The San Francisco call., 1910-10-16

are like bridge over time.
They reach from the past to the
present and they connect the
illustrious accomplishments of the
STAGE with the no less iuustrious doing.
They are not company of veterans,
either. In point OF age. as it is count
ed in years. they are not aged; but
they have been--many OF them, at
least-associated with the history of
the stage which youngsters like you
and I affect to believe came under our
: ken. The company arrived in Oakland
last Friday at about noontime, and
they went at once TO the Hotel St
Mark, which thereupon became an agi-
tsted home of reminiscence. I went
Z 10 meet Viola. Allen. but was swamped
in tidal wave of reeollections brought
up BY James o'Neill. Minna Gale, Fan
ME Addison Pitt, not to mention Miss
Allen herself. In the first place I was
introduced by Major John B. Jeffrey.
who presented me to James o'NefiI and
loaned me a silver pencil to make my
notes with. Even the pencil was a.
lightning rod OF anecdote. It was given
10 the major by President Mckinley
after Jeffrey had made personal re-
port TO the martyred chief executive
on conditions in the Philippines. That
i was three months before the president
was killed. I'VE were boys together in
Cleveland said the major as he pre-
sented me TO the Count Of Monte
Cristo. He. was just an Irish boy at
the time and the greatest little Romeo
that ever stepped on orsoff the stage.
Jim, who was in the historic cast that
opened the Baldwin theater. cast his
retrospective eye up the. trail of time
and said, I've been so ever since"
a Romeo or an Irish lad?" 1 asked.
irish" said he emphatically.
James O'Neill has been blamed for
-his devotion to single characterize
tion. Perhaps it was wrong of him
10 have remained Edmond Dantes for
so many years Perhaps it was a mis-
take to have given so many play goers
q glimpse at the ROMANTIC figure Of the
hero Of Dumas novel With his art
for the theater perhaps O'Neill should
have played a thousand other char
acters and have been identified with
scores Of other dramatists' products
Perhaps. Any way I made a big mis-
take in my reply to his pleasantly, for
said:
Tt may sound like platitude and
formal. but may I say that I am
charmed to meet the man who imper-
sonated the role of Edmond Dantes and
who first showed me the greatness of
pure romance personifed2"
Hush" said Mr.. Hutton, who is
manager of the company Hush. Mr..
o-Neill wants to forget Monte Cristo.' "
And I thought that there are many
other players dearly loved by this and
other generations of play goers who
were forced into a single characterize
ton and made TO stay there, not be-
cause they could do nothing else. but
because nobody else could do what
they did, There was. for instance, Jo-
seph JEFFERSON in his RIP Van Win
kle." Frank Mayo in 'Davy Crockett,
the hero OF The Old Homestead" and,
going back beyond reasonable time,
there was Edwin Adams in "Enoch
Arden,' not TO mention Sothern the
elder as Lord Dundreary.
Perhaps" said Ito James O'Neill.
you have given enough pleasure and
supplied enough suggestion to multi
tudes Of theater goers who have seen
your Edmond Dantes to recompense in
sentiment the loss of fame as player
OF variety"
But my remark about Edmond
Dantes was an unhappy one James
0NeiII IS not ashamed of his Monte
cristo,s' but he regrets that the world
does not know his fame in a better,
bigger play.
However. an actor who can play a
man and show the world a soul has
little to complain OF, even if a genera
ton remembers his reading of the line,
The world is mine," and forgets his
commentary. But. soft. what light