New-York tribune., 1919-01-19
By Virginia Tracy

question: as al ART, SAiu Vut 4 iltliN
tine Enemy. with stress upon his
last word as of one VINO draws the
curtains around shrine, "is that
they're wholly insusceptible to treat
ment."
We said. q beg your pardon-do you
mean pictures >" We spoke thus, no.
because We deliberately intended to be
polite but because we were too stunned
so know what to say.
pictures! Movies make, doubtless.
excellent illustrations 70 plots, if you
care about plots and their illustra-
tions-but as they have, Of course. no
theme Of their own they can have no
treatment Of their own; unless the di-
rector. as you call him, substitutes
bits of his own plot for the orig
inal''--
"Rumors of such an occurrence have
from time to time reached my ears
we somewhat wryly interjected.
well. if that's what you call treat
ment"--
AT this delicate point the Permanent
Crouch came noisily and roughly in
and sat down with a thud. "'Till /
Come Back to You!' And ] came back
IS fast as could. Have YOU seen it?"
you didn't enjoy it 80
"Why. at first, when ! saw the sweet
young Belgian wife married to the
brutal German husband | sat back
peacefully waiting for the noble Amer
can soldier whom she was 20 love
and I needn't say that | did not wait
in vain. My calm remained unbroken
at their silent suffering, because !
knew that after the hero had got a
chance to Kill the husband and been
too good for it, the husband would get
kiled anyhow by somebody whose vir-
tue didn't matter and all would be
we'll And thus and not otherwise it
began to come to pass. But, meanwhile,
in the backyard, the heroine's child
was training his little lame dog as
the Belgian army so shat they might
tight for King Albert. and when the
King came along just IN time to be
touched by this-because. of course,
he's such nice kingl and to ask the
boy to take care of Belgium for him, I
felt as if | had taken d chocolate
fudge sunde on top of syrup and
mayonnaise. However, it wasn't till the
German father took the child to some
penal institution for beating over lit
tie Belgians into little Germans that
began 10 gag, and when the director
actually started them getting fresh
with their whips l got up and got out.
Why can't people understand that when
lou exploit some sympathies too hard
you only insult them?'
"You left Just as the little Begians
we're going to be deported to work in
he German mines? Wcii, that was a
pity For you needn't have worried
about those Germans with whips-they
were only ogres."
"Oh. you've seen it them But what
do you mean-only ogres ?'
well, the heroine's child saved all
the other little Belgians the night be-
ore their execution-cxcuse me, de-
rortation. The key OF their dungeon
was stolen for him by the jailor's little
caughter, who mad fallen in love With
me Belgian knight-doesn't that last
lhrasc clear things up for you?'
"Oh, I can see you've got some
uotion''--
II haven't read TIL I Come Back to
You but my notion is that you can't
lat be unfair if y9p think Of it as a
mere best seller. In the picture al
-ast it is really the story that a little
boy. all tucked in for the night, tells
himself just as he begins 10 fall asleep
hoping to read the next instaIment in
his dreams The picture said to me
Why stupid, this ISN'T old tiresom5
crown-up life at all, this is let's pre-
lend -
You're not going to tell me it turns
cut TO be one of those dreams!"
"No except as its truth is the truth
o. dreams. You can see how. in 81
well-ordered a world as boys, moth
..l SputN Df HtVFS DfODaDle todu the ar
rival of King Albert in the backyard
20 play soldiers with him and his lam,
dog-of course, there had to be doi
IN a boys make believe. And wha
could be more suitable than that th'
ling should ask these able and de
voted followers to take care Of hi
kingdom for him 'till come back t,
you?' For certainly there seems to b.
doubt that hc Us a very nice kin,
adeed' Al any rate, you see nov
row those Germans with whips have
certain decent ogreish standing. lik,
Blue Beard or the Giants JACK killed
For, Of course, our hero has to accen
this institution full Of miserable chill
dren as the whole Belgian people whor
bis king asked him TO take care o.
cy become bis responsib bility. and he +
ot so much Of a hero but that his de
\o' what 70 do with responsibility
10 dump it on his mother. lmportan