The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-03
SON OF WAGNER STRS UP STORM WITH OLD IDEAS
Critics Reused By Refusal To Modernize Perform
 ances At Bayreuth
(By Associated Press.)

BERLIN, August 2.-What would Richard Wagner say about this years festival at Bayreuth if he could step out of the tomb in which he has lain for fl years? This is a question which musical critics are asking and answer ing in various ways.
 -< Would Wagner, the revolutionist of his day, approve of his sons refusal to modernize the performances at Bay reuth? Would he favor the decided mon archistic reactionary atmosphere which surrounds the festival and has given 1t a political significance?
 Seigried Wagner, the composers son, has insisted the performances the ,pla- :. cards on the theatre walls calling at- tention to the location of the fire escape are printed in long-discarded German spelling.
 = Many critics who object to this arch aic flavor insist that Siegried should be consistent in his determination and refuse to permit visitors to enter the festival grounds in automobiles.
 -- Nothing modern in scenery, painting j or technical equipment such as Dresden, Milan and other metropolitan centres have adopted has been permitted by the : Wagner family and many reviewers bit .terly assail this attitude, saying the el- der Wagner frequently wrote that genius must ever create something new and never be stationary.
 The Wagner family, however, is sup ported by some critics who, hold that the famous composer was of such de- cided opinions that he would maintain to this day that the spirit in which his productions were conceived and carried out could not be improved
 William Missed Ducks
 Former Emporer William, of Ger. many, was crack shot on pheasants, but was not so good when he tried to shoot ducks. So writes Helmuth Won Gerlach, editor of Die Welt Am Montag, though is publishing his recollections of associations with the deposed mon- arch, now in Holland.
 Count Larisch once invited William to his Bohemian estate to shoot and as a surprise released several hundred wild ducks, Herr Von Gerlach relates. The one-time German ruler shot scores of times but failed 10 bring down any of the ducks as he thought they would zlg-zag as pheasants do instead of fly ing in a straight line, style of flight with which he was not familiar. Will liam was so enraged he left immediately and never visited Count Larisch again, as he always insisted upon being the best shot in any company and had to be humored on all occasions.
 In one instance, the writer continues, when the former emperor was visiting Prince Fuerstenberg in the Black For est his host arranged to place William at vantage point where he could shoot more rabbits than anyone else in the party. Unfortunately it rained and the rabbits took new course. A young mo- bleman who didn't know of the ex- kaiser's eccentricities killed over 200, while William had but 25 to his credit. This fact caused him great consterna- tion and the prince had to discharge his chief forester to appease Williams an- ger.
 Pominten, in east Prussia, was the former emperor's favorite deer hunting lodge, but it was such a remote place that his companions had great difficulty In entertaining him when they were not on a shooting expedition. On one occasion they started a well guarded forest fire which was represented as be- ing very serious and allowed William to have direction of the fire guards who extinguished the blaze The ex-monarch was so pleased with himself and his fire fighting associates that he conferred decorations on them
 Great excitement has been caused in Bavaria by the poisoning of Gen. Luden- dorff's pack hounds. Nationalists were so enraged when they heard of the deaths of the dogs that they charged various politicians with having inspired the outrage against Ludendorff.
 Even the chief magistrate of Munich was accused of knowledge of the plot, but he issued an indignant statement saying he was too busy with important affairs to pay any attention to such an absurd accusation growing out of petty politics.