The San Francisco call., 1909-05-13
WAR OF WORDS
FOR MAIDS AND
STANFORD PLAY
Editor of SequOia Stirs Up Strife
by Censuring Women and
DenOuncing Plagiarism
Talks With Busmen and Substi-
tuition of Act in Comic
Opera Criticised


play undue familiarity with bus drivers
when riding between Palo Alto and the
college campus. and the opera given
recently by the junior class has been
denounced as plagiarism. Also the
student body is buzzing with angy re-
marks. the college publications TEEN
with sarcastic editorials and the
various participants are girding them
selves for fresh sallies and further de-
fenses.
The university is in a turmoil just
when the seven merry days of senior
week are at hand. and the storm Of ac-
cusation and retort. which began al
most three months ago. promises to
continue with growing violence until
the last student has packed up and
left the campus for the summer.
Meanwhile the women students are
careful TO avoid being seen conversing
with PaIo Alto busmen and the student
body is divided by the fervid discussion
aroused by the exposure Of the junior
comic opera
PLAY CALLED SHAM AND STEAL
Percy A Valentine. a senior register
ing from Sacramento and editor of the
Sequoia, the student monthly magazine.
IS bearing the brunt or the attack, and
Dennison Haley Gift. editor of the
Mil Valley Independent. who graduated
from Stanford with the class Of 1907,
IS directing the assault upon the editor
For Cliff is the author OF In Tan
giers" the opera which Valentine bold
~ called a sham and steal" because,
though regarded as an original produc-
tion. the second act of q professional
play. The Girl from Paris" was sub
stituted for the second act as written
in the beginning by Gift
No public announcement was made Of
the substitution, and only those in the
audience who had seen the professional
play realized what had been done. In
Tsngiers" was a two act play. and thus
the whole latter half was lifted" from
The Girl from Paris" and the parts
trimmed and tied together so skillfully
that the unavoidable hiatus between
the two acts was deemed by those not
aware of the borrowing" as simply
the usual lack Of continuity peculiar 30
amateur productions.
SCORED BY SEQUoIA's EDITOR
But Valentine noticed what had oc-
CURED, just as he had noted the
women's inadvised action, and deeming
the substitution pure plagiarism he
wrote a scorching editorial in the Sc
quota about II, saying that such tao
tics meant the degeneracy Of original
dramatic writing at Stanford
The Chaparral, Stanfords comic
paper. which two years ago was edited
ny Cliff and which, is now conducted
he ~
thrown down by the ma gazine editor
and rushed 70 Gifts defense. devoting
two editorials 10 a roast" Of the Sc
quota. its editor and Its policy For
getting its humorous mission the paper
defended Gift at length and conducted
q long attack upon Valentine.
Valentine answered through his pub
lication that the Chaparral, though it
had defended Its former editor with en-
thusiasm and offered TO prove that Cliff
was not responsible for the plagiarism.
had not expressed its opinion of plagi-
arism itself in the world OF Stanford
literature. The Sequoia editor repeated
that he had. not charged Cliff with the
substitution, but had denounced the
practice, whoever had been responsible
Tor il
QUAD DEFENDS DRAMATIST
Next the Quad. the annual book of
review published by the junior class.
made its entry into the college world
with a roast on Valentine. and an
other on one Of his most active assist
ants on the SeQuoia. :. \. Hillyard.
But most surprising Of all, the Alum
nus. that monthly publication written
by the alumni. mostly of the alumni, and
for the alumni has advertised in the
Daily Palo Alto. the college daily paper,
that its next issue, TO be on sale within
a few days. viii contain a review Of
the policy OF the Sequoia. which the
advertisement says, has not been a
credit TO the university. The SeQuoia' s
editorial relative to the women Of the
university and the busmen is vigor-
ousiy scored. the recent attack on the
junior opera dealt with and the Social
istic tendency as the alumnus terms
the sequoia policy, is criticised"
Cliff HAS LAST WORD
It appears that the Alumnus is TO be
edited, for this last month Of the pres
ent college year. by the same Dennison
HALEY cliff who wrote the junior
opera, Charlie Field, the old Stanford
man whose name is printed on the
Alumnus as the editor, having, because
Of the pressure OF other business,
turned the paper over to Cliff.
IN Tangiers'' was the winning play
OF a number presented to the junior
class. Gift, though a graduate, en-
tered the contest and won, but the
coach employed TO stage the play said
its second act lacked the proper dra-
matte qualities. The committee in
charge Of the production thereupon
substituted in the place Of the despised
act the second act from The Girl From
Paris"
The last issue Of the Sequoia has
appeared. and Valentine is thus un-
able TO reply TO the criticism which
VIII appear in the Alumnus. There
fore the question as 10 whether or not
# is admissible in Stanford dramatics
10 ''sWipe" the greater part Of a col
lege play from the outside world, and
say nothing Of the substitution, will
be left for the individual members of
the student body to decide
Change in Time
fI,r4-eSforu Parffic Qaflroo1