The sun., 1908-09-13
or "FHE NAN FROM HOME
CONCERNING HIS FITNESS AS
- An AMERICAN HERO.

M IN. in,ysrsc and Must Good
- Nor,Is A,nays usan uad Manners,
'F-... - -
The Man From Home Is from several
points Of view the most interesting play
now visible in New York, though con-
sidered ns finished piece OF dramauo
art, 1t Is staggering along somewhere
'up the bacsstretch. hopelessiy oeaten.
10 Is the spirit, not the form, OF TINS play
that matters. And what that spirit h
ind how 1t came to get expressed on
the stage without consulting broadway
are considerations worth attending TO-
The authors OF The Nan from nome
are Booth Harrington OIL lnoiana ano
Harry Leon Wilson OF missouri Inc
nero Is Ddn'ef Voorhees PHe OF hokomo'
Ind. Inc play mas come 10 New Iork
with its reputation made; not humpy,
apologeucaliy, pegglng LOT broau"as
verdict TO boom 1t on the ROAD out oe-
hanty, rather, afterEa phenomenal run
OF thrty-four weeks In hicago' as u
should cay; Here's drama that America
likes. W nat are you gong 10 make Oh
II in New York; such an atntode an-
miraoiy fits Daniel Voorhees PKe' LOT
whom sorrento ana the. universe are
out supuros OF hokomo. mo- IL eA.
enpniles tue spirit OIL the piay' anu
the TACT that 70 us IN New iork quite
without resentment" TINS spirit OF some
what oiatnat independence, this suoIiine
faith IN the oenprrafo OF hoKomo seems
rather strained, trifie unloVey ana per-
haps OIL fashionef,is a. significant com
mentsry.oq present day American conoi-
tons. The Man From Home Is an
object lesson IN the differences OF senu-
.ment and spirit between the East ana
middle West in their manifestations
OF Amerlcanism.
Ii II were possible to doubt the SIN
cerity of the authors OF course the play
wouid lose this vaide as an object lesson
But no such doubt ts possible. 1t is
-,sel5om easy TO say, lust why one work
seems sincere. another insincere, 80
; mich Is 1t q matter merely OF heart and
PURPOSE IN the author. But the sincerity
itself, or the lack OF 1t, Is never hard to
detect. And The Man From Home
however many flaws You may discover
In its construction, such as the conver-
sion OF the young Englishman In the
last act into hopeless bounder, or how
ever trite and conveniently melodramatio
its plot may sometimes seem, surely
never eIects you as insincere. Rather
does 1t give You warm and constant
glow OF kindly feeling for Daniel voorhees,
PIKE in his contest with the effete nobility
OF the ointment and a sure instinct that
the sympethies OF the authors were all
with Daniel too. Trust yourself every
heart vibrates to that iron string'-fhus
nd DOD feI lie
trusts himself. And he trusts Kokomo,
Ind, its manners. its men. its morals,
its vocabu larry, its whole stock OF ideas
They are his morals. his manners, his
vocabulary. his ideas, and why should
he not trust them? Why, indeedy Ask Mr..
Harrington and Mr. Wilson. And Chicago
and the middle West rise in their seats
applarding and shout back enthusiast
icalH' He should He should
Well, he should at that. And there is
something delciously appealing in the
sight of him doing 1t. so that one wonders
why New York has not after all crowded
more to see the spectacle. even though
there Is q hint Of the alien for us in Koko-
ONO. Ind, no less than in Sorrento. 1t
Us very pleasant to hear William Hodge
as Daniel bid the Italian soldiery to go
on up Main street with their Knights Of
Pythias parade or tell the English noble
man that he's going to make 4Crecy and
Agincourt look like peace conference"
Nor has George NJ. Cohan yet patented
the American flag and the international
maria ge question, so that Mr.. Tarkng-
ton may still do bit OF flag waving him
self and be properly patriotic about
American husbands, with the joyous ap-
proval OF his fellow countrymen. Any
!, one who knows his Indiana will recognize
Daniel Voorhees, Pike as live human
being: not stage caricature, and will
feel behind him the united sentiment
of Kokomo. He is the man from home.
indeed, to the middle Westerner, and it
is no wonder Chicago took the play to
it's bosom.
And for that reason the vastly less
enthusiastic reception OF the play in New
York is significant. If it had not sue
ceeded elsewhere it's rather trite story
and it's rather childish construction would
be sufficient to account for any apathy
But west of the seaboard tritensss and
ohildishness were forgotten, il they were
ever recognized The play was furore.
Wa ara forcad IN the copcl,,aion than