The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-19

Mrs Fournoy Rivers Director Sherzuood Music School
 Talks About What Effect the War Will Have on Music
By DOLLY pALRyMPLE

Mrs. Flournoy Rivers, the popular dI-
 rector of the Sherwood Music school has
 just returned from an extended visit to
 New York, where she studied at Columbia
 university, attended lectures and recitals,
 did quite a bit of composing, and sub
 mitted several plays to the big managers
 in the east.
 New York being the center in this coun-
 try of all musical and dramatic affairs.
 Ms. Rivers had an opportunity to view conditions and make deductions concern-
 ing the coming season during her stay
 there, which will no doubt be of interest
 to those who are speculating as to what effect the war and it's environments will
 have upon musicians and musical affilia-
 tions this winter.
 Mrs. Rivers was in the midst of a charming coterie of literary and musical folk, her distinguished cousin, MT. Edwin
 Markham the famous poet gathering about him delightful group of celebri-
 ties in her honor, and MT. William Kraft
 the well known organist at Dr. Johns cathedral, entertaining for her most de- lightfully.
 At every gathering Mrs. Rivers tells me
 the subject of the war was paramount ! Every critic. every writer, every mu- sician, every artist, was interested, and wnodering what would be the outcome
 and it's effect upon their various and sun dry professions.
 "Of course, down here we have been talking war all summer long, 1 sug-
 gested to Mrs. Rivers Yesterday in the coudse of conversation, but in New
 York-well, l was wondering if the same conditions held good there How has the
 situation affected the metropolis?" New York undoubtedly looks queer and much changed since the declaration of war; said Mrs. Rivers, especially around it's beautiful watsr fronts The streets beside the piers are deadly quiet.
 Nothing but a vigilant policeman here and there, staring up at the large gilded numbers underneath which so many,
 many thousands of the worlds great folk artistic and moneyed-have passed to the floating palaces destined for other shores. 1t is all strangely still; no loaded trucks and vans; no hastening vehicles: no stevedores nor wharf hands trundling
 box and bale; no stream of passengers. AolitHt, lHt BItdI SHlpS rise and fall. doeked fast wharf prisoners! The only activities show in police tug and coal
 barge. The former ply silent and watch- ful by day and by night. They send Uncle Sans searchlights into every dark tapping space between piers lest reuton and Slav, Jap and Anglo-SaXon, who hate each other, should plant bombs and mines for craft destruction and lest torch or scuttling or some private act of racial hate should drag us into foreign compli- cations. The coal barges follow the puff fing little tugs out beyond Sandy Hook!
 Who they are coaling and why coal isn't contraband are questions that puzzle mere woman, that dimly belle ,es right is right and wrong is wrong, whether it is war time or peace time Great throngs of idle foreigners haunt the bulletin
 boards at Times Square, the Herald of- fees and all the big news emporiums. And the huge maps (house high) that bristle with flags of warning nations-that are changed in position according to the cable news-hold them hour after hour
 day and night. The worlds ear is listen ing keenly, avidly for the spiteful, ,hyth- mic, high tensioned violet flashes of the wireless"
 And the newspapers with their 'ex- tras' almost minute-ly-isn't it won derful to hear the war cry?" I inter- rupted.
 'The city hangs-literally hangs on the extras You buy so many you rejoice they're but a cent apiece Hu- man interests are to the front--large manifold inexhaustiblel You don't care if sugar is $1 for 12~ pounds and vel vet is going up 20 cents a yard every day-wholesalel You are perfectly cer- tain you ought to care. but you don't In a way you know that there are more empty buildings in New York than you ever saw before and fewer August bargains'-but you find your self far more aware of a smile be- tween two in those huge quiet wait ing crowds; the gesture of a fruit sell CT; baby asleep in a washwoman's lap; the hard mechanical reply of a ticket seller; the play of muscles on Ia workmans arm; the pa11or of a child! Things too small for notice, yet eloquent in the present high tensioned