The San Francisco call., 1908-07-05
By Walter Anthony

So you" said Henry Miller,
stepping from his automo-
bile in front of the Van
Ness theater
missed the drift of the comment
so / said, Not so very long. at least
. II didn't seem long to me-"
"Weu it stretched ten miles at
least" he answered and so indeed it
had.
He got UP early so as TO have the
interview over in time for rehearsal at
u o'clock. and he said he felt the need
OF fresh ar; besides there was a for
midable bundle of unopened mail and a
secretary at his apartments in the St.
Francis, and I suspect he thought it
better 10 bolt So that's how I got an
automobile ride and met. besides Mr..
Miller. the latters chauffeur. who con-
uded To me that he didn't think much
Of the way we did things in san Fran
cisco anyway. In New York" said
hc. "they make the slow moving teams
axe 10 the curb and keep out Of the
way of impatient motorists"
But Miller entertained no such
thoughts. on the way down Powell
street 10 Market he said:
show me where the Columbia the
alter used 10 be- Sc. so: and I would
pass 1t and never know be said. And
there was tho old Louvre You're go
ing TOO fasr'-this 20 the man from
New Nork-~I want to see the old sites
Of the city 7 used TO know" Out Mar
lEet r0 Van Ness. then out Golden Gate
avenue TO the park was the itinerary,
and thence. in the brisk morning
breeze, to the Cliff house; or rather to
where the Cliff house had been. Miller
seemed more bent on interviewing me
than OF being interrogated himself.
I ta Ike a pride, he said. in being
back here. IT has been four years
since 7 saw san Francisco. During
that time I have branched out into the
managerial Held. 7 want san Fran
cisco 40 see what I have been doing
for myself I count many personal
friends here and I have many friends
who know me only on the stage. To
all these 7 want to bring the best I
have. Mckee of the Savoy was op-
posed TO my coming at this time and
was strongly against bringing The
servant IN the House TO san Fran
cisco for al least another season. but
] had my way and here / am That's
one good thing about being your own
boss You can crafty whims. even if
they may not be wise ones. OF course,
7 am not a member of the cast that
VIII play The Servant i'm the House.
hut VIII bring the cOmpany-it is
called the Henry Miller Associate
yers-dircct to this city and then
shoot them right back again in time
for the Chicago engagement in August.
] think it VIII be the first time such
q venture has been undertaken in be-
half Of san Francisco theatricals.
BECOMES BIG MANAGER
speaking about taking trial at
managing shows Of my own. 1 want 10
say that the effort has been entirely
successful / came to the conclusion
about four years ago that my luck was
about as good as any ones and that
there were just as many chances in
favor Of nay making success in the
enterprise Of producing plays as there
were faVOring anybody else So I tried
it. AS a result, last year ] had three
companies playing The Great Divide; ]
managed Harry Woodruff in Brown of
Harvard; ] had another company in
trOduce The Servant in the House
and ] also managed Nine. Nazimova,
besides acting myself and going
against a failure in the shape Of
The Lsncers, in which cissy LOTUS
starred briefly The piece was a dismal
failure bat it was the only one which
fate scored against me- The matter
OF IL was LlaL lL was OUT OF Qate. and
the people didn't want it, in spite OF
the stars ability and the expensive
production which was given it."
THE GREAT DIVIDE,
told Mr.. Miller Of a number Of let
ters which had been addressed to the
dramatic department of The Call ask
ing for Information about the author
ship Of the play The Great Divide"
That is an old story now" said he.
The facts are simply these: Some over
Jealous friends Of mine gave me credit
for having rewritten the drama after
Mr. Moody had submitted it to me. It
was a high compliment, but unde-
served Naturally every play is made
better by such pruning and minor
changes as suggest themselves after a
first performance. The play was called
A Sabine Woman at first, but the
name didn't strike me as being pecu-
Iarly suggestive as The Great Divide,
and so the title was altered. few
Changes in the business We're also ef-
fected and the piece was Of course bet
tered by ali this. But the play, sub
stantially and entirely. is Moodys, not
mine. Two letters in reference to this
matter were given publication in the
east They win set the matter right
before your readers, and / will show
them TO you
Here are the letters:
The advent Of a dramatist of such
originality and power as William
Vaughn Moody is too important an
event for the present and future of the