The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-07
M E N, w OMEN
 A N D T HIN C $

was member of the party invited by Mesdames Richard F. Johnston and urine Arnold Shipman at the TutwiIer on Monday in honor of MT. Charles l.. Wagner, the millionaire manager of Mary Garden.
 l do not know why Dolly" made millio lion-dollar-a-year manager out of him unless it was to see to it that he ortclassed in dollars and cents the man. ager of Geraldine Farrar, who was put down as man of great wealth. I'll ex- cuse her for it, as the public likes to read about men of means, but fear she will get him in Dutch" with Uncle Sam sleuths when he gives in his income tax.
 Now so far as I am concerned, I hope he has every dollar she endowed him With, for he is a charming and agreeable gentleman; but take it from me, he does not need bank account to get by with, Tor he is good to look upon. I do not mean that he smacks of the matinee idol, Tor he does not; He is just clean cut, well-featured, upstanding man, wno knows how to carry himself well and hold his own in any society.
 
 frGm what I gathered at the lunch, he blew out of the west and took New York like storm, for before any one was aware he was >on the top rung of the ladder as a manager. I do not know yu cn, al. Ut L but with a pair like Mary Garden and John Mccormack, he can stand pat, for where in all the world could fellow get better drawing cards? I am not surprised that with this unbeatable combination he rakes in cool million during every twelvemonth.
 There is nothing of the pose of the usual jmpresario about him. He does not dress loud, wears no fancy vests. sports no big diamonds tried to find some vulnerable spot in his armor but failed to even discover the fur coat which is part of the managerial game. He garbs himself like a quiet, well-to-do business man. l failed to detect any N-h VI oNPSA iciity III nun. Ilc tdihSd WCift but was perfectly willing to let the other fellow get in his say. most extraor- dinary person to be in the operatic world.
 He was just full of Mary and John, and it was hard to- find out wntcn one was his favorite. He had many inter- esting things to say of both. He never told things in the press agent style, as if he wanted you to be sure and play up naturally in his conversation without any one's having a chance to say that he was leading the talk in order to spring tale of his two celebrities
 did not know but that friend Hune- ker's wishing multiple personalities on Mary might have made it right hard for any manager to manage her, for some celebrities have a way of boiling over way of relieving themselves of just a lot of ordinary, everyday, bad temper. But it seems that Manager Wagner is able to lead the simple life' with Mary on his hands as easy as Pastor Wagner, who came over from France to tell us all about it.
 I have always been Kiplingite, believ- ing that "The Coloners Lady and Judy Dress 'em up as mucn you please. smooth them with culture, give them tation, but beneath the outward veneer of civilization they are women still. l was not, therefore, surprised from the intimate accounts of Mary at the hands of the wagnerite that she is a real human being, and not the unapproachable and impossible goddess which James Huneker makes of her in the ''Bedouins."
 Whenever I take up the study of an actress or other notability and the critic weaves around him everything which he has dreamed about them, I am not fooled when he endows them with all kinds of characteristics, and uses them as mere manikins on which to hang the garments of his fancy. It was a great relief to hear of the simplicity and charm of Mary Garden after having come up for air after having been submerged beneath the waves of her multiple personalities"
 There were. some short talks at the lunch. MT. Wagner gave some delightful "reminiscences of the artists with whom he had been associated as manager. Dr. Barrett told of the work being done to clear the way for the auditorium. l closed the meeting. but I think can say without giving offense that the feature of the luncheon was the impromptu talk of Mrs. Beecher. I had heard quite a few of her readings, and will carry with me to my dying day that wonderful night during the war when she stood in the balcony of the Tutwiler ballroom and thrilled the great gathering with her pow erfully realistic rendering of They Shall Not Pass"
 1 I knew then she was an artist to her very finger tips, and I wrote my impress I did not know at the time was that she had toured the country making a great hit under the chaperonage of Charles H.. Wagner. the young man who is now the success of the hour in the managerial world He told how that he had done everything in his power to get Mrs. Beecher to go on the stage. for he felt sure she had great career awaitins