New-York tribune., 1922-12-13

Some persons are so suspieiousl
We sowed a small lawn with rye
this fall, preparatory to sowing II
with grass seed next spring. One
Of the neighbors looked at the
sprouting rye and remarked: What
is the process Of distilling whisky
from rye, anyhow -,
As the author Of "The Old Soak"
we suppose we are under suspicion.
and we haven't had m
honest-to-goodness drink for more
than three years. Mr.. Harry Beres-
ford. who plays the leading part In
the play, is equally temperate, and
Mr.. Robert O'Conner, who plays
All the Bartender, doesn't drink at
all.
The Old Soak, as a character, had
been kicking around in newspaper
columns for a year or two before
n ever occurred TO US TO builo a
play around him. II is not au.obi-
ography. The first suggestion that
there was a play in the thing came
from Mr.. John d. Williams, the
theatrical producer. He wanted US
10 do It for him, and we said We
might do so, but we neglected Il.
Then Mr.. Henry Z. Dixey, the vet
eran actor, made a similar sugges-
tion. and again we neg
lected IL. Then Mr.. Philip Goodman
came along with the same notion
and bought the play on faith, un-
written, and we could no longer neg
lect IL. II was Mr.. Goodman who
suggested 10 us that IL should be
a traditional old-fashioned sort Of
thing, roughly speaking, Of the Rip
Van Winkle genre. Then we built
the thing, such as II Is, and then
Mr.. Goodman sold a half interest
to Mr.. Arthur Hopkins, the pro
Queer, who ironed out Of IL with his
strong right hand a number Of
structural awkwRrdnesses which 1t
contained. At least a dozen per-
sons made suggestions of one sort
or another, most Of which were dis
carded by Mr.. Hopkins or ourseh.
So many critics have pointed out
what they consider TO be the weak
ness Of the plot, as a plot, that We
ere making occasion TO assume as
our own such guilt as there is In
this respect. Nobody Is responsible
for the story Of the thing or the
principal situations but ourseh.
But il is not autobiographic, we re-
peat Our own notion in that the
plot is a pretty good plot 4.
but il the critics cay il isn't we can
not conscientiously sidestep.
But all we started out TO say
when we got steered of into this
depression is that since the play has
been produced il is almost impos-
sible to convince a large number Of
our friends and aequaintances that
the story is not photographed in
its nature. They think we must
be passing our life in a state Of
sousedom. Alasl IL this were only
truel II II only could be true!
The terrible fact is that, phys
ically, we can't stand hard liquor
OuI hgHlpdlug viii ~ 10 ocubliuenIali
moral and spiritual. II is a mat
ter Of yearning and a matter of
principle. Whenever we have tried,
FOR several years, to take a drink
in our actual physical person II tears
the dickens out Of US We can't
do il.
The Old Soak is kind Of psychic
relief. He represents an ambition
of ours, an inspiration, which we
are unable to reach In our proper
person. he Is a projection Of the
spirit, not a replica of the flesh.
He Is the better part Of our nature,
in form and flesh. He is what we
would fain be If we were not ham,
pered with these humiliating ma
terial inhibitions.
But we suppose there are persons
who will continue to believe that
''The Old Soak" Is US to the life.
What" said our neighbor. cooking
a wise eye at our little rye patch,
what Is the process Of distillinR
whisky from rye, anyhowi"
DoN MARQUIS.