry
were so unbridled that the proprietors of
the journal were In daily fear of suits for
libel They finally bought Hall" of, in
fact, by giving him the money to start
paper of his own, and thus The Bat came
into existence. 1t was too eccentric, how
ever, to survive long. So 1t is not surpris-
ing that it's editor soon found himself "ow-
ing ALL again. just before entering on his
wonderful success as q nbrettist. 1.-THE