New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-18
INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
When anybody asks me what Bacillus ana
Circumstance" is all about. am somewhat at
2 loss how to answer because 1T is about SO
many things. First of alb 1t points out the
iniustice of burdening dumb animals by inocu-
lation with ills which they have by no means
merited in the course Of hygenic and carefully
considered lives. This time it is govt, and the
author has pointed out that the tragedy lies
not so much in the pain as in the humiliation
suffered by the sterling hero Peter D. cotton
tail. when he falls under the suspicion OF SUI
ferine from the effects of alcoholic excess, ar
Though as matter of fact he is strict tee
total rabbit. AS Mr.. Shakespeare has so sue
cinctly said "Oh, the pity of 1t.
Although the people in the play are rabbits
the scope of the drama is much broader. lhey
might be white mice or guinea pigs or any OF
orr dumb friends In addition TO animal eX-
RECOMMENDATION the author indirectly treats alco'
hol without mercy. After the play had been
completed some petty critic pointed out to the
author that the govt germ has never oeeh as
covered. but the author says that in producing
the play almost any sort of microbes can be
used. as all germs look alike to those IN the
gallery and the last ten rows of the orchestra
We had hoped to have notes for some OF the
difficult passages and an article by the author
on what Owe to Ibsen and More Pressing
Liabilities" but as Mr.. Shakespeare has so
felicitously expressed it, "The plays the thing.
ut is evening in the home of Peter D.
Cottontail. The scene is a conven-
II tional parlor of a rabbit family OF
the upper middle class. About the room
there is the sort of furniture well-to-
do rabbit would have, and on the shelves
the books you would naturally expect
Leaves of Grass" is there, of course;
possibly "Cabbages and Kings, and
perhaps a volume or two of 1.-The VIM
ming of the West" with a congratula-
tory inscription from the author. The
walls have one or two good prints OF
hunting scenes and an excellent litho-
graphic likeness of Thomas MalthuS
but most of the space is given over TO
photographs Of the family
In the centre of the room Is a small
square table, the surface of which Is
covered with figures ranged in curious
patterns such as 2x5=10, and even so
radical an arrangement as 7XS=56 AT
the rise of the curtain jeremiah t. Cot
tontail is discovered seated in an easy
chair reading the current edition OF The
New York Evening Post He is mid
dle-aged and wears somewhat i'll lifting
brown fur, tinged with gray, and horn
trimmed spectacles He looks a little
like Lloyd George AS matter OF TACT,
his grandfather was Welsh The ac-
tor should convey to the audience by
means of pantomime that he has made
more than a thousand dollars that af-
ternoon by selling Amalgamated Cab
bage short. and that there will be tidy
surplus for himself even after he has
fulfilled his promise to make up the
deficit incurred by the charity hop of
the Bone Dry Prohibition Union. Now
and again he smiles and pats his
stomach complacently. 1t is essential
that the actor should indicate beyond
the peradventure of a doubt that Peter
J. Colonial has never touched spirit