The Washington herald., 1917-02-23
Folk We Touch in Passing
Perspective of Success.
By JULIA CHANDLER.

That man who hung to the strap next
to you coming down on the car yester-
day morning was The Lion. why he
essays the subway instead of an auto
mobile is his own affair. why he
laughed outright over his morning pa
per is also his own affair, but therein
is tale which is its own commentary
upon human nature
Once upon a time this chan who is
now ltonized by all the world was any
thing but The Lion. In that yester-
year he lived in cheap loding house
dreaming such dreams and seeing such
visions that he was little conscious of
his environment
In such an atmosphere he wrote his
first play.
Into it he wove the faith of youth,
the ideals of an unsullied soul. the
fancy of n strong poetic fervor He
forgot the lodging house as he gave
his very heart to his work and scaled
the heights of exquisite accomplish
ment
And when the piece was done he Of
fered 1t to The First Producer, who
laughed in the young playwright's face
when he handed him back the manu-
script.
AN impossible conglomeration of
idealism. my boy" he said, declining
to waste his good money in giving the
play a production.
The First Producer had scarcely look
ed at the manuscripts. but The Play
wright was a stranger, which was quite
enough. and soon 1t was nosed abroad
that his first work had been declined
by the biggest man in the business, so
that when he came to The Second Pro-
ducer that gentleman was ready for
him.
1T simply shieks its amateurish-
ness" declared The Second Producer.
And with the others it was the same.
One and all they dubbed the young
playwright an imprs ctical dreamer, and
bade him do something more sensible
than scribble ideals.
Sick at heart The Writer put away
the work into which had gone the first
exquisite faith of his soul and turned
his attention to the writing of new
play on other lines.
The First Producer read 1t with more
thoroughness than he had given the first
piece, but thinking well of his money
and much of The Playwright's OBJ
scurity, he declined it.
One there was, however, who offered
1t to the public.
Critics said it was lacking in ideal
ism. but that its technique showed the
author to be a coming man." what
ever that isl
And the critics were right.
For a few weeks ago when his fifth
play was produced on Broadway he
became The Lion overnight.
The First Producer stood sponsor for
the new play.
The critics said a more beautiful and
poetic thing had never been seen on the
boards. each of them pointing proudly
to their predictions that The Playwright
would evolve into something worth while
And, as The Lion of the house rode
to town in the subway he read in the
morning pa per an interview given by The
First Producer.
Yes" said he to the newspaper writer,
proudly. "The Lion came to me with his
very first piece years ago. I've forgotten
Its theme now. Fact is, didn't read 1t
very carefully, but went through enough
Of it to see that 1t was impossible. Some
half-baked conglomeration Of idealism
quite lacking in construction, and maudlin
In sentimentality.
But" smiled The First Producer TO
his interviewer, THE Lion-truly Lion
now in strength of work as well as In
title. He"
The Lion of the hour got no further
when he laughed so loud and so long
that everybody looked at him askance.
For. of course, they were no more
aware than was the First Producer that
the new drama which he and the critics
claimed as a wonderful example Of
growth in The Playwright, was the self
same play The Lion had offered The First
Producer in that far gone yesteryear
when he was just The Playwright Of
whom no one had heard.
fConyrizht U1Sl