The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-02-27
Rupert Hughes
Early Experiences
Keokuk Playwright Tells of His Ambitions and
What Came Of Them.

4 i :
NEW YORK. FeL. 27.-J. A. Fitz
gerald in the New York Herald: All
/ aboard for trip with Mr.. Rupert
Hughes, author OF Excuse Me" the
twentieth century fun flyer, whict
leaves the Gaiety theatre promptly al
1875 every night. Seemed rather apro
pos to find the man who made up the
1 Pullman comedy in an apartment
overlooking the New York Central
railroad yards in an atmosphere sur,
charged with shrieking switch en-
gines. bawling brakeren and bump
ling freight cars.
rs this where you got the inspira
ton for your play?s he was asked. as
! two trains came together in heated
argument.
You'd be surprised how it helped
me- he said with a laugh. 1T gave
me my first idea was trying to get
several persons in complicated sit
uation, and I was not making much
progress. when CHANGED to look out
the window and saw passenger
train going by. The idea came to me
instantly. j would plant my comedy
on the railroad train"
But how on earth could you write
with that awful racket going on?'
Why, they're peaceable out there
now. You should hear them when
they are making up trains between
midnight and daylight. That's when |
do most of my work and that's when
they do their real humping
And every bump brings you new
Iidea?"
They don't come as fast as that,
but the racket is second nature to
me. was raised in a railroad atmos-
phere. Aly father was president of one
of the branches of Chicago, Burling-
ton & Quincy railway for years, and
have always taken an interest in the
business. My knowledge of railroading
came in handy wnen began to put
Excuse Me- together
You've started few other trains
from your dramatic station was
suggested.
Guilty as charged in the indict-
ment. l cannot recall just how many
started, but only one or two of them
reached the main line. All the others
we're tagged by Cain. the storehouse
switchman. 1t seemed that every time
he saw one of my trains coming to-
ward him he threw the lever over and
ran it on a siding"
"Ah, ha! Then you know CAIN,
Know him? We were together SO
much there one time that people
thought we were brothers. l was one
of his regular customers. His ambu-
lance used to stop at the door every
morning. Even his horses used to nod
to me-"
He'll never catch Excuse Me-
He Came From Missouri.
81 hope not. But 1t looks as If was
going to lose his friendship on ac-
count of its success. ] met him the
other day and he refused to speak to
me-"
But you won't require his ser
vices any more
I'm not so sure of that. My next
piece is liable to be a frost. It's all a
chance"
rs there anything in the writing
line that you haven't tried your hand
at?"
81 think I've written everything
but checks. / hope to be able to write
few of them from now on. Since
first took to ink I've written short
stories, novels, poetry, plays, music
and librettos."
From whom do you inherit your
literary weakness %
II might blame it on some member
of my family, but am too much Of a
/ man for that 1t is true that my father
writes legal briefs, but that's no rea
son why he should be held responsible
There is no one to blame but myself
Where did you begin your career
of crime?"
Il was born in Lancaster, Mo-, thir
ty-nine years ago, and took my frs,
false step at Keokuk. Iowa, seven
years later. At that age squeezed
! out my first poem. 1t was entitled
BE Kind to Everybody and my fond
parents Immediately decided 1t was
time to remove Byron and other
ljourneymen poets from the library
and make room for little homemade
poetry. Thus encouraged, ] began
turning out verse with both hands
land the result was volume o.
poetry before I was twelve. My father
sent my lucubrations to a Chicago pub
| fishing house and offered to pay the
expense of publication II it would put
the poetry on the market
Did any one buy the book"
/ Wait minute. 1t never was pub
ilished. The manager OF the company
wrote back and told my father that il
he valued his life not to let the stuff
get to the bookstands. He suggested
that ! be compelled TO wear hand
cuffs, but my father would not listen
| to it. He. like the other members OF