The sun., 1919-08-10
Ire FAMOUS TOP HAT. ANO TIE
lMPRESARiO'S DAUGHTER STELLA
Remarkable Achievements Reflect
Genuine Originality of Man Who
Trusted All to His Own Genius
and Found His Chief Joy in
Being an Impresario
Being an lmpresarlo

Modesty in our world is the angel of
the fireside and the evil demon of the
street.
This strange combination of man
who has but departed from life was
a genius and he took advantage of
that fact by seldom or rarely pre-
pairing himself or his materials for an
overwhelming success. He MADE a.
wonderful record through his belief in
himself, he accomplished things he
might not have attempted II the trait
Of foresight had been granted along
with his other great endowments, but
4 would be fatal to say fatal
to all rules of probability, what he
might have accomplished with this
gift added
Hammerstein was a natural genius
in many directions and he had never
any hesitation in making the state
IDent
II am a genius" said he boldly and
as IL defyfng contradiction. "as a me-
| chanic, as an inventor, as a chemist,
and most OF all as q musician"
ODDLY enough; for statements like
this, while they may dazzle, generally
lead to laughter. what he said he DEM
| onstrated. He was a mechanical
genius without knowing very much Of
physics. The stage hands and car
penters and mechanicians used to go
| to him when their mechanical troubles
got beyond them, and with no pains at
| all, without explanation Of how he did
It. and 1t may be without knowing how
he did 1t, he Strengthened out their
difficulties It was the same in ar
tistic things about which he may not
| have been expected to know very
much; he had a remedy for tangles
| OF this kind also and applied 1t with
out regard to precedent. The conf
dent manner In which he went at all
things half solved them, and there may
have been that fine quality Of horse
| sense" added to his other assortment
OF traits.
That he didn't apply IT to personal
criticism was for the result the sad
dest part. He built him a house
rather early in his career in the Mount
Morris Park neighborhood where he
was his own architect. This house
was mixture of majestic architec-
tural features, incongruous for its
size. and meretricious ornament which
would indicate In the builder corre-
spending traits and tastes. It was, he
thought at the time, the house he
wanted and It served the purpose of
inlrressing the ignorant. but Hammer
stein learned better in a very short
time and decided that 1t was not the
house he wanted. Throughout his
4 Na NJ but hA
tinued to do what he liked. The re-
suit was that he has left no perfect
architectural monument.
What Ii Consciencet
Lack OF knowledge in an art, II II
be but deep enough and urged by a
powerful pride, is q force. That has
been proved to the dismay of many
devotees of art who would gladly lay
down their lives at her shrine. Never
II would seem. has the dismay spread
30 wide as It goes to-day. The sue
cess men achieve in making them.
selves remarked, opposed and accepted
who lack the qualities that the cold
principles OF art demand in her vo-
taries, Is very confusing to q student
of art. He sees a painting or a statue
or building gain the admiration
of the world when the books all teach
Il him that each is fals~ In principle. In
his lack of worldly wisdom he takei
! 1t for granted that a painter. q sculp'
tor, a musician, must have an artist,
conscience and that every artist fit,
himself by study and reflection to ex'
pose It. What the student does no
define correctly IL the word "con.