Los Angeles herald., 1910-04-28
SOMETHING
ABOUT HER

TF Mrs. Laura Bum Clark David
son has her way in the suit she
u filed in the United States district
court at Cincinnati the elders and dea-
cons of the First Christian church Of
Piqua, o., will have to emerge with
the meat, the tidy sum of $4,000
1t has been alleged by Mrs. Davidson
that she was wronged in the two Piqua
newspapers by letter from the defen-
dants stating that she and her moth
er tried to ruin the reputation of DR..
Davidson, and had succeeded to some
extent DIR. Davidson. who she names
in her petition as her husband, re-
fuses to recognize her as his welded
wife. He has had to flee from his
pulpit on one occasion to keep away
from the officers she has sent to ar
rest him, so there is trouble all around
the board.
"God grant us all to be happy, but
some of us don't just know how to go
about It; that is ALL"
These are the closing lines of her pet
play, 1.-THE Rejuvenation of Aunt
Mary" but May Robson, charming,
generous, whole-souled, and with
bloom of youth that nothing can ever
extinguish as long as there is beat
left, supplies these lines to those who
find pleasure in forbidden fruits, for
the star holds that we are meant to
be happy in a good, whole, clean way,
and those who cannot find their plea
sure in moral and uplifting ways have
merely, according to her theory, got
ten started wrong"
Miss Robson believes that the thea
ters can do much toward uplifting
people by providing diversions and
amusements in a good, clean way.
Il always agreed with an old doc
tor friend of mine" she said, "such a
dear old man, who said that he had
enough to cry about in his own home,
and when he went to the theater he
did not want the play to be one of
the weepy kind that made him feel
down in the dumps. He wanted some
thing bright and happy, of the kind
that would cheer him and make him
feel that life was not so lonesome and
dull after all.
"And that is the way I feel about
the problem plays that are being ex-
plotted at present" continued Miss
Robson, turning over a lot of letters
begging for her autograph. What is
the use of exploiting such problems?
You say 1t is realism and realistic,
but 20 are many things that we do
not put on the stage. IF the problem
plays pointed a moral, then l would
say have it by all means, but when
1t leaves you with feelings that it is
no use to fight the wrong within and
without, Cor the powers Of darkness
are sure to overcome your scruples in
the end then such a play is harmful
in the extreme
"The old doctor is right; people have
enough of the under side of things
right in their own lives, in their own
houses, and the theaters should be
used to lead people to look on the
CHEEKY side always, on the sunny side,
as the old hymn goes. Not that the
fun should be base or suggestive, but
clean and wholesome. I like comedy;
you can't put too much of it in a play
to suit me, and aunt Mary" smiled
her winsome sunshiny SMILE rejecting
the comedy that springs eternal in her
ever-yOuthful heart.
When asked why she concealed her
beauty under the mask Of time the
answer was most interesting. "When
first began to act, by so doing | could
put p little more butter on my bread.
When it first became necessary for
me to earn my way in the world" she
continued, "I decided to become
painter. I succeeded fairly well. but
that's a slow way for a girl to make
money and I tired of it.
ct applied for a small part on the
stage and was accepted. When the
manager 1Ounu tndt was an anna
teur he wouldn't consider me at all.
After that I never admitted by a word
my ignorance of the business. My
first part was in The Hoop of Gold
1t was a Come along, Jessie, part;
that is. 1 walked on the stage after an
older sister who said, Come along,
JESSIE
IT was disguised. wanted to act. I
didn't want to come along, A ser
want part interested me, and I asked
the manager to let me be the SER
want. He finally consented, and I
painted my face with watercolors, for
knew nothing of grease paints. My
wonderful makeup and my knowledge
of the English slavey q had lived in
London two years., was a tremendous
hit. and that decided my future. I
have been playing queer people ever
since"