The sun., 1919-03-02

at Washington, working on plans for
retaining land to be used as farms
for our soldiers.
For fifteen years these MacKayes
have lived in Cornish. N. H., eight Of
those years all the time.
Il like the quiet of the country"
MacKaye said, land it is a good place
to write. But l have always liked
night work; time is elastic, 1t is as if
all infinity were before one"
When in New York poet has time
to work only from about II o'clock at
night until as long as he can Of a
morning, or 8, generally. Perhaps
the .ibretto for the opera RIP Van
Wrinkle" will be written between these
hours. But MacKaye is an excellent
neighbor, of the writing class. as he is
unable, he says, to compose on the
typewriter. Afterward, however, he
has to transcribe for himslf as my
handwriting is too bad for anybody
else to read"
He says that he used to read every
thing he could lay hand upon, but now
has little time for books, because II
get my inspiration from life"
| or contemporary authors he says he
knows little though he does read
Masefie:d with admiration. He vows
| that when he reaches the placid age OF
| so he will settle down and read every
thing that has been written during his
| lifetime. The doors OF the opera houses
are always open to him, but as a pen
atty for such luxury he rarely has
| time to go, though he Is devoted to
music.
With the Players Club 1t Is a differ
ent matter. For to all accounts he
makes time to go there, where, as he
said. most of the younger men who
are doing the work Of this part Of the
world are to be found And there he
sits in conversation with friends, some
times with L. A. Robinson and Ridg-
| ley Terrence in that club which some
how manages to retain an air of home
quiet, a comfort which is not the
property Of most clubs.
William Vaughn Moody was among
| Mackaye's closest friends. Both Har-
ward men, the~ met a lSSe after-coi-
! lege and shared themselves, their
! ideals, successes and opinions with one
another until Moody died. MacKaye
spoke of THE Great Divide" and the
! first impressions II made upon the pub.
lie as a proof that the present system
of success within three days is false
Moody's play was a failure at first
and, as everybody knows, it later be-
came popular.
Calls Theatre Intrinsicaliy Wrong
"Our theatre" Mr.. MacKaye said, "is
intrinsically wrong in its tremendous
commercial speculative basis. 4 man
ager must select the best instanta
ncous gamble; he must know that hi
play Is a success within three days
Such a play has the kind of character,
easily worked out by actors who have
had no time to enrich their experience
by playing a variety OF parts. and NJ
notion of how to assume the character
Of the man whom they impersonate.
THE speech OF the play is limited by
the understanding OF the averag,
Broadway audience, SO that ths
dramatist loses all sense OF the valu,
OF the English language. our mos
magnificent inheritance. People II
our large cities actually do not know
English And our New England farm
ers have n vocabulary ten times a,
large as tho average man On the New
York streets. In the country they
have very nice distinction in the US,
of words / am not speaking OF tn
culture OF our educated people, but o.
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