The sun., 1916-09-24

sonal reputation. Miss Davis felt in
st!nctively that the Mdrie OF her play
would have held a loftier, less selfish
attitude and her concern would have
been her own obligation to her unborn
child. Then Miss Davis had a talk
With q physician to whom she outlined
her ideas and he recalled a young
woman OF Mdric's temperament who
had recently been In his Office. She
was an idealist who was willing to
accept maternity without the sanctity
Of church and StatC. but her sympa.
.hetic young soul was tortured by the
terrified realization Of the stigma Of
illegitimacy upon n child, and the fear
Of the consequences to that young life
II the mother did not live to help II in
its unequal struggle for existence. At
last Miss avis had found the inspira-
ton she was looking for and at her
Request the physician furnished her
with all the details OF his conversation
with this girl and her replies TO him.
Perhaps this Is why the doctor scene
Is said to ring so true, for It Is taken
from real life.
When A.. II. Woods accepted the
lIuN al I'bi uii lFlt, iIltTe tIlbH TWO
ANA "a haif years axe. he uisei upon
Miss Davis the necessity OF placing the
script in the hands Of a master drama-
list. for although Mr.. Woods recog-
nized that the dramatic material was
there he. also. with his unfailing In
stinct and sense Of the theatre. saw
that there were obvious technical
crudities and omissions. and SO Il was
arranged with the consent Of Miss
Davis that the late Charles Klein
should revise the manuscript. In a
letter from Mr.. Klein to Miss Davis
dated London. March II, 1914, Mr..
Klein says the following: my dear
Miss Davis, I have gone through your
play carefully, and I can quite under
stand why Mr.. Woods wants TO have
certain changes made IN Il. However,
the thesis OF the play Is strong, the
proposition itself Is a good ono for
dramatic purposes"
According TO Miss Davis's agreement
with Mr.. Woods the name Of Mr..
Klein was not to appear on the pro-
rrammc. but OF her W v~olit!on the
young author went to Mr.. Woods and
suggested that Mr.. Klein's name 10
used ne co-author with hers as n ,rib-
uto OF recognition to that eminent
dranatist and in View OF the circum-
stances o. his tragic death. This att!-
tude Of generosity "a characteristic Of
M'ss Davis, and she gratefully &C.
knowledGes her deep sense Of graft.
tude and obligation 10 every one who
hns had even the remotest connection
with the production of this play: 70
friends for their many helpful sugges
t'ons. ~ lecturer and ministers for
their sympathy. interest and advice:
70 Mr.. Woods for sensing the value Of
her Ideas, 10 the ladies and GENTLE
men OF the company who ~ adc-
nuately portray the parts. IN r.. Iden
Payne for his mastery method OF
production and wen to the asst stage
hand who sets tho scenes. She be-
NeNes that the theatre is a great CO.
operative scheme, just as Is the uni
verse into which everything and every
person fits into a given niche.
An entirely new set Of characters haye
been created for the play. and Il can
he truthfully said that this play
stands as a piece OF creative work. the
inspiration OF which Is, Of course. at
tributed by the author TO its original
source, NJ. Coppee. but II Is in no sense
TO be called n dramatization Of the
French novel, as aforesaid: these facts
are easily verified by a careful reading
OF Ruth Helen Davis's authorized Eng
fish version OF the book Tho Guilty
Man"