The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-09
AUTHORS DINNER
ENLIVENS SHERRY'S
Quite a Number of Actresses,
Opera Singers, Sculptors,
&C., Helped Along.
SOME SPEECHES ENDURED
The League of. America Talks
Over Things While Formal
Affairs Go On.

Nothing borss an author quite 20
much in this dull. drab monotone Of life
LAS some Of EN- would say. in maya
zinos, and get paid for it--as another
author. Consequently, to prevent casu-
allies II wac necessary at the annual
dinner-that is to say. banauet-of the
Authors League of America, Inc. at
6herry's, to invite q lot Of painters.
opera singers. actresses, architecs, sculp-
tors. dancers. pianists. motion picture
players, violinists and composers as
buffers
Despite the fact that the dinner COM
mittes was composed of Gertrude Ath-
erton. Rex Beach. Ellis Parker Butler,
Robert W. Chambers. Edna Ferber.
Dana Gatlin. Rupert Hughes. Wallace
irwin. George Barr McCutcheon. J.
Hartley Manners. Alice Duer Miller.
Mary Roberts Rlnehart, Leroy Scott,
Julian Street. Charles Hanson Towne
and Jesse Lynch Williams, with Frank
Crowninshed, who Is only an editor, as
chairman-despite these handicaps, the
dinner was almost a success 1t would
have been an unmitigated success had
not the dinner committee, with that lack
OF knowledge OF the world that means
so much to authors and esses, printed on
the invitations:
Our dinner may include a few the
atrtcal managers. mothers OF ingenues,
elderly tragedians, ladies of the Wash
ington Square aristocracy, pa,ior Boil
sheviks. designers Of hand pain, I'D book
ends. publishers OF sex novels and hero
and there a millionairess."
Stephen Leacock shines,
Some Of the younger set of authors
whose stun Is 20 Individual and vens
Suresome that the publishers are afraid
OF IT were 80 busy looking here and
there during the evening that they
muffed the speeches and dinner ana
music and dancing. Otherwise the din
ner was q success. Nobody talked too
long. everybody said something. food.
not silver utensils was served. music
Uttered as softly as ever II did in a
best seller through the dining hall.
champagne frothed early in the evening
and the guests later on. and II anyone
talked about ones art he did II so
softly that he might Just as we'll have
been talking about the League of Ma
tons for all the attention that was paid,
to him. q
The hit OF the evening was Stephen
Leacock's little talk. He said 30 him.
self, and called Heaven and the gentle
men Of the press present to witness that
when he arose the applause which
greeted him rose and swelled to the CELL
Ing and seemed to go on and on. SC
The noise was nothing to what burst
out OF the assembled authors and esses
and artists when he sat down after ex.
pressing the hope that the applause
would get the publicity II so justly mer-
itei. Mr.. Leacock convinced those
present that lie must be a terrible false
alarm as professor Of economics up
In Canada In the short time in which
he remained on his feet
A. T.. Thomas also took UP some OF
the leagues time TO explain ut length
that he was playwrite A. L Thomas and
not Dramatist Augustus Thomas, and
that Furthermore he never had been
Dramatist Augustus-he called him
Gus-Thomas. and that he never would
be Dramatist Gus. And Gus. himself
who 10 vlce-president of the league,
never denied a word. But what pleased
the leaguers present most was the A. E.
Thomas definition OF an editor as
person who received large sums OF
money for making sure you receive small
sums"
Alma Gluck and Julia Arthur some
what embarra ssed at speaking in public
right before n whole lot OF people
stammered a few words about how nice
authors all are. and Julia Arthur added
she liked em we'll that II they ever
wrote her great American play in
which she fell in love with a hunchback
she would respect their art 30 far that
she would not send the hunchback out
to the Mayo brothers TO be Strengthened
out before the final curtain. Other SPELL
binders who bound were Philip Gibbs
and John Drew.
And when everything had been eaten
and drunk and listened to the authors
esses and guests were shooed down into
the ballroom by the dance committee,
consisting OF Julia Arthur. Blanche
Bates Elsie Ferguson. Alma Gluck,
Martha Hednan and Mabel Taliaferro.
some Of whom knew how to dance them
selves. and started dancing. They were
still dancing when editors and things
ike that were getting up for another
hard days work reading stuff which
had been written by the authors and
eses who were stlll dancing when editors
and things Ike that wero getting up for
another-well. anyhow. they were still
dancing
And among the artists who stood in
strong enough with Editor Frank
Crowrinshleld and his aceomplices to
be let in for the party were Maxneld
Parrish Paul Dougherty, Childe Has
sam. Robert Henri, George Bellows, Ir-
wing r. Wiles, Wallace Morgan, Elsie
Ferguson, Martha Hedman, John Drew.
Julia Arthur, Beatrice Hertord, Victor
Herbert, Mabel Taliaferro, Roshanara
Ros.na Call. Olive Russell, Alexander
r. Trowbr!dse. George S. Chappel, VIII
liam A. Delano Cass Gilbert, Dom Bar
Der. Kenneth NJ Murchison. Stephen
Leacock, john Jay Chapman. Austin
Strong, Mrs Harry Payne Whitney,
Rudolph Evans. Charles Carey Rumsey,
Gutzon Borglum. May Wilson Preston
Helen DRYDEN. NeYaa McNIain Inniao