New-York tribune., 1919-12-14

W need favorable definition to
defend ourselves from a reader
who is incensed because, as
she charges, we referred to Edwin
Booth "in antediluvian terms" She
cites as evidence the following para
graph
Ask some veteran theatergoer
What was Booth like as Hamlet? and
ne will say, oh, he was wonderful
Perhaps the face of the old theater-
goer may grow animated and Booth
may live again for a moment in his
mind.
Edwin Booth died in 1S93," continues
our correspondent. "His last appear
ance on the stage was at the Academy
Of Music, Brooklyn, April A, 1891. as
Hamlet. That is only twenty-eiEht
years ago and any person of forty
eight or less, of whom there must be
hundreds OF thousands in the United
States, could have seen his perform
ances. That Mr.. Broun never saw Booth
Is his misfortune. II is a dsadvan-
tage which all young writer's have to
contend with when discussing the
classic drama. Fortunately, the pres
ent condition of the stage does not tax
them too often. But to airily dismiss
as an old theatergoer' any one who
happens to have seen Edwin Booth.
whose beautiful performances are still
1resn IN the minds of many of US, is
RIDICULOUS, 10 say the least 1t is be-
cause have seen such actors as Booth.
barrett, Forrest and Mccullough that
am inclined to agree with Mr.. Horn
blow that they did things better in the
old days.-Annie l.. Marsh"
tnere IS at least one Instrumentation
ln Mrs. Marsh's letter, and that is her
ptlon mat 1T is possible to dis
miss an 'old theatergoer" ajrilv or ~
any other way. He grips his juniors
as they were so many wedding
suescs and he an ancient mariner, but
ne is nothing like so brief. No ono
neeus 10 tell us that there are persons
SUN alive who remember Edwin Bootb
TTNs;ioly' aye, and voluminously, too
nInss are always cropping up in con-
of fnpoialy plays which remind them
OF the dear, old, dead, departed davs
Not to have seen Booth is ;ndeed %
misfortune, as Mrs. Marsh saws. for if
..ahes dnn ~ necessary to listen to all the
DDS. "'"''i'eis ana meth
80 we are willing to admit that manv
'ne persons who remember Poo+i
s.o sa; SUN vigorous, but we think II ;s
for all thai hat 'nem Mnn.a "oid theatergoers"
tneatergoers age rapidly 'a'''
we Tried to find some one In tho 30
nee tins afternoon who had seer
Booth and who could tell us if ;ndeea eea
ne lowered above all the actors nf +o'
day: Everybody on the copy desk de-
med Indignantly that they had seen
Booth. why" we demonstrated, "von
might be only forty-eight and still
nave seen Booth many times" But
no one would confess an age az
great as that Perhaps forty eight
does not justify the use of the word
old theatergoer," but when a news
paper man gets to be fcrty-eight his
associates know him as "Pob" and the
managing editor fires him or puts him
IN the library to take charge of files.
lt was in the library that we found the
man who had seen Booth.
was only child at the time" he
explained carefully "Much too young
10 60 to the theater. But they sent me
l95t the same. The only trouble was
that they forgot how nearsighted I was
and bought me a seat far back in the
hrst balcony. The play was Hamlet
ana both Booth and Barrett were in it,
out couldn't tell which was which.
suppose one Of them must have been
hamlet and the other was Laertes. or
tne First Grave Digger, or God knows
"nat, but they all wore black clothes.
ana l couldn't tell one from another
an ! can tell you is that they were a
great team"
another reader, and younger one.
yI presume, writes that he would
.stake the Barrvmore trin Cnu patas