Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-08

| year in Italy for 20 years, and in all that
| time / have never seen there a copy of
that paper or heard it alluded to. 1t has
| been said that Sylvia must have seen her
| fathers paper, The Arbiter, or heard of
! it from her American friends, the Sayres,
! but my friends in New York neither sub
scribe to Town Topics nor discuss it, un-
less Gas in my play) they happen to be
| approached by one of its agents.
Mr. Eaton sums up his criticism by say
ing of The Fear Market" "It is n very
good bad play" This is like saying, 1T
! is n very wet dry sponge" or "He Is
very alive dead man" 1t is n paradox
| pushed to the extreme, such as Hegel uses
when he says Nothing is the same as be-
! ing" Both Mr.. Eaton and Herr Hegel
have certainly what Mr., Eaton gener-
ously implies that l have-'real intell-
| gence." But these phrases of theirs to the
average mind are hardly Ineligible.
| take comfort, however, from some
other remarks of Mr.. Eaton in his book,
'"The American Stage of Today" on It's
| first page he says: Most that (sic) the
newspapers chronicle Is best forgotten.
And the newspapers chronicle many things
about the stage" on the second page he
says: "A good play needs no critic 1t
goes on delivering it's own message, and
the wise man will prefer to see it, not
read about it," That, 1 am glad to say.
is what is happening to THE Fear Mar
ket." now in it's 18th week. Whether the
men and women who go to see 1t are what
Mr.. Eaton would call wise do not know.
but certainly great many who are con-
sidered wise by the general public are
going every night
Mr.. Eaton modestly says on page of
his aforementioned book: 81 am a pretty
feeble smasher." Now, do not think that
critic who begins a criticism with the
headline "So-and-so's Play Is a Fearful
Thing" and ends it by the Hegelian para
dox that this fearful play" is a very
good bad play" need be so modest about
his capacity for smashing"
Mr.. Eaton says in conclusion that "'The
Fear Market is so nearly first class in
many respects that II makes one grieve
to withhold from 1t the praise we would
| like to give"
1t is we'll that Mr. Eatons father, as
he states in the dedication Of the book
have so frequently referred to, taught
him to be humble before the great prob
| lem of our speech" for TO use In one sem
| tence both the third person singular and
the third person plural when referring TO
oneself and TO say most that" for most
of that which" indicates the need of such
| humility.
By the way, knew that kings Ind
editors used 1--WE" in alluding TO them
selves. but / was not aware that dramatic
critics had also adopted that stately plu-
raj
Mr. Eaton's grief over Smashing" me.
| however "feebly," reminds me of the grief
of the Walrus over the poor oysters that
| he ended by deYouring in that classic
poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter"
The verse 1 am thinking of runs thus;
II frSys SysDtS for y9S" the ths Walrus said
with sobs and tears he sorted out
Hoiding Rss his is pocket poe st'sTa RsndkeTehef
Before his streaming eyes.
1t makes a touching picture. does it not?
| The grief of the deyourer over his victim.
seem to see Mr. Eaton pressing away his
| tears with the critical mouchoir in order
to see more clearly during his painful task
| of roasting '"Fhe Fear Market" / seem
to hear the final sob with which he threw
aside his pen after writing, with poignant
regret, the last sentence damning it with
faint praise
Really, II does seem sometimes as If
| Disraelis bitter words in 'Lothario" were
true with the notable exceptions spoken
of in the beginning of this article): To
morrow the critics will begin, Do you
know who the critics are? The men who
have failed in literature and art"
The Scots word for poet is Maker"
! (Maker), and the greatest creations of the
| greatest poet are men and women. Now,
/ what man or woman is without faults?
| And. therefore, how can our humble erea-
tions be faultless? The answer is simple
/ they cannot
But the Supreme Creator is kinder to
us and our faults than the dramatic critic
is TO our little creations and their faults.
The Divine Critic says TO his living
works: ''Do this and that specific thing
and mend your faults"
The dramatic critic says: "Presumptu-
Gus wretch How dare you create thing
| with faults IN it?'
with faclle sneers he proceeds 70 de-
! molish the odious thing that dares have
/ faults His whole mental attitude as he
indites the last splteful sentence Is:
'Ha ha ha I've eaten the canary
D-n canaries anyway Fancy the pre-
sumption Of a bird daring to exist unless
Il be a phoenix !"
Ana now am reasonably certain that
| Continued % Pass Tsul