The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-04-07
CNyyentEUentS
By t. J. o'FLAHERrY.

THERE is a play at the Martin Beck
Theatre that every young boy and
girl should know as Margaret Sanger
might say. Even the professional
critics vowed it was good, tho those
gentlemen detect various flaws in its
historionic anatomy. AS for myself,
if like something l have habit of
CLOSING over little defects. And
Spread Eagle" with American inn
perialism in Mexico as the theme is
as hot potato as a patriot ever had
showed into his mitt.
TWO ex-warriors who occupied the
same sector of a battle area in
France are chatting in the office of
Mr.. Henderson, the big Wall Street
broker. One of the two is a news
paper man; the other is the big brok-
er's amanuensis. The latter had his
lesson and was sharing it with the
reporter, who lived up to the COM
mon conception Of the typical news
hound. He wanted an interview with
Henderson which he was willing to
write, provided the great man per-
mitted the use of his name. That
would be plenty.
THE big man worked for a dollar
year during the war and made
fortune out of it. Every time a shell
shrieked from the sector in which
those lads suffered it rang up 81
cents on Mr.. Henderson's cash reg
lister. The man who now supplied
Henderson with his business brains
also worked for him on the western
front. The dialogue between the re-
porter and the brokers clerk is ear
tickling.
MIR. HENDERSON has extensive
IVA holdings in Mexico. He might be
Doheny or John D. Rockefeller. He
is an interventionist and does not
want a stable government in Mexico.
Hearst failed to bring about inter-
vention but his spade work planted
the idea in the minds of the people.
Mr.. Henderson has a daughter. A
little hokum is enjoyed by the most
serious of mortals. Somebody had to
get married to cater to that kind of
a audience. She played her part
capably.
INTO the brokers' office bursts an
o. Henry, Latin American general,
who bored Henderson with speeches
on liberty until he was assured of
S650,000 to pull off a revolution
against the Mexican government. No
sooner had he left than the son of
an ex-American president came in on
the track of job which he got, start
ing in at the bottom on salary of
$4,000 a year. Of course he took the
job to prove to Miss Henderson that
he would and could make good, etc.
He did, and almost got murdered by
. her fathers general. And strange
to say that is just what Mr.. Hender-
son wanted to happen tho of course
he was not aware his daughter loved
the victim. Why? Because the Amer
lean people would never stand for the
murder of the son of an ex-president
And did not the Washington people
admit that the people were not yet
keyed up to the intervention pitch.
UENDERSON'S general did the job
A he got paid for and the EXPIRE
sident's son got shot. War was de-
clared. Now. there is where the au-
thors of IS. lead Eagle" spring some
thing new. They introduce a news
paper editor on the radio who does
his one minute speech in four-minute
fashion and pictures of soldiers
marching to the front and kissing
wives and babies are flashed on the
screen. Mr.. Henderson becomes chair
man of the national defense commit
tee and goes to the border in his pri-
1 vate car. Generals fawn on him. He
is America.
TRE ex.president's son is found
safe and sound but talking like a
man out of his wits. In fact he
knows THAT Henderson sent him to
get killed and he is going to spill the
beans. The big patriot is shocked
and is about to collapse when his
amanuensis comes to his rescue,
\ frightens the wits out of the VIC
stim who goes off and marries the
hAnaiden. Then the big mans flunkey
Noins the army after giving the brok-
&r a tongue thrashing. The curtain
falls with the star-spangled banner
playing, and the brokers' flunkey or
dering his boss: "Stand up you son
of b. =" Perhaps this is conces-
sion to the patriots. Perhaps it is
satire.
THE play is the best piece of anti
Aimperialist propaganda that / have
yet seen on the stage. It reveals
the imperialist in all his horrible
nakedness. Of course there is a
ofropo touch of cv,,;o;ey,, +Lo,a a,,J