The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-24
One of the "3 Wise Fools

There are "3 Wise Fools" Who, like
 young Lochtnvar, came out of the west" besides the B Wise Fools" of the delightfully."- refreshing comedy by that name, and one of them is the subject of this little story.
 His name is John W. Ransome-and ne halls from St. Joseph, Mo, where Manager R, S. Douglas of the Jef- ferson comes from, and added to these two is the name of Jesse James, the noted outlaw and bandit, form Ing the trio which has brought fame and renown to the small Missouri town nestling back wonder in the foothills of the Golden West.
 Mir. John w. Ransome, who plays The Grouch"-the lovable, attrac- tive, dyspeptic. intolerant, character in the 8 Wise Fools" literally "blew in" at the Jefferson yesterday (by appointment)-eager and anxious to again meet his old friend, Mir. Douglas, one of the a Wise Fools" from St Jo-and he added: "You also, young lady" (meaning me, if you please).
 Breezy, clever, witty and hand some, MT. Ransome looks less like a
 Crouch" than anybody I have ever seen-and if he ever had reason to look the part and act the part, 1t was yesterday, for geel you know ~whatter day" it was-raining cats and dogs by the dozens-sloppy. slushy, muddy-yet there he was. his merry eyes twinkllng and his happy face wreathed In smiles, as he began to>tell me about his boyhood days out there in "St. Jo," when he and R. s. Douglas and Jesse James played circus and laid their plans then and there to be among those present" in this big old busy world.
 T started my career" said MT. Ran some, by being 8 member of the Missouri Valley Minstrels. when Eu- gene Field, sweet singer of songs, wrote the verses and the dialogue for us. We used to turn the money over to- charity-and there was heaps Of 1t, too, believe me-and being so successful. suppose I was bouyed up by that fact and became more deter mined than ever to be an actor"
 This, of course, met with fearful disapproval of my family, who were good old sboutin' Methodists: they didn't believe in dancing nor play acting nor anything worldly, and they felt when l declared my intention of going on the state that I was bound straight for the devil and the deep blue sea"
 This was natural, presume, be- cause my parents were southerners- my father from Culpeper, Va, and my mother a Kentuckian-and In those days southern folk were more agin' the stage even than northern CTS. And added to this, they were, as I said before. Methodists."
 My mother lived and died and never had her foot inside of a the- atre in her life except once, and that was when Sam Jones lectured in the theatre at St. Jo. She never saw me In any of my successes; she never saw me act. Once when I was play ing In Chicago she came to make me 8 visit, but she didn't go to the theatre during her whole stay there"
 An amusing thing happened. by the way, during her visit to Chicago: the theatre I was playing in was the Windsor, and it was right next door to the hotel of the same name, the Windsor. We opened our engagement Sunday, and during that week the theatre caught fire; the alarm, was sent out and everybody in the hotel was awakened, the word coming to me to get my wife and children and my mother out of the hotel as 1t would probably catch and be the next to go. In the hurry and excitement of it all-my mother wringing her hands and crying and signing, said
 "I knew something like this was going to happen to you. John, for playing in a theatre on Sunday, and now here's the whole things going to be burned up.' And sure enough, she was right"
 we took our old southern negro cook--out to St. Jo with \ us and she was noted for making the best waffles and cakes of anybody in the country. So, whenever Sam Jones came to St. Jo, on his wonderful iec- ture trips and revivals. my mother was always asked to entertain him; and she always did and gave him the pest food to eat that any Methodist preacher ever sat down to-