The Washington herald., 1913-09-02

With new picture theaters planned for
Florida Avenue, for Upper Fourteenth
Street Northwest, for Ninth Street,
Rhode Island Avenue, and elsewhere
around town, it does seem capital is
about as free for this class of investment
! as one could wish for.
The work of Lorenzo Lupi in many of
the great Kleine-Cines feature films
which have delighted the audiences of
Americas moving picture theaters places
him among the leading photoplay actors
of the world. Like several other mem
bers of the Kleine-Cines company, his
very clever pantomime work is particu-
screen after many successful appearances
in some of the leading legitimate play
houses on the Continent
Sometimes play appears which teaches
a lesson so obvious that there is no
escaping IL. In one sense of the word,
THE Veteran Police Horse" by M.
Lloyd F. Lonergan, can scarcely be called
a play. It is more of a dramatic essay.
But it is Of such absorbing interest that
one never thinks Of trying to follow the
thread of plot which 1t contains
Most of US love horses-or have loved
them at one time or another-in spite of
motor maniacs and the speed craze. And
of all the animals which We object to
seeing abused, horses probably come first,
with dogs good second.
Every one knows that the old age of
the average horse, particularly in a
crowded city. is anything but a happy
one. Some of US provide green pastures
for our aid favorites, to be sure-but II
takes money to do it-money we some
times need for bread and butter rather
than hay. Yet the bread and butter is
apt TO have a bitter taste as we think of
the faithful beast We loved-neglected in
his old age.
Mr.. Lonergan's play is instructive Il.
well as entertaining. With the kind as
sistance Of the Aqueduct Mounted Police,
he shows US how cavalry horses are first
broken to saddle and then trained until
they unconsciously obey every touch of
the riders knee. And in many of the
scenes it is quite evident to what extent
q rider learns to love his mount.
For those who prefer a spice Of adven-
ture in their drama, there Is an attack
upon a lady motorist by a tramp who is
certainly no sentleman-a subsequent pis-
tol duel between tramp and mounted off,
Ger, in which, for a change, the officer
gets rather the worst of il, and the
rounding up Of a pretty tough gang Of
bS lOUpc OI ponce Cavalry
With very realistic fight as a climax
Then come sad and unhappy days for
the equine hero. Worn out with hard
service-probably, with less reliable wind
and strength than in his younger days
he is sold at auction to a hack driver
and allowed to stand in all kinds Of
weather until he Is even less valuable. A
brutal street vendor then gets him and
makes his daily life a hell, until his
former, rider recognizes him, buys him
for what we suppose to be a nominal sum
Though the bills look like yeIlowbacks
and one wonders where Mr.. Officer got
them), and spends his old age on a peace
ful stock farm. where he 10 well cared
for.
The point strongly emphasized Is that
all OF the old horses are by no means
so lucky. The s. P. C. A. does what IL |
can for them, and it does lot, too, but |
II the average citizen would remember to
communicate with them whenever he sees
a case of hagrant abuse on the streets
they would be able to do a lot more.