The Washington herald., 1916-09-23
Seen and Heard by George Miner.

New York, Sept. zz-Theo Carew an
American actress who was just reaching stellar
distinction when she met and married the Mar
chese Marcone, head of the Italian noble family
of that name. When Italy entered the war, the
marchese went to the front and the marchesa
became Red Cross nurse. In a letter / re-
ceived from her yesterday, she throws some in
teresting sidelights the great conflict.
"The marchese," she writes, "is under arms
somewhere in Italy Tor Psradise) and I'm dying
for a visit to New York where there are no
fleas.
Would like to write you much of what see,
but only the would read it and the scissors
cut out the most interesting part. One chap here
has been in bed one year this July, with bullet
in his spine. visitor sent him chop. He ate
it, sucked the bone for hour. When asked
what he did so for, he said:
al hope to get the little piece of bone Ia *
for my spine
"The humor of the soldiers seems to increase
with their amount OF wounds. Another of my
patients has had 100 pieces of shrapnel taken out
Of him, and although he lacks one leg. one arm.
one eye and is deaf, he is as happy as a lord.
"I had to read postcard to an old mother
the other day, and as she handed it to me her
hand trembled with eagernessS 1t from her
boy. She knew that much, as it bore nc stamp
underwent all the changes of JOY. fear and grief
The three lines were:
"I returning Saturday-bnd-bu let me
hear sound of weeping when I enter my
house
1--WE so much of life, its heights ard
depths, that I've gained a wonderful perspective
and when knows enough no longer to take
the relative for the absolute he is on the right
road"
And then the Marchesa Marcone proceeds to
read the American public very caustic lecture on
its taste in theatrical affairs Maybe she is right
but if so it makes it all the more pleasant.
Il read reams of trash in New York." she
says, "and found nothing worthy of production
Not that I've much respect for the American
publc's theatrical taste-it does not recognize art
from its counterfeit-but one needs something TO
appeal to his palate, they have iInagrations
not elastic enough to understand anything but
what is served American style I've seen little
gems in one act over here, but they need brains
to understand and enjoy them.
I'VE stand for all sorts Of scandaous trash in
our American journalism that the very shadow
of would not be tolerated on the stage. Per-
haps it's our Puritanical heredity and our very
uncosmopolitan education which influence our
taste in America, but certainly found very little
fexibiity in its intelligence in things theatrical
Il remember Guy de Maupassant writing: The
critic ought only to appreciate the result accord
ing to the nature Of the effect, he ought to search
for everything which least resembles the works
already given
Instead OF which, we have for variety Within
the Law House OF Glass. etc, ad lib, so how
can a public judge new ideas while holding to
traditional standards? Cold reason cannot judge
works that spring only from feeling, and for that
reason the lovely and charming shades of emo
tons in these European plays would fall on deaf
ears in the United States. And now that l have
relieved myself of this treatise on the undeveoped
taste OF American audiences l will to earth come
as the Kaiser would say it, and remark that life
here is too saddening for long spell. After
six months of it, l feel that I must return to
where folks sane and renquish my Job of
picking bullets out Of soldiers"
If the marchesa contemplates going back on
the American stage again she will certainly get
a warm reception if she persists in this line Of
talk in the interviews she gives out. I suppose
she argues that pretty woman, especially if she
be an American, has right to say anything and
it will be overlooked
The London correspondent of one of the big
New York dailies has returned to this city after
number of years on the other side He was
asked to come over here by the proprietor. As
soon as he landed, he discharged, for the
paper was being reorganized and expenses cut
down.
The bringing of him back to America instead
OF discharging him in London may seem like an
act OF generosity and kindness to the unnitiated,
but 1t wasn't. If he had been discharged in Lon
don the proprietor would have had to pay him a
years salary even though he had no contract of
any kind. Had he been an assistant instead Of
IN charge OF the office or subeditor, he would
have been entitled to six months salary. An
ordinary reporter or any kind of a newspaper
emPloye can recover three months pay when dis
charged Such is the English law and there is
no getting away from it. Certain American news
paper proprietors are shrewd enough to get
around 1t by bringing their men back to this
country before letting them out They have
been unpleasantly stung in the past by forgetting
that English law.
Does Candidate HuchAs .o.-