davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Implying The Trick Bag:
Bacon Makes Lightnin

4 lightly. But it has an insinuatipg gar
lily about it, power o. almost steaithy
emulation Of vitality that leaves
Ligntnin' Bill all alive at the point Of
the last curtain, with ;he rest of his
companions scarcely emerged out Of
the pleasant hintorland Of comedy they
have been inhabiting.
1t is the more remarkable In View
of the kind Of material of which the
play is made. Here you have the old
stuff, the tried and true. rocas, with
such intuition and pervaded by so
much true amiability that its familiar
lty is N its favor, as friend be-
comes more pleasant by the term of
his intimacy.
All the famous plays Of two -o-cu
years ago were of this kind. bulwarked
by the STAPLE sentiments of humor and
love. The love was usually elementary.
but the humor had a shrewdness about
1t, native American flavor, so much
! thing by itself that what passes ~
wit on tho variety stage Of to-day is
cheap and shoddy by comparison.
Informed by finer intelligence in
presentation and ampihed by an -.
creased capacity for artfulness. "I.lgnt-
MIN" is exactly that kind of play.
1t has no pretences; it wants TO be a
pleasant, smiling, optimistic comedy.
and II succeeds at the job of j, without
making an effort or doing anything
but smoothly going It's own particular
way.
The chief significance OF comedy Or
this kind is that II is quite removed
from everything except the appearance
of real life. Comedy as the CLASSIC
stage knows it is on very close terms
with life, being a comment upon ..
Lghtnin is fun-making. and 10
achieve out of this what SO nearly ap-
proXimates the figure Of man is to get
out Of it a good deal more than yoa
bargain for. Maclyn Arbuckle did
something Of the same kind, at least m
erect, when he played the robustious
MIR. Tarleton in "Misallance." Shaw
didn't mean to do anything real with
has manikins. 1t was furthest from
his purpose, which is fundamentally
the purpose of wit. But Mr. Arbuckle
wasn't satisfied with Mr.. Shaw's con-
ception Of the matter. Nothing would
do but that his Tarleton should bulge
out of the picture like a human being.
and bulge he did with unexpected adj
vantage to the entire presentation.
Nobody will want to claim any per-
manent immortality for Lightnin' Bill.
lie fits best as one of long line of
friendly faces in the resonant portrait
gallery of the stage universe. The tire
mcndous lies he constructs with i'm
pressive ease-the flock of bees he
drove across the desert, his simple
ability to make himself at home de-
spite any untoward circumstance in
the world-these things make consd-
cradle more than the downy heart Of
hokum comedy. There is some wisdom
about him that is probably the wisdom
of Frank Bacon. He may not come
back many times. But it will not be
easy to forget him.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Benefit Of s'Dear Brufus''
For Lafayette Fund

The executive committee of the La
fayette Fund has arranged with. the
Charles Frohinan Company for the per-
torrance of the new j. N. narrie com
ody at the Empire Theatre on Tuesday
evening January T. to be given as a
benefit for the fund. The Lafayette
Fund is organized to raise money to
be devoted to the immediate relief of
the unavoidable suffering of men who
have been in the trenches in Europe.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
By Haywood Broun

II cannot understand why you have
taken such hard crack at me and
the play" writes Samuel Shipman, who
wrote East Is West" in collaboration
with John B. Hymer. 81 realize" con.
tinues Mr.. Shipman, chat l have
shocked your artistic sensibilties,
especially in the depletion of some
phases of Chinese life, as I know you
70 be a thorough scholar of it; but
= still did not justify your bitter
onslaught. I hope it is not personal.
If it is, let me assure you that I have
always had the profoundest admiration
for you, and that l have never said an
unkind word about you. However,
will take the drubbing like good fell
low. There is one thing that you must
say, in fact, you have actually said that
we wrote an effective box office play
and when the American public is ready
to maintain the theatre at its present
cost, listening to finer plays, I will
either learn to write them or quit.
Thus far I have unlearned trying to
attempt to reform the world, and
learned to earn enough money for
myself and for a good many Of those
who can't do it, In any case | wish
you happy New Year and hope that
you will write a rotten play yourself
and make a lot of money With New
Years greetings to yourself and the
baby, who I hope will not be a critic. y
We hasten to assure Dir. Shipman
that we reciprocally have the pro-
foundest admiration for him, although
we have printed many unkind words
about his play. We are also perfectly
willing to say that east Is West" il
making money and gives every indica-
ton OF making more. We never said
that it would not. That is not our
affair. We are not expert in predict
ing the success or failure Of a nlav
from its first night reception. but even
If We could, why should we attempt IL
That 10 the JOB Of the ticket specu-
lator. All that we can do is TO .e,,
what we ourselves think Of the plav
When several million persons think
differently, as they frequently do. We
are not chagrined. We merely bundle
up in another mufier of cynicism and
say, who are these people, ANYWAY
but the crowds that step on our toes
in the subway and wave their absurd
yellow journals in our face until wa
are forced TO .forcac reading THE New
Republic until the journeys end
Usually we add damn them!" with a
malignant hiss.
But after all our contempt for the
theatregoing public is nothing like a.
profound az that Of Samuel shipman's
The most insulting thing that can be
done n 8 body Of persons is % patron
i've them, Mr. shipman has done that
lie feels that he must write down to
the people waasge to the theatre. That
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Vaudeville

PALACE-Lady Constance Stewart
Richardson, on her way to Siberia
for war work, is stopping to present
for week her programme of class
ical dances. Nan Halperin with a
new series of 1919 songs is also
headl;ned. Leon Enrol remains for
second week in his comedy sketch,
"The Guest" Lois Josephine and
Tyler Brooks, Joe Jackson, Lyons
20 and Yosco and Fenton and Fields
are others on the bill
ALHAMBRA-Haig and Lockctt. Nor
ris and Campbell, "Sweeties," Tar
Fan and Klein Brothers are the prin-
cipal features of the bill The sup
porting bill includes Lieutenants
Scbrein and Armstrong, Harry Madi-
son and Gene Winchester, Claudia
Coleman and LeMaire and HAYES.
ROYAL-Frisco, OF Jazz dance fame,
will make his first appearance in The
Bronx. Belle Baker remains for a
second week. Felix Rush appears
in rural comedy entitled "Crosby's
Corners Others on the bill are jim
Toney and Ann Norman, Roy Rice
and Mary Werner, Marmon and
O'Connor, Nine. ALI w. Loyal's dog
Toque, and Jean Duval.
RIVERSIDE-Fritz Scheff, Leon Enrol,
uyams and Mcintyre and the Mos
conf Brothers are the stars Of the
New Years festival all-star bill
here. Others on the bill are Milo p
Harry Krantz and Bob La Sale,
Harry and Ann Seymour and Collins
and Hart.
COLONIAL-The principal luminaries
of this weeks bill arc George Mac
farlane, the well known tenor;
Rooney and Bent, Mrs Gene Hughes,
in Edgar Allen Woolf's comedy.
"When He Comes Back" Mr.. and
Mrs. James Barry, in "The Rube,''
and Muriel Worth in new dances.
Inc supporting bill Includes Ben
Bernie, Eddie Weber and Marion
Ridnor, Rose and Ellis and George
NJ. Brown.
LOEW'S AMERICAN THEATRE AND
ROOFLBen Ryan and Henrietta Lee
are the vaudeville headliners all the
coming week. Other acts the first
part Of the week are Harry First. in
"The Good For Nothing" by Clara
Lipmann and Sam Shipman, and Jim
HALEY and Jessie Noble, in Failing
for Her" by Aaron Hoffman. Ryan
and Lee and Bert Sheppard and COM
pany are on the bill the second
part of the week. Elaine Hammer
stein, in WANTED for Murder" and
Douglas Fairbanks, in "Arzona," are
the picture features.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
At the One Week Houses

STANDARD-David Warfeld brings
his famous Improvisation of "Thc
Auctioncer" to this theatre for q
week
Observation-Disclosures to the
success of Cuisines Before Pleas
ure" at this theatre it will be kent
here for another week.
LOEW'S SEVENTH AVENUE-"Seven
Days Leave" is the attraction here
BRONX OPERA HOUSE - "Miss
Sprlngtimc," the Klaw e. Erlnnger
musical comedy success, will be seen
here.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
NeaU Plays This Week.

SoNDAiAt the Henry Miller Theatre
Tyler Will Patricia Coingc
with life settlement The new
play by Helen IT,
OF Utilize Mennonite Maid,
she who
based lille deals with the
member the Mennonite Church,
everything
"wordlness Miss Colinge's W. Ransom
Robert Hudson, Mude Mildred
Fisher, Fokman Dresser alcntin
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Fourth Moliere Play
At French Theatre

The presentation of "L'Avare" TO-
morrow evening by M. jacques Copeau,
OF the French Theatre du Vieux Colon
per. will mark the fourth play Of
Moliere to be given by that company
this season. and tho first to be pro-
duced this season which was included
in last seasons repertory.
"L'Avare" is by many considered
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05

- now. You can get a little bit
Of it when you watch Jacques
Copeau, and if William Gillette ham t
let his skill fall into the rut of an
habitual manner he, too, would claim
your attention. It's the sort Of thing
you rarely get among young actors
anywhere, no matter how faithful and
passionate they may be in their in
SEPARATION. It's the result of uncon-
scous years Of dressing down, skim
ming, trimming, the end of countless
eliminations, and thousands of ex-
rerienced oscillations of the useless
ness of lot of things. Finally, it
comes out Of an imaginative under
standing of the utility of suggestion,
and the emphasis and accent that re-
side in underplaying and the frustra-
ton of attention that comes out Of
anything overdone.
Lightnin' Jones as finished image
isn't by any means as complicated as
this explanation might proclaim. There
are dozen parts on Broadway that
are Shower, that reach out hypnoti-
cally to seize audiences and hold them
If anything, the part OF Lightnin', as
Frank Bacon makes it, is almost shad-
owy at times, it is brushed in so
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Young Bill Sees
''The Better ole"

wen. to see THE Better OLE
An Old Bill e was there,
To chat with Victoire, Bert an All,
An storm around an swear;
An smoke is pipe, an drink is beer,
An do is bloomin' bit,
An fill the Tommies 'earts with cheer,
An keep 'em fine an fit.
I've seen lot o. bloomin' shows
Since first wore long pants;
I've seen all sorts of movies" too,
With uncles an with aunts----
But Oh, love "The Better 'Olel"
An Bert, an ALI. an Bill,
An when am an old. old man.
III think about EN- still.
Edicin Carly Raack
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Lost Battalion To Be Filmed

Carrie E. Carlton, who produced "a
Romance of the Air" has arranged to
have picture made on tie subject Of
Colonel Whittlesley's ''Lost Battalion. "
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Brooklyn

MONTAuK-Cohan & Harris will
present "A TailorMade Man" with
Grant Mitchell.
MAJEsTIc-.The Wilde comedy, AN
Ideal Husbana," is this weeks bill.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05

Mr.. Shipmans grievance is merely
personal, because he knows, just as
we'll as we do, that if people like his
play what we say about it will not
make dollars difference at the box
office. And yet the belief in the malig-
nant power of the newspaper dramatic
critic persists in some quarters.
Alfred w. Mccain, the Globes au-
thority or fish, butter, horsemeat,
Hamlet and eggs, is all stirred up about
it. He seems to feel that the ..ews-
paper critics have not been cnthusi-
astic enough about Walter Hampton.
All gaid that he was good and some
said that he was great. That does
not satisfy McCann. He ought to know
that in this agnostic age there is a
limit to the scope of alteration.
After making an exception for Clay
ton Hamilton, Mr.. Mccain exclaims,
who are these other critics that thew
should seek to make or break "a play p,
We should say that for the most part
we are broken down reporters who are
paid TO 20 TO the theatre and that we
neither make nor break players or plays
We wish we could. 1t would be fine
indeed to tors of review like a rib
and make n new actress. Or to pen n
qrip and presently hear the crash Of
Wilton Lsckaye falling from great
height Though cucumber frame. 1t
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05

John P. Toohey writes:
Il don't think you were quite just to
Barrie last Sunday. Some of his Sin
terdelineations, If we may call them
that, are, I admit, a bit 'iust too
dear, but some of them may be num-
bered amongsthe most humorous things
he has ever written. AS a matter Of
fact think the funniest of all Barrie's
lines is a parenthetical remark in the
printed edition Of The Admirable
Crichton.' In the first act the Earl
of Loan is making a ponderous and
patronizipe speech to his servants, who
have been gathered together in his
drawing room in accordance with his
idea Of meeting them once a e1onth on
plane of social equality. They are
properly awed and decidedly uncom-
Portable. In the middle Of the speech
Roger, the boots, carried away by
enthusiasm, makes his only remark.
Hear. hear he cries out Then
Barrie, in parenthcsis. adds Great con-
sternation. Roger grows up, is mar
ried, and has large family Of chill
dren, but is never really heard from
again If that isn't the quintessence
of humor-well. | leave 1t to you"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Just Betaueen You and Me
By FRANK AGAIN

Marie Dressler, tho famous woman
comedian, is out of the pictures (mean-
ing the mcvies), again and will return
to vaudeville.
Why some folks pay so cents more
TO 20 to an entertainment and sit where
they are more seen than seeing is a
pussele.
1t is said that William Farnum
makes s780,coo year Yea, 30! GER
tainly is some dough?
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05

cannot be done We have tried and
after four years of effort the best
which we can boast is that we once i'm
PEELED Eva Tenguay to break out into
full page ad in "Variety' by calling
her "the parsnip Of performers"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
By Ralph Block

> or much acting like Frank
Bacon's is left on the stage
now. You can get a little bit
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Defense for Disliking
Ship111an 8 ssEusf Is West''

is why we resented east Is West" bit
terly. Except at such times as we are
riding in subway expresses we feel
ourselves part of the public. When
we go to the theatre we want the
best the author can give us. He may
pitch his play so high that it will go
sailing over our head, but that is pref
cradle to low losses for which we
must stoop in an effort to make a
pickup.
Mr.. Shipman is dextrous and facile
in the carpentry Of the theatre, but
we were Impressed by the insincerity
of the two plays by him which we
have seen. Undoubtedly, he feels
deeply about some things, but those
are not the ones of which he writes.
Samuel Shipman has had so much
financial success in the theatre this
season that he owes himself at least
one distinguished failure. And after
all, if he did write play which rep
resented the very best that he could
do, with never thought from begin
nlng to end of the little window in
the lobby, it is possible that people
might listen to it, after ALL Such
things have happened. They have to
happen And when they do we know
that the struggling, striving mass that
lights its way each night from Brook
Ign Bridge to the Bronx has more to
1T than elbows and heels.
AS for the rotten play which Samuel
uel Shipman would have us write. we
did it long ago, but we must have over
done the rottenness. Nobody pro-
duced it.
Mr. Shipman is wise in hoping that
II. the third will not grow up to be a
critic. 1t is probably true that where
we chastise with whips he would chas
tlse with scorpions. Anybody who has
seen him at work on his toy dog po
lonius cannot fail to realize that the
mildly playful quality in US, which
Mr.. Shipman mistakes for severity has
degenerated in H. the third to sheer
brutality.
The Lamar register., 1919-04-16
loXa Of 1reeA.

That one should feel affection for
the great trees Is natural. In the Min
b-sots forests 7 met a lumberman who
told me he would weep bitter tears
when he got orders to cut down a fine
hemlock, Julius Chambers writes In
the Brooklyn Eagle. Every stroke Of
the AZ seemed TO him to be felt BY
the sturdy monarch whose life ne was
taking.
When | have revisited the woods"
in which. as a boy, I gathered nuts. I
have faneied the trees I used to climb
recognized me. They looked the
same. They hadn't aged. The she'll
bark hickory trees seemed trI1e
more dangerous TO climb than of yore.
and the heightened arm had barely
kept pace with ths expanding bark. l
could snll encirels their trunks and
could have Climbed them II necessary,
bur The rewards Of . winters store OF
nuts no longer appeal I" me. The wat
nuts and hlckor, nut. one buys ,io not
taste like those gathered with ones
owp hands.
The Lamar register., 1919-04-16
Laughs and Laughs.

oh, boy, you get all the laughs in
the world in "The Better Ole" the
comedy picture of the great conflict
which is scheduled for showing on
April % at the Opera House. Old
Bill and his pals, Bert and All, are
typical soldiers, not overdrawn heroic
characters, but soldiers just as they
really were, and you're sure to be de-
lighted with their humorous expert
ences behind the lines, in the trenches
and in "Blighty."
"The Better Ole" as is well known
is in its stage from one Of the biggest
theatrical successes Of the generation.
After playing to enormous business in
London and in all the other cities of
England, the production was also made
in America, and is now playing to
capacity business at the Cort Theatre,
New York City. and in theatres in
other cities throughout the land. The
price of admission will be 15c and Csc.
The Lamar register., 1919-04-16
Rent Pastures at Record Prices.

Cattle pastures in Kansas this sea-
son were rented at new record prices,
u few instances of $50 head season
having been recorded. and many con-
tracts were made at from S13 to $1S
head, while none were obtainablo be-
low $40, according to reports to the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture. Even at these prices pastures
were sought early in the season by
men who wanted to rent grazing land,
but now the demand has eased up. as
most Of the desirable land has been
leased and the owners find it neces-
sary to skirmish for cattle to fill those
remaining. Ranchmen in Texas are
in better position this season to handle
their cattle at home, but because of
the prolonged drought in that State
much grass was killed out, which
means that for another season at least
cattlemen from Texas must seek pas
lures in Kansas and surrounding ter
ritory. 1t is expected that more than
a normal number of cattle will be
pastured in Kansas this season be-
cause Of the numerous rains there and
the large number Of cattle wintered
in Oklahoma, which will be shipped
into Kansas. Most of the cattle usual
ly go on grass soon after April 10 and
many remain on pasture as late as
October is. although ordinarily most
Of them are marketed by October I.
The Lamar register., 1919-04-16
Care for The Fruit Trees.

In this section there are a number
Of fruit trees, that are entirely neg
lected, and Of course the fruit indus
try, though small is failure. Take
care Of the trees. You may have only
a couple of trees in the back yard. or
you may have an orchard of COM
mercial size. In either case try to
get maximum result from the trees.
To start with give the trees a reas-
enable pruning each year. This work
should be done in the late winter or
early spring. Do it now. A good
thorough pruning each year is much
better than a hard pruning every
three or four years, as it maintains
a more even balance between the root
system and that portion of the tree
above the ground.
Use a certain amount of judgment
in pruning. Don't butcher the trees.
Don't skin off all the small twigs on
the main limbs. leaving a tuft at the
end. Don't leave unsightly stubs, but
close to the branch that is left Thin
out the surplus branches. so as to al
low the sunlight to get the fruit, and
to allow the fruit that is found on the
tree to make good marketable size
and color. Keep n good thrifty grow
tn Of new wood coming on.
Good pruning is fundamental in the
fight against insect enemies. The
tree that has been well pruned offers
less protection for insects. 1t also
offers much better conditions for the
effective use of the sprayer.
Plan now to get into the orchard
and spray for the Codling Moth. the
insect that makes the apples wormy.
Use as an insecticide against this in
sect, the poison spray, arsenate of
lead. The first spray should be APP
piled just after the petals fall.
Further information may be obtain
ed by writing, seeing or phoning the
county agent. Phone. Lamar 316.
The Lamar register., 1919-04-16
Pests and Pest Districts.

There are pests of almost unlimited
varieties. There are likewise numer-
Gus pest districts. Among those that
might be mentioned are the human
pests, which seem to have universal
distribution. In France where the
cooties thrive. each man seems to be
4 personal pest district. But most oi
the pests and pest districts are more
localized and difinite, not being quite
so personal.
The kind of pests and pest districts
that should interest us as farming
section, are those that deal with
prairie dogs, gophers, field mice and
rats, grass hoppers, web-worms and
such. AS individuals some of us have
been fighting these insects and rodents
but frequently, as fast as we clean up
our premises, they are reinfected from
neighboring ranches. If we all mako
a united fight against any one or all
of these, eliminate them; clean up the
community. The results in some
cases are permanent, while with other
places it is q matter of control. so the
losses caused are negligible.
To do this the laws of Colorado al
low the formation of pest districts,
where all the land is included in the
fight. This takes in resident land
owners, nonresident land owners, and
all state and government lands. Now
is the time to get these districts start
ed. 1t may be too late after we see
our prospects for abundant harvests
go glimmering. Lets get together,
and be ready for these Obstructive in
vasions. The county agent will do
everything possible toward the forma-
ton, and to help the work where these
pest districts are needed. Get in touch
with him at once.
The Lamar register., 1919-04-16
Opera House Books Road Show

Manager Lee of the opera house,
has contracted to play "The Gladstone
Co." on Friday and Saturday, April rs
and 26, with a complete change of
program nightly.
This clever little company comes
highly recommended. The Gladstone
Sisters are known from coast to coast
as premier singers and dancers.
Master Ray" mere slip of tad
only three years Of age is appearing
in songs and dances, and a routine of
acrobatic stunts which look impossible
of child.
Signor Carlo Fessia and his Queen
Of Jazzscopation is a musical offering
away beyond the average.
The Ray Bros. offer a juggling and
wire walking act that is sensational
and chuck full of comedy.
Mr.. Lee has kept the admission
price within reach of all so no doubt
packed houses will prevail during their
stay in Lamar.
There will be special matinee for
children on Saturday with the admis-
sion 25c for all grammar grade stu
dents.