Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-01-20
WAR CARTO0N|ST
TO TALKAT POLLS.
Capt. Bairnsfather to Appear
Tomorrow in Aid of Work.
ing Boys Home.

Rairnsfather. creator of "Old Bill
of the Better Ole" humorist, philoso-
pher and fighter in the world war.
| will talk" tn a Washington audience
tomorrow afternoon In Polls Theater
at 4;ao o'clock.
The talk will be for the benefit
of the Working Boys Home. Boys
from the home viii occupy special re-
served seats,
Capt. Bruce Bairnsfather. known as
the man who made the world laugh
In tho darkest hours of the war" An
| nounced especially through his man
agement that the entertainment would
not be lecture but "A simple talk
and impromptu drawing exhibition.
Since the war however, the car
toonist-captain has dropped soldiers
and fighting as the subjects of his en-
tertainments. and is dealing instead
with the topics of the day. When he
appeared at one of the largest audi
forums In England recently his pop
ularity was Httested by the fact that
the crowd turned away was three
times as large as the audience which
gained admittance.
Hns Had Adventurous Career.
Scarcely thirty years old. he has
had n career of adventure. He Is q
son of an English army officer. and
FOR many years resided in India. His
father combined soldering with
painting and musical composition and
was the producer of several musical
comedies at Sinla. among them The
Mahatma."
In France young Bairnsfather made
charcoal sketches on rocks, fences. shat
tered walls. and wherever he could find
space for a picture. After the appear
ance OF the cartoons in newspapers and
magazines. even Germany took up the
cartoonist, reproducing his comics in
periodicals.
At the present time Bairnsfathar is
dealing with the humorous side of every
day life. and his popularity is greater,
than ever. Incidentally. he is publish
ing. IN London. weekly comic paper
called Fragments which has attained
circulation of half a million Eng
lis1rnen of the higher classes read il as
an anudote for the heavy humor of
London Punch" The English masses
forget bolsheVism. internationalism and
strikes as they chucllle over BARNS
fathers latest funny pictures. The man
who did SO much toward helping Eng
land to win battles during the war is
now helping England to overcome the
red peril.
Amuses Villagers in England.
In England, Bairnsfather, who is still
| unmarried. spends most of his time at
| his country house, quaint Elizabethan
mansion in the village of Bishopton near
is always devising some CHEEKY enter
tainment for the villagers. Last Christ
mas large illuminated grotto was
bullt on the grounds of his estate, and
three of his friends, disguised as "Old
Bill, Bert and All distributed the
gifts Bairnsfather has also erected
miniature music hail. fully equipped
with narionette figures of the chief
performers of the day. including Harry
Lauder. This constitutes his favorite
toy, and is big attraction to the chill
dren of Bishopton. IT is so correct in
detail that it even has an American soft
drink bar.
Bairnsfather belongs to an old War
wicksnire family. His mother is con-
nected with baronetcy dating back
to Richard the Third and Bosworth
Field. His father is Scotch. and is
proud of the fact that Bobby Burns was
once a tenant of the family. The name
Balrnsfather. although Scottish. is really
OF Morse origin. and has nothing to do
with BARNS as Scotland understands
them 1t means bears father.