The Washington times., 1934-05-02


which makes it a pleasure to n
Famed For Writ
Addressing the members Of the
club as Ladies of the Pen, Pencil
and Poison" Miss Maxwell, famed
for her wit, said:
II am delighted to be here,
though am perhaps the only
nOnpOlitical person in the world.
Certainly the only one in Wash.
ington not running for or from
Office.
"In fact, have sometimes
had the greatest difficulty In
even remembering the names
Of our great Presidents, but
when I left America on my
first visit abroad in 1908 / seem
to recOlIect that the name Of
our President was Roosevelt,
and here in 1884 1t seems still
to be Roosevelt, 80 1 am glad
to see that the family tie is so
strongly evidenced here.
VISITED HOLLYWOOD
"When I arrived last year I
went Immediately to Hollywood,
the place where they throw the
wrong dummies over the cliff.
j They just missed me. But in
Hollywood 1 found myself in
explicably famous, and I won
dered why until / attended my
first dinner party with one Of
the queens Of the silver screen.
my place card read Miss
Maxwell House. I thought it
was the secretary'S errOr and
did not trouble further about it.
The next day / was asked to
address a dinner and would 1
please bring Eddie Cantor.
my first glimpse Of Wash
ingtOn made me realize what
q free and delightful city 1t Is,
where everyone calls you by
your first name because they
don't know your last-where
every man, woman and child
belongs to a different party,
and when not going to parties
are trying to start one.
"I began this slight indiscre-
tiOn by addressing you as Ladies
of the Pen, Pencil and Poison,
because was thinking Of the
incompatible sketch Of that
name by Oscar Wilde, on the
famous murderer, Thomas Grit
fiths Wainwright. who poisoned
all his cousins and buried them
under the parquet in the sitting
room because they had thick
ankles.
MEN MORE JEALOUS
"But, seriously, / find men
writer's more jealous Of their
women competitors. They seem
to think women should write
with crochet needles instead Of
real pens, and my only criticism
of newspaper women, whom I
admire profoundly, is that they
ARE too kind.
I'm this country, where the
freedom Of the press is sup
posed to be guarded jealousy
and only recently has seemed In
danger through a slight lean to-
ward regimentatiOn, according
to the perOratiOnS Of various
publishers.
women are far more individ-
ualistic in this country than
men. They are succeeding daily
in OutStripping men in the diff
ferent ramificatiOnS of the
newspaper game as 'cOlumntSts.'
elsie RObinSOn'S column at
tracts me because Of her certain
humanneSS and heart quality.
Helen ESsary has q Singularly
delicate pen, which makes 1t .
pleasure to read her.
"But to return to the free
dom Of the press, I believe it
was VOItaire who stated to an
enemy attacking him one time.
4 disagree with everything my
enemy says about me, but I
will defend to the death his
right to say it. Criticism IL =
perfect art, If we Americans
could acquire that impersOnal
attitude of mind necessary to
become a critic.
1--WE understand mono Of the
nuance'S of the art Of criticism
as the French or the English
do, who are past masters Of the
art of invective or satire, while
we are afraid to use it.
SATIRE AN ART
"Satire is a really cOnStruc-
tive %LSnm AHNk UNA @@ q NA@kfMNn