El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-27
Is There Sbakspsrs Mystery? \

d GARRETT ?. sERVIss.

w AS William Shakspere Of
M Stratford, who died in that
English tuwn on April %,
1916. and whose tercentenary all the
English-speaking world, together
with all the rest of the world where
literary genius is appreciated. has
been. and still is, enthusiastically
celebrating. the real. or sole. or prin-
cipal author Of the wonderful works
that go under his name2
Many good people are shocked at
hearing this question asked, as if
there was something irreverent and
Decorating about it But this indis-
position TO have settled beliefs dis
turbed is a very old phenomenon OF
human nature, which has often proved
to be one Of the greatest stumbling
blocks in the way Of newly discovered
truth
Independent thinking on any subject.
outside of the immediate, practical at
fairs OF life, is so irksome to the ma
jOrity Of men and women that they
prefer to hold on 10 what they have
been taught, even If its sOundness be
comes questionable. and they resent
any attempt at unsettlement or cor
rection, as an infringement OF their
right to peaceful possession Of their
intellectual property.
able. common law rule of title by
prescription" apply in the moral as
well as the legal world. and would
shut out the truth itself if its opposite
had. for sufficiently long time wore,
unchallenged, the cloak Of truth Many
of them even become-and that is the
pity Of it-abusive toward those who
venture to differ from the opinions
which they have so long and usually
at second hand. and merely upon 'au-
thority." entertained
why Not An Open Mind.
In the case Of the Shakspere contrO-
versy this tendency on the part Of
those who may be called the conser-
vitriolic quality They denounce
everybody who expresses any doubt
concerning the validity Of the grounds
on which the StratfOrd legend rests.
as ''unlearned." unread, ignorant
silly" @'interEeddlers with things
that they do not understand" and
even as fools"
There is only one reply to be made
to all this inexcusable abuse, and that
is that excluding certain theories based
on supposed cryptOgrams and ciphers
alleged to have been inserted by lord
Bacon in the Shaksperean plays and
elsewhere. the challenges that have
been offered to the accepted belief are
as sound reasoning as have been dis
played on the other side.
do not mean TO say that the chai
lengers have established their case
only say that there appears to be evi-
dence enough to $50 to the jury'-the
jury consisting Of the collective intel
ligence of educated. unprejudiced. in
dependent minds, sincerely DESTROYS Of
knowing the truth.
I do not, however. think that this
ideal jury should render a verdict
upon the strength Of the evidence
thus far obtained II should take that
evidence into consideration. and should
not only demand more, but should aid
the investigation with its own efforts
The burden of proof still rests upon
the challengers.
1 freely confess that I myself am "on
the fence" concerning this question
To be on the fence is not necessarily
a d1sgraceful attitude 1t IS the proper
position for a judge while a case is in
process Of development When a judge
gives his decision he gets off the
tence-although sometimes il will be
FOUND that he is still astride Of IL.
The strength OF the case against
Shakspere Of Stratford appears to me
10 rest largely upon psychological
grounds. There is not a single ascer-
tanned. undisputed fact known about
MN which accords with the claim
that he was the real author Of the
plays, sonnets and poems that 90 IN
der his name.
HIS conduct during the last five OF
SIX years of his life is fatty inconsis-
tent with that claim In his converse
tlon. IN his intercourse with his fell
low townsmen- and in his detailed last
VIII and testament he made no refer