The San Francisco call., 1909-12-05

that one of the plays was the mint
called Little Johnnie Jones"
This Lewis told about, simply, sim
cerely. and so 1 agreed with him that
man like Cohan. who dealt only In
the superlative. should, when he had
Crouch" have a good one, as naturally
he could do nothing by halves.
4 S Lewis talked on L CROPPED vaguely
n after the tangible connection pc
tween the flattering facts narrated
the merits of the Cohan production at
the Van Ness, and our failure to meas
ure up to the requirements which
George had established as a proper and
decent need of enthusiasm. To put the
matter briefly, it was now established
that Cohan was a great man, generous,
had been a benefactor of the city and
loved us much Therefore, If we' didn't
jam the Van Ness we failed in our duty
at crucial point.
Perhaps an uninterrupted and un-
challenged sway of seven years in mu-
sic plays has spoiled Cohans disposi-
tion. After all, the test of real gener-
osity is not always made in money
modestly declined to admit he pos
sessed. is frequently the guarantee of
more fruitful bountifulness than liber-
ality with a fountain pen.
Lewis has been 81 years in the show
business. He started in as utility lad
in Stone & Murray's circus. He was 13
years old at the time. Conan has al
ways been star and is still a pre-
cocious young man. When he was 13
he quit taking violin lessons because
he had keenly observed that the limit
of the earning capacity of a musician
such as he would likely be could not
exceed SIS a week, and that wouldn't
be nearly enough for him, he told his
father. So he didn't study music. He
could always hire a composer to set
/ his melodies correctly before the fu-
! ture singers and the instrumentalists
who were to perform the future music
plays which have made several for
tunes for their originator. He didn't
bother about advanced education, be-
cause there are plenty of college pro-
fessors in the land and other men who
know about things which do not in
with a facility to do several things at
once, shrewdness which is almost
cIairvoyant IN the certainty of its de-
ductions, and so. with nimble pair of
legs which danced before he was
! through lisping, he made money from
the jump" as Lewis, expresses it.
Lewis, on the other hand. had to plod
along, grabbing a bit of experience
here hard knocks there, hunger some
times to give him something to think
of, and WEAKNESS such as most men
undergo.
Do you get the drift of this? Co
han remains something of a spoiled
child still
He don't know the value of money"
asserted Lewis. He never learned it,
He has army of pensioners that he
takes care of by the month. He doesn't
even know all of their names. I'll bet"
1tNVTE try to tell him to be little
M careful with his coin" says
Lewis His mother gently re-
minds him that he has a wife and a 5
months old baby to think about, but
/ Cohan only says. I've got the money
so why not use IT? L tell you" said
Lewis, there's no man in the business
like this little fellow. If he were
clerk in a store, he'd be the greatest
little salesman in the establishment
Mrs. Jerry Cohan tells a story about
him when he was a youngster. He uses
to sell the songs of the pieces that the
family was playing in the lobby Of the
theater. OF course the enterprise
wasn't MS and ne had to turn in the
money TO account for the sold copies.
But George got his just the same Ee
used II make couple of dollars every
night, and this is the way he'd do it, In
his right hand he would hold his stock
Of songs, while he called nasal atten-
tion to his wares. purchaser would
come along and pull a half dollar for a
25 cent copy. George wouldn't make
the change himself. but, holding out
his left hand with all his receipts in
sight, would permit the buyer to select
the change. George would assume
lofty air of Indifference concerning the
amount extracted. and, thus challenged,
the buyer, usually shamed into show
ing as fine disregard for money as the
little boy in front of him, would take
less than the sum due in change, and
thus justify Georges first commercial
instincts and philosophical deductions.
You may call it bunk" said Lewis,
but it's all new stuff, and you couldn't
help liking the little fellow if you
knew him as / do"
Tell me some more about yourself"
/ said.
Well, 1 was with Haverley's min
streis. Cleveland's. George Wilson's
and Leavitt's Gigantics."
How do you spell that last?" asked.
Il pass" said he, looking appeal
ingly at Max Dill, who had Joined our
little party in Lewis room, to which
also came Eddie Hanlon, to talk base