The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1912-10-17

victims, crushing plots by tate, ana ng-
ure noble rescues in the nick OF time
Just what they 20 to discover in the
theater. And that's why good. three
act melodramatic baseball game, prop
erly staged, Will send 10000 matinee bugs
home crazy with delight. and will keep
That 'tbd. Is why we don't play cricket
In America except as an exercise. IL
thrill ever get into a game of cricket
they'd stop proceedings until the ground
keeper carried 1t out with a pair OF
tongs.
Characters Well Cast.
Notice how deity he started? Easy,
very easy, for the first two innings
just local color and exhibition OF char
acters in their great and original stunts
-Snodgrass and Fletcher stealing Sec
ond, Speaker running home run In
the far distance. up-stage Mathewson
foiling villains with consummate art.
Everybody interested, of course, in the
thread OF the story, but no excitement
yet-all expectation.
That was the beginning. Then Be-
lasco fed EN- a climax-not holo-
caust or a tragedy, but a real frst-act
Glimax-the kind that doesn't leave you
hopeless, but Just crazy for that cur
tain to go up again. He gave New
York a run-tust one; He put Josh
had Murray touch OFF a two-bagger.
Curtain with New York In the lead
by a hair and 10000 eager maniacs
chewing up perfectly good air into yells
and groans as they waited for the sec
AL Else Forgotten.
IAN is expectancy. In all the vast
throng not one man remembers that
out In Chicago, Colonel Roosevelt lies
wounded, that in November the country
must be saved. and that in November
. o., ere going to cost q cents. That's
real dramatic art And the tenth in
IN" opens And New York bangs In
over the bleachers like tar. The world
championship, thousands OF dollars,
glory, adoration-all gone. What? No?
'Ah! Belasco art again. Afar on the
back drop there Is a tiny star OF hope
Engle comes to bat. He is member
can save the day he can. Crash! The
ball scars out to Snodgrass. One out
Hope is dying. 80 this then Is the end
Well. boys, bear II like men-what saved!
Snodgrass dropped the fly. Who would
have thought Of that but Belasco?
Snodgrass doesn't drop two flies a sea-
son. All. the originality Of the man.
And SO Engle Is on second and no
one out. The worlds series Is again all
In the balance. One hit will save Bos-
ION. Up COHles ftOOpeT, Idine sHiHinS
in his eye. He drives a horrible liner
at snodgrass and Snodgrass does a su-
perhuman feat. He catches It. But
he dropped the easy one. II was In
his part Belasco put It there.
The Villain Falters. -
"Matty, the villain who has, so long
oppressed poor and innocent baseball
teams, falters. Justice closes around
him. He gives wav a step and passes
Yerkes. Then up comes Speaker, the
hero of the piece. who has been about
as useless as heroes usually are before
they smite the villain, and he bangs in
the tieing run. And Mathewson passes
Lewis, filling the bases. Suddenly New
York, for the first time, becomes the
lovely heroine and Boston the heartless
monster. Great art that. Just at the
end Belasco let's you pity Matty, pitch
ing his heart out, three men on bases,
one out. the home-run Gardner at bat,
tweny. Red Sox on tiptoe. their fingers
cause II he let's another man go out
Belasco would be guilty OF causing a
thousand deaths from heart failure, he
writes In the following business:
Gardner hits long fly to right. De-
wore assemblies himself under II while
5000 eyes glare at Yerkes crouched at
third. The ball hits Devore's hands.
Herkes leaps forward. True as a die
the ball comes in too late. The world 9
championship Is won.' ,.-, ...
FiSome art that? oh. I tell you that
MAI Belasco Is wonder" said Petey
as he hurried out to buy his ticket
home.
copyright, 1919, by, Adams Newspaper
EyndicalAl