New-York tribune., 1918-04-10
By Haywood Broun


Charles Ram Kennedy is on the
loose. The author of ",The Servant in
the House THE Winter Feast" and
other stately dramas has discovered lit
tie old last years slang. 1t must have
oeen a mighty moment that night or
early morning when Charles Ram Ken
nedy pushed his hair back bit. dipped
his quill pen in the well and taking up
the manuscript of The Army With
Banners" boldly wrote into the da-
Iogue. put NE wise, pudding face
The blame belongs to Billy Sunday
Like George Cohan. Mr.. Kennedy has
written a play largely around the re
vivalist, but The Army With Banners"
lacks the repression and quiet humor
OF Hit the Trail Holiday" 1t is bur
lesque. Attired IN a football suit Mr.
Kennedy's Billy Sunday. who is called
Tommy Trail. stamps about and jumps
and shouts and uses awful language.
In justice to Billy Sunday it must be
said that the slang put upon him by
Charles Ram Kennedy is not of this
years model or last 1t is perhaps ma
teral which was left over after the
completion of The Winter Feast"
Despite the fact that Mr.. Kennedy's
slang revals no great amount of obser-
vation IN bleachers, bars or taber
They reveal g skill in knockabout farce
which this particular playwright has
hitherto kept in the background. In
fact The Army With Banners" may
we'll be classified as farce. although
the author lists it as a comedy. The
chief dramatic complication rests upon
far-fetched premise which IS
stretched far. For an entire act char
acters are allowed to talk at cross pur-
poses. young woman, set down on
the programme as "a poor fool be-
leves in the second coming. and the
news of Tommy Trails arrival is told
takes him for the Messiah whom she
has expected. Throughout the course
Of an entire act she is mystified
shocked and grieved by the actions of
man who she thinks is no mere
revivalist, but a redeemer
pom such broad grounds. then. the
chief complication OF the new play is
built. Much of it is amusing although
it does not escape flirting bit with
blasphemy. Perhaps this very atmos-
phere adds to the mood. There cant be
much doubt that it would be fascinat-
ing to shoot craps in choir room.
Nor all the play is about Billy Sum
day, or. rather. Tommy Trail There
is something about socialism, and the
education OF the young, and protiteer-
ing, and lnternationalsnl, and the Mid
die Ages, and the Catholic Church, and
a good deal more Mr. Kennedy ski ps
a great deal. In parts his play is
simple. direct and eloquent. Again it
Is verbose. occasionally silly and very
often obscure. If the message can be
picked out we should be inclined to
identify i as the doctrine that man
can save his own soul only by giving
no thought TO il. But this is only one
thought in many that are lobbed and
thrown and tossed and fred at the audi
ence in the course of the evening.
Charles Ram Kennedy not infre-
quently trips over his own ideas. but
he should not be criticised too Sc
verely for this. Some of the other
authors don't simply because they have
nothing to trip over
Edith Wynne Matthison played pleas
ingly until the last act, when a long
heroic speech rather emphasized her
vocal limitations. Henry Herbert was
brilliant for time in his interpreta-
ton OF the part of Dafty, but fell
off somewhat in the trying last act.
Edmund Gurney contributed a good
character sketch
There are a good many plays in "The
Army With Banners" and some of
them are good.