The Washington herald., 1910-09-23
ABE CHRISTENS HOLSTERS
LONG DISTANCE AUTHORS

George AIDE. the novelist and play
wright-originally from Indiana-stopped
OF yesterday for breakfast at the New
Willard with :Jim" Statesman the stIll
spells IL Statesman, sometimes, a couple
Of theatrical press agents, a well-known
actor. and a newspaper man. That the
author of Fables in Slang" has so far
outgrown his Indiana tradition might be
judged from the fact that there were
oysters and cocktails for breakfast.
AIDE is at his best al the table, because
there he seldom tries TO be funny. He
leaves all that TO Statesman who is
more eloquent when he gets on the sub
ject OF Indiana literature. The one real
faith that Statesman has is in the genius
OF James Buchanan Gilmore. the Bard
OF the "Almo. and ii was one of the
treats OF the breakfast yesterday to hear
the late minister 10 Bolivia recite Ell
Tnore's The MonOn Wreck" with its
touching refrain:
Gut Oh. cut my leg away.
It's a curious thing about Indiana
literature, remarked George AIDE. Il
remember calling Tarkingtons attention
10 II once. Here's Harrington. born in
Indiana and living in indianapolis all his
life. He never got further away than
Princeton until he got married. and he
gets famous by writing a book about the
sime OF Beau Nash and Beau Brummel
and the court OF the Georges or Charles
something or other. Why, the only
court he ever saw was the Marion Coun-
~ courthouse
Chicago His Limit.
Then George Barr McCutcheon, born
and raised in the Indiana wilds-he did
go TO Chicago once on a Saturday night
excursion-writes about some dinky prin-
cipallty in the southeastern part OF
Europe
Charles Major was another one Of
'em. Never out of ShelbyvilIe in his life.
except when he was on a Shelby County
farm. and he writes about Mary Tudor
and Queen Elizabeth and heaven alone
knows what ali
But. I'll tell you one that beats EN-
all, Elizabeth Miller. Did you ever see
her? A meek demure little country lady,
stepped In Indiana, and she writes about
ancient Egypt and tells US what the
Pharoahs did, ard, despising the Wa
bash, reconstructs the Nile of a million
years ago. Gee but Indiana literature Is
redolent Of the soil!"
Mr. AIDE has been worring in New
York about the new play which he has
written for William II. Crane He started
10 call it ~. S. Minister Jackson" but
1t developed that we had a L. S. Minister
Jackson down in Cuba who voiced an
indignant protest against his honored
name being taken IN vain. George AIDE
says: "The scenes Of the new play are
laid in some South American republic
and Mr.. Crane was TO have been Minis
ter Jackson. The newspapers no sooner
printed the fact than a real U. S. Min
lister Jackson came into being. From
what I have heard OF L. S. Minister
Jackson, he has been stealing my busi-
ness instead of my stealing his. think
il was very careless of him 10 go into
the ministerial business until got
through playwriting. However I sup
pose he must have his way. and so Mr.
Cranes new play, which will be ready
In October, is TO be called U. S. Minister
Bedloe''
Townsend Walsh, who is ahead Of Otis
Skinner, made some remark about tough
characters.
A Palm Beach "Character.''
Say" said Mr.. AIDE, Il was down at
Palm Beach not long ago and a friend
OF mine said he wanted TO introduce me
TO a most interesting man; would I meet
him? OF course / would Who do YOU
suppose It was?'
Cant imagine" said the actor
"Fingy Conners-no less. Interesting
well. / should say so. After he had
busted my fingers shaking hands, Con-
ners said: Say. old man. by -. have
got the st swiftest motor boat COM
ing down from Chicago. She can go