602

THE FAR

JAPANESE DRAMA SUPERIOR TO FOREIGN PRODUCTIONS

SO THINKS MR. MAUGHAM, A NOTED ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT

(From the Japan Gazette)

"The Japanese drama is superior to any drama I have ever seen in America or England," was the surprising statement made this morning by Mr. W. S. Maugham, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. a noted English playwright, who has just arrived at Yokohama.

Mr. Maugham has attended several performances in Japanese theatres, and was instantly struck with the artistic perfection and dramatic technique which the Japanese drama has attained. "It is marvellous," continued Mr. Maugham, "the effects the actors get. They are far superior to foreign actors in the expression of emotion, in dramatic presence and ability to 'get' the audience. The costuming is nothing short of surpassingly wonderful. The stage 'sets' would do credit to the wildest fancies of a Belasco; and the music, which is used to interpret the moods, is astonishingly true. The people of Europe know little of the Japanese drama, and I think would be spell-bound with wonder if they could see a real production. I am strongly convinced that if a Japanese drama of the first class would go on tour, after the war is ended, it would meet with instant success in both Europe and America."

In speaking of the drama in England at the present time, Mr. Maugham said the theatre business was flourishing. Men home from the trenches are eager to forget the horrors of war and seek amusements eagerly.

The War has given rise to few, it any, remarkable playwrights or any literateurs, for that matter, as all have been too busy at the front.

Regarding the drama at the conclusion of the war, Mr. Maugham said it would be difficult to say what would result. Perhaps the people will want quick action, accompanied by wit, or again they may desire a heavy drama with slow action. He says the public mind is hard to determine at present.

Some of Mr. Maugham's best known plays are "A Man of Honour," "Jack Straw," "The Tenth Man," "The Explorer," "Loaves and Fishes," and "Smith."

868

The

burned many valuable papers. The police did nothing.

Although the War Department has issued orders forbidding soldiers to interfere with public meetings the trouble has not ceased. A public meeting was broken up by United States soldiers in Seattle as recently as August 1.

Soldiers and sailors at many so-called peace meetings have held and searched men for registration cards. Those unable to produce them they have turned over to the police, who have detained them indefinitely until they could produce either the cards or some evidence of the date of birth. Men both above and below the registration age have thus been unlawfully held for hours in many places without any charge being leveled against them, and yet without the right to secure counsel or bail.

In Syracuse, N. Y., a young man who wrote on his registration blank in the state military census that he was opposed to participation in this war was proceeded against by the Federal District Attorney under the Espionage act for obstructing the recruiting and enlistment service!

Seventeen issues of various publications have been declared non-mailable by the Post Office Department under the Espionage act, although the Department of Justice has declined to recognize any of the publications as indictable under the same act.

Furthermore the Post Office Department has summoned the editors of several of these publications to show cause why their second-class mailing privileges should not be withdrawn on the ground that "continuity of publication has been broken," knowing full well that the break in continuity of publication was caused solely by its own act in suppressing an issue. Denial of second class privilege would mean the total suppression of the papers. It is inconceivable that the Post Office Department will be allowed to proceed to such manifest tyranny unchecked.

Judge Emory Speer of the United States District Court at Thomson, Georgia, granted an injunction on August 31 to Thomas E. Watson's paper, the Weekly Jeffersonian, forbidding the Post Office Department from barring the publication from the mails as second class matter. The Department's attorneys will appeal.

### New York Suffrage Convention

At the campaign conference of the New York Woman Suffrage party at Saratoga on August 29, a letter endorsing suffrage from President Wilson to Miss Norma Whitehouse was read. It said:

> I am greatly gratified to learn that it is your impression that there is a growing sentiment in the State of New York in favor of woman suffrage, and I shall look forward with the greatest interest to the results of the State conference you are planning to hold in Saratoga. May I not express the hope that the conference will lead to a very widespread interest in your campaign, and that your efforts will be crowned with the most substantial and satisfactory success?

> I hope that the voters of the State of New York will rally to the support of woman suffrage by a handsome majority. It would be a splendid vindication of the principle of the cause in which we all believe.

FAR EAST

601

I suppose, can be classed a "cheap" postal service.
Yours, etc. **TWO SEN STAMP.**

[Is not "Two Sen Stamp" wrong in regard to the amount of the fine? An insufficiently stamped letter costs the receiver twice the amount of deficiency. At least this is the case with for ign mails.]

TOKYO AND YOKOHAMA

RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF DISTRICTS BETWEEN
THE TWO CITIES

These few years a remarkable development has
been made in the districts between Tokyo and Yo-
kohama, observes the Chugai Shogyo, whose
article we quote:—

Especially, there have been numerous factories established in these districts due to the war, of which the biggest is the Asano Shipbuilding Yard, and around them are rows of new dwelling houses. Naturally, the price of land is running up greatly. The town of Kawasaki shows a nearly new appearance and the sky is dark with smoke pouring out of the factory chimneys there. The districts between Tokyo and Yokohama have hitherto suffered from want of good drinking water, and the inhabitants of Kamata, Haneda and Kawasaki Districts have had to buy it, carried in buckets from distant places. But the situation has now become intolerable, as factories and dwelling houses have been so increased locally; and they have decided to organise two waterworks companies. Another project for facilitating transportation between Tokyo and Yokohama is the opening of a canal, and construction will be started by the end of the autumn at the latest by a joint-stock company formed for the purpose. The concern will be capitalised at ¥5,000,000, and it is also proposed to reclaim the foreshore to the extent of 1,200,000 tsubo. When the proposed canal is completed, the distance between Tokyo and Yokohama will be covered in a day, whereas the present sea route of 24 nautical miles, takes anything from 4 to 7 days by lighter. The opening of this quick line of conveyance connecting the two cities will undoubtedly lead to the greater development of the districts between.

TO IMPROVE AMERICAN TRADE IN
THE FAR EAST

In pursuance of a plan undertaken some time ago
by the United States Department of Foreign Com-
merce, Mr. Paul Page Whitham, a consulting
engineer of Seattle, Washington, has taken up an
extensive study of port and transportation facilities
in China and Russia with a view to improving
American Commerce in the Far East. Not only
will the existing conditions be examined, but
potential facilities of ports, rivers and railroad
transportation will be reported. Mr. Whitham
states that his work will not be completed until
1918, when he hopes to take back with him a
variety of information that will lead to an
extension of the activities of the American Mercan-
tile Marine to Far Eastern waters. He stresses the fact
that the future development of Oriental ports depends
on capital, and he intends to study opportunities for
American financiers. Mr. Whitham will visit Russia,
China, Japan, the Philippines, French China, the
Federated Milay States, the East Indies, Burma,
India and Australasia. His studies will not be con-
fined to the ports of these countries, but will em-
brace all the territory accessible by railroads and
canals.

public

867

of the Friends of Irish Freedom, has been repeatedly
interfered with, both by the police and by an
organization called "The Vigilantes," headed by
Cleveland Moffett, the magazine writer, who ob-
jected to the criticism of the British Government.
Interference with meetings by the latter once caused
his arrest, but he was promptly discharged by the
magistrate. Since then continual interference has
caused frequent disturbances. On August 29, acting
evidently under instructions, the police arrested
John D. Moore, national secretary of the Friends of
Irish Freedom, Miss Margaret Curley of Boston, and
other speakers. They were charged with obstruct-
ing traffic. Announcement from police headquarters
has been made that all meetings where disorder
occurs will be broken up.

* *

In accordance with a suggestion offered by President Wilson to Amos Pinchot, the American Union Against Militarism has submitted a memorandum to the President of violations of Constitutional rights of citizens since the war:

We present the record of eight indictments for
crimes ranging from treason and conspiracy to
simple misdemeanor, for the sole offense of criti-
cising the Government's war policies or agitating
for peace. These cases have occurred in Phila-
delphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Grand Rapids, New
York City, Pittsburgh, and Seattle.

In Philadelphia thirteen persons were recently
arrested and charged with treason for distribut-
ing a leaflet entitled "Long Live the Constitution
of the United States," which dealt in a lawful
way with the constitutionality of conscription.

In Indianapolis an ordinance has been passed
making it a misdemeanor, punishable by a heavy
fine, "to speak disrespectfully of the President or
the Government of the United States," the crime
of lese majeste, or of circulating any matter which
might prompt workers to demand better conditions
or hours of labor in industrial establishments dur-
ing the war.

One man in New York City was arrested and
sentenced to ninety days in jail for distributing
leaflets which contained only quotations from the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

A postoffice employe in St. Paul was discharged
after years of faithful service solely because he
went on the bonds of three old friends charged
with failing to register under the conscription
act.

The evidence presented shows that federal dis-
trict attorneys, United States marshals, local
prosecuting officials and the police have acted in
gross violation of the law in making arrests for
opposition to war policies and agitation for peace.
In many cities, as these affidavits show, men and
private papers unlawfully seized, and the oppor-
tunity denied them to secure bail or counsel for
hours at a time.

The most striking single instance of violation
on the part of the military was the breaking up
of the Peace Parade in Boston on Sunday, July 1.
Beginning at the statue of Abraham Lincoln in
Park Square, sailors and soldiers in uniforms fol-
lowed this parade with the deliberate intention of
breaking it up; they tore banners from the hands
of the women, they beat and injured men and
women; later they forcibly entered the Socialist
Party headquarters, destroyed property and

HOTEL CARLTON
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA

1919

HOTEL CARLTON

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA

NOAH W. GRAY
PROPRIETOR

HOTEL CARLTON

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA

June Ninth. [1919]

Dear Julia;

Do you remember the lad named Alex-
ander who sent Ann that Fountain of Flowers in
Yokohoma? He has asked me to forward Ann the
inclosure and I send it on to you. It is prob-
ably another proposal, the poor fellow not
knowing of all his successors and her marriage.
I inclose also his pleasantly written letter.
If it had not been for Ann I dont doubt that we
might have enjoyed him very much.

Yes, I think you should have a con-
tract for the play and I agree that the little
mountain song might appropriately belong in it.
I shall bring the music with me and we can work
it out together.

How would this caption be for "Imagina",
"A True Fairy Story"?

All those letters of yours which I
have so long planned answering I shall soon
answer in person.

Mother wrote me the other day asking
me not to invite anyone to visit her this sum-
mer. I understand, of course, that she is not
well and in a highly nervous condition. She
writes that Barry has invited himself to be with
us and that she cannot have him. I have urged
her to tell him so frankly. In any event, I am
hoping that you will be a good fairy and solve
the difficultly by asking him for a day or two not
too long after my return. You can imagine how
anxious I am to see him.

NOAH W. GRAY
PROPRIETOR

HOTEL CARLTON
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

I am due to arrive in New York about the seventh, regretting that I could not make it in time for the Fourth; and the only engagement I have made is for a week or ten days at the end of July when Professor Kiang will arrive from Washington. If Mother does not feel like having him at Rye, I shall have to go to New York and continue work with him on the Chinese Book. I have told Mother all this.

The summer looks better and better to me as the time of return approaches.

Mrs. Simon Ford
~~Daniel~~
So Mrs. Daniel Talmage
East Hampton
L.I.
N.Y.

WITTER BYNNER
P. O. BOX 1061
SANTA FE, N. M.

February 8, 1924.

My dear Julia,

I had meant to answer your note
from the train, but found myself left with
little energy even after so slight an
attack of the grippe. On arriving here I
found the water pipes frozen. They had to
be electrically thawed three times. There
were also other complications which have
forced me to postpone the letter I have
been planning to write you.

Our meetings this time were absurdly unsatisfactory. I told you as much as I could of one reason why my time was not free. The next time we meet I shall tell you more.

I am anxious to hear what you
thought of the changes I made in Snickerty
Nick. And I am eager to hear about Worth.
If he is going West I hope he will stop
off here long enough for a hand-shake. I
am telling him so.

Had you seen in *The World* how
Britain is progressing in *Thibet* and Turkestan? I enclose a clipping about it which I should like to have returned at your convenience.

I'll be writing again soon. At
the moment I am hurrying preparations for
Haniel who arrives in an hour.

Yours ever,

July 25, 1924.

Dear Julia,

The enclosed clipping will partly explain my long silence. Added to the business activity, I have accepted the chairmanship of a committee which will prepare and direct a three-day street carnival here in September. Besides all that, and perhaps partly due to it, I have had a ten-day siege of my old intestinal trouble from which I had been wholly free for more than three years. This recurrence is depressing and debilitating; but I hope by care and rest to restore myself to my normal Santa Fe condition.

Compliments on your opium pamphlet and on the eternal energy with which you throw yourself into good causes. I need not ask whether you are for La Follette and Wheeler. There is no other choice for conscientious citizens. In fact, La Follette's decision to run is the first encouragement we have had in America in a long time, the first hope for a renewal of decent government. There is no distinction between Davis and Coolidge, except that Davis would be slightly preferable; but a big vote for La Follette and Wheeler will mean in the near future secure foundation of a new and clean party. It is moreover within the range of possibility that La Follette might be elected. Americans may be more intelligent than they seem.

It has been hard for me to answer your long letter from Florida beyond sending you a word of sympathetic regret over your illness. My New York visit was so unsatisfactory and so confused that there is little

2.

sense now in digging up details. The mix-up
over our meeting during the last week was
deplorable but nobody's fault. The one point
on which I remain even now a little puzzled,
was the Chinese painting. You had asked me
either to give it to you or to will it to you.
Even in the midst of my attack of grippe, I
labored to find the thing, as the gift with-
in my power which would most please you; and
I wanted you to know that though I had de-
ferred to Mother's preference in the case of
the Jades, I was in this case deferring to
yours. The abrupt line on the telephone:
"Mrs. Ford does not care for the painting",
naturally sent me away bewildered and wounded.
I recall this now not as a reproach but as an
explanation.

The Longs are solidly established
in a funny little mud house not far away. I
see much less of them than I had expected.
This is due, I think, to Alice's suave but
firm dictation over her consort. His subjec-
tion to it is much more marked now than a few
years ago. She directs his every movement and
decides his every friend. I do not mean by
this that I think her unfriendly to me, but
that I realize her jealous decision to keep
Haniel pretty completely to herself. If a
door opens and he makes for it, she fills it.
And she can. He seems contented, however, and
his life is his to lead.

I assume that you are in Rye again
and earnestly hope that you are in good health.
If this town were not already full of hay-fever
sufferers, I should suggest, as a refuge for
you, one of the dude ranches not far from here.

Give my best to the family and let
me have your news.

Yours as ever,

1-1-21

WITTER BYNNER
342 BUENA VISTA ROAD
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

October 2, 1947

Mrs. Julia Ellsworth Ford
Rye, New York

Dear Julia,

Just when the heavy summer season is ending and I am
about to go at my desk and answer letters, I decide
instead to motor east and see Tim and my kin and such
friends as yourself. How I hope that you will still
be in Rye toward the end of October. You have time
by airmail to let me know, I hope you will. I won't
hurry, but you might let Tim know.

Your application to the women painters was tip top and
so was your paragraph in your letter about the dino-
saurs, which I am copying into my notebook of select
quotations.

Miss Rademacher wrote me that you sent the Yeats book
to me in Chapala and that it was returned. I don't
know why. If you still have the copy, will you send
it to me in care of Mrs. Bernard Lytton-Bernard, Dire-
cion Conocido, Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico, who will
enjoy it and hold it for me until our arrival there
in mid-November. I need books down there and have more
time to read them than I have here and the Yeats book
is one I shall cherish especially through receiving it
from you.

I had dinner with Haniel and Alice night before last
and we spoke fondly of you.

It will be good, good, good if I can see you again
next month.

Love to you from

Yours as ever,

P.S. I wonder if you will mind my having liked your
poem, "What is Eternal", well enough to play with it
critically? I know in any event you will not be annoyed
by the enclosed copy of a version which would seem to me
not quite so rigid as yours, but with the same content and
significance. Here it is anyway. I am almost sure that I
am right, at least in my elimination of adjectives in the
first stanza.

WITTER BYNNER
GALEANA 411
CHAPALA, JALISCO,
MEXICO.

February 18

1948

Dear Julia:

Bob and I travelled a long way after our
memorable evening with you and I am afraid that
I never have thanked you for your characteristic
and Boston
hospitality. After New York, we stayed at places
in Delaware, Maryland, North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, etc, etc; and then,
no sooner were we back in Santa Fe, in early
January than I jumped aboard another friend's
car and came down here and Bob drove the Buick
to Pasadena to see his family and spend a fort-
night in a dental chair. He'll come along now
in another week from Santa Fe by train, bringing
a trunk to replace mine which I had expressed
down, little thinking that it would come all the
of Chapala
way to within five miles only to be smashed in
my to smithereens in a turned-over truck. My
typewriter and all my manuscripts and note-books
which were in it, miraculously survived and as

far as I know, Bob's clothes and mine, were
stuffed back into what resembled an open-work
 crate with no losses except the legs of a pair of
pajamas.

Since then I have been hard at work with
repairs to the house and am only just at my desk
again after four months of travel and another
month of settling down in the Mexican abode.

And what of you? Have you improved? I hope
so. It grieved me to see you looking so uncomfort
able. But we did have a jolly and invigorating
time with you and your indomitable spirit.
Thanks for it - and thanks for the Yeats book
which I found here and am greatly enjoying. Have
someone drop me a line telling me how you fare.
Love to you - and greetings to your family and
household.

Yours as ever,