The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-07

desire to act. He was much more in
terested in giving others something 10
act and telling them how to do 1t. In
his teens he wrote some short plays
and produced them in Il small theatre
in West Philadelphia with an amateur
cast. These plays, the author says.
did not create n Juror. So he decided
that there must he something the mat
ter with them. lie then started on q
still hunt for some one who could tell
him what to do. He showed IN" plays
to his schoolm ister, who tod nm that
the chief trouble. az far as he could
see. was the spelling. That criticism
convinced Carpenter that the school
master knew nothing about plays
tina, he had better consult n play
wright. AS he didn't know whore to
find one he did the next best thing:
he made the acquaintance of many
uf the standard works and began Ito
try his hand at writing another
'School for Scandal" Then he heard
somewhere that IT ~ good practice
10 read one ar two acts Of an mia
mi.iar play and try to finish H. H.
tried this method and found mat II
stimulated his inventive faculties.
Bv this time h Mas finish ug .
course in the high school. and Ioaih-
inc everything in the way of Stid.c~
save English. his family decided that
he should 90 70 pIttshurg ~ become
a steel N.ng. The particular steel
kial " gI,c h.m his tirs' position
DISCHARGED INN after . few weeks
trial with the admonit.ou that he had
me brains for business # for any
thing "sc.'
Carpenter was delighted lie ld
not, want to- b" a stool king; but
meanwhile hc had learned 10 h" ,
st nucraphcr. and WAS finally shuutei
off AT the az" of Is to hc private SEQ
rotary of tn" president of h con
Germ. which later on developed into
the Public service Corporation of New
jersey. lie lived in Newark. y. j .
then. and at night when he wasn't
pounding out "A five act romantic
drama on "A hired typewriter in his
bedroom he was in n New York thea
ire.
About that time he met an actor
who told him that if he really wanted
To- he a playwright he should go on
the stage and learn the practical end
81 the craft. lie took this suggestion.
lie resigned as secretary, found an
engagement in "A minor stock corn
my went on the road with a melo-
drama. and when he was y he Joined
forces with a young capitalist and
put out a Sh~akcspearian repcrtory
company. With this aggregation. Car
penter says. he himself played
Hamlet, Romeo. Idoo. BnSsdnio. Rich
mond, Petruchio and claude Nclnottc,
After a tour Of about three weeks
the company stranded.
Carpenter managed 10 get back ~
New York. but failing to find an en-
gagement returned 10 Philadelphia,
where he got a position as a reporter
on a newspaper. He found this the
best thing in the way OF a regular
position that he had so far expert
enced. Moreover. he soon realized that
the reporters field OF human vision,
IL he only keeps his eyes open to the
real drama behind the news, il the
broadcast obtainable in any walk OF
life.
About this time. too. he DISCOVERED
that his style Of writing was no wha:
IL should be. He hunted up his old
professor Of English. who then occu
pied the chair Of English at a uni
versity. and asked for light. The pro
fessor took Carpenter In hand and
privately put him through the Har-
ward course in literature. He worked
at this in his spare hours for two
or three years. Then he returned 70
writing plays again in his odd mo-