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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1904)
THE- SUNDAY OREGbXIAN. PORTLAOT, FEBItTJAKY 21, 1904'. 19 MATERIALISM CLASHES WITH FINE ARTS Edward A. Mac Dowell's Reason for Resigning From Colombia University. EW YORK, Feb. 15. (Special Cor respondence.) It Is not often that the resignation or a professor from a college creates the feeling- and the talk that the resignation of Edward A. Mac Iowell from Columbia College has done. Indeed, It has been the means of presenting- comprehensively the true position of the fine arts to America, and it may -well fce understood that never until such time It Is exposed brutally to the Intelli gence of every thinking person will art be able to exist in a truly healthy manner. The name of MacDowell Is so -well known that his opinion should carry au thority. He is a man of very high Ideals and generally artistic propensities. Per haps MacDowell's greatest weakness lies in that which in others often brings strength; it Is that he iff too self-concentratedexclusive to the degree of rob l Irar himself of power. He has little con tact with other musicians, and it Is alr most a safe guess that he exchanges opinions with none of them. MacDowell is a great man but be would be far great er were ho a man of more breadth than Is possible to one who has been so closed away from everything and everybody. Always agreeable, always courteous, re fjied and cultured, a thoroughly good mu sician, there Is withal lacking that ele ment which goes to make a man powerful ard great. This is the contact with life in every condition, with the people, "with thtt slums, with tne ignorant as well as with that which a man conceives to be tho highest strata of society It Is this which develops the power to hear the cry cf rain and to know what It means. With out this a man forgets his kinship with humanity and Is deprived of the power to interpret what he does not understand. A crisis comes into the life of every man, and this one in the life of MacDowell will compel him cither to become very much greater or to become attenuated to the degree of insipidity. The letter recounting the causes for his resignation was made public to Columbia University this week. It Is not without interest: It ia with some chagrin that I have to report the small results my efforts have brought to the development of art at Co lumbia. The reason for this Is obvious. Few colleges In the "United States consider the flne arts (except belles lettres and architecture) worthy f serious consideration. The effect of this Is very powerful, for most preparatory schools and women's col leges have lmlted the universities' neglect of art, and thus the higher education in these institutions becomes Incomplete and materialism chokes out idealism. I have tried to Impress the "powers that be" wiin tne necessity of allowing no stu- dent to enter the university without om Knowledge of the flne arts. Such knowledge may be very general and not technical. This would force upon the preparatory school the admission of the flne arts to Its cur riculum. The present Ignorance of the in coming student demands a remedy If the courses In the flne arts are to give any thing but the most elementary Instruction. No student Ejfould attain his B. A. degree without passing In at least two courses of a faculty of flne arts. In order to bring to a focus the art ele ments existing In Columbia I proposed that snuslc be taken out of the faculty of philos ophy and architecture out of the school of 2alne, and with belles lettres form a faculty of flne arts, to complete which painting and sculpture would btlHdlspensable. owing r niy,JAlllIty to persuade rich Ta Cf (New lofS7Kto endowlstr a. chair of rang and scisptwrc. the scheme, though approved by "the powers that," was not realized. Architecture took a vital Interest In the matter, but failed to accomplish any thing for the missing arts. The outcome of all this was the establishment of a divi M-R. MEEKEK'S HISTO'Ry Account of Pioneer Life at Puget Sound Soon to Appear. R. EZRA MEEKER, of Fuyallup, Wash., Is about to publish a book on pioneer life at Puget Sound. The title will be "The Tragedy of LeschI, With Pioneer Romlnlscenses of Fifty Years Ago." The book will be ready about June 1. Following Is Mr. Meeker's state ment, dated Seattle, December 29, 1903, which will appear as the Introductory chapter of the hook: Three years ago today I arrived at the ripe age of three score years and ten, supposed jo be the limit of life. Finding that I possessed more ambition than strength, and that my disposition for a strenuous life was greater than my power of physical endurance. I naturally turned to other fields for work, that condition of life so necessary for the welfare and hap piness of the human race. Many years before. It had been my am bition to write our earlier experiences of pioneer life on Puget Sound, and not necessarily for the printer, but because I wanted to. but never could find time; and so when the change came and my usual occupation was gone, what else would I be more likely to do than to turn to my long delayed work, the more particularly being -admonished that it must be done soon or not at all. And so, In a cheer ful, happy mood, I entered again into the domain of pioneer life, and began writing. But this Is not history, you will say. True, but we will come to that by and by. I had, during the Summer of 1S53, with an Inexperienced companion, In an open boat a frail skiff built with our own hands crossed the path of Theodore Win throp, spending more than a month on a cruise from Olympla to the Straits and return, while that adventerous travele and delightful writer had with a crew of Indians made the trip from Port Town tend to Fort Nlsqually in a canoe. I had followed Winthrop a year later through the Natchez pas3 to the Columbia River and beyond, alone, except a companion pony that carried my sack of hard bread or food, the saddle blankets for my bed and myself across the turbulent rivers and on easy grades. If Winthrop could write such a delightful book, "Canoe and Caddie," based upon such a trip, with Indians to paddle his canoe on the Sound, and with an attendant and three horses through the mountains, why should not jny own experience of such a trip be In- -eresting to my own children and their children's children, and so I wrote these trips. Did you ever, when hungry, taste of a dish of fruit, a luscious, ripe, highly flavored apple for instance, that seemed only to whet but not satisfy your ap petite I know you have, and so can ap preciate my feelings when these stories were written. I craved more of pioneer life experieT.e, and so I went back to tho earlier scenes, a little earlier only to the trip in a flatboat down the Colum bia River from The Dalles to the first cabin, where Kalama town now stands; to the pack on our backs from the C61umbla to the Sound; to the three times passing the road to and fro to get the wife and fcaby to tidewater what a charm that word tidewater had for me with a vision of the greatness of opportunities of the seaboard and I may say it has never lost Its charm of tho great world opened up before me, and so we were soon again housed in the little cabin with Its punch eon floor, "cat-and-clay" chimney, and clapboard roof; Its surroundings of scen ery; of magnificent forests and of con stantly moving life; the Indians with tholr happy song and fishing parties. All this and more, too, I wrote, every now and then getting over to the Indian location. How could I help it? We had sion of fine arts during my absence last year. In this division of fine arts the Inclu sion of belles lettres and music, including kindergarten, etc, at Teachers College, seemed ill-advised- To me expansion in this direction befcre a fecus be attained means a swamping of Columbia's individuality. The division of fine arts thus acquires some what the nature of a co-educational depart ment store, and tends toward materialism rather than toward idealism. The research professorship offered to me by the president consisted of my lending to Columbia the use of my name with no du ties and with no salary. I immediately re fused It, as I was unwilling to associate my name with a policy I could not approve of. My department has been pecuniarily very successful, and has given a large profit to the university over and above expenses. For seven years I have put all my energy and enthusiasm In the cause of art at Columbia, and now at last recognizing the futility of my efforts. I have resigned the chair of mu sic in order to resume my own belated voca tion. In the very first sentence, Mr. Mc Dowell shows that he has not looked deeply enough for the scat of the trouble, as it must be to him at the present time. "We must accept the col lege or university as the place wherein to develop the Intellectual side of our students, as it is generally accepted that there must be a certain amount of what is known as a common school ed ucation before the student can enter any of these great institutions. The university would be a sorry place in which to begin the study of grammar Just as attempts have proven practi cally futile in the way of creating an art atmosphere In them. The taste for art should begin to be developed whllo the 'child Is in the cradle If not before and should follow his dally life through each school year, and by the time he Is, ready to enter college he will havo elthor shown such talent that an artistic career will bo selected Instead of the college course, or he will have gained enough knowledge of art and its effects upon his emotional nature to show his appreciation of the refinements of idealism, but not to the extent of following a career for which he is not especially fitted. It Is of importance to create an army of music lovers, but not to create an army of music producers, and the same holds good of any other art. I am using music as an illustration merely be cause the suject came up through Mr. MacDowell. and for this reason It is easier to present an argument for art in the public schools, but the fact must not be overlooked that any study the principal element of which is esthetic must create culture and refinlment, and to bring about the best results this must be inculcated in the early years of education. Mr. MacDowell's statement that ma terialism chokes out Idealism Is so true that it is superfluous to say so, but it is also evident that in the sense in which he uses the word, he does not mean materialism at all he means intellectuality. And what all the emo tional arts need, most emphatically Is that the balance he held by the intel ligence as well as by tho spirit. The study of art does not constitute Ideal Ism, any more than the study of logic and mathematics constitute material Ism, so long as mathematics are not applied to the question of how many dollars can be drawn into onc'spocket. Thus a man may be very Idealistic and very material at the same time. Mr. MacDowell's Ideals In art cannot be questioned, at the same time he Is very material so far as money matters are concerned, and If it is his desire to be of benefit to the cultivation of music in America, he interferes with such a desire very materially by the prohibitory price which he himself puts upon his work. I have understood that Mr. MacDowell asks 524 for one hour's lesson to two people, or $10 per half hour to one. Now If there can be any other desire except to been treated civilly, and I mav say, kind ly, by them from the very outset, when we, almost alone, were their white neigh bors. I had been treated generously by some, and had always found them ready to reciprocate In acts of kindness, and so we had come to respect our untutored neighbors and to sympathize with them In their troubles. Deep troubles came to them when the treaty-making period ar rived, and a little later upon all of us, when war came, to break up all our plans and amicable . relations. As I be gan to write more about the Indians and their ways a step further brought me to the consideration of our territorial gov ernment and the Government officials and their acts. It gradually dawned upon me this was a more important work than writing of humble Individuals; that the history of the commonwealth was by far a more Interesting theme, and more profitable to the generations to follow than recording of private achievements of the pioneer. It was but a step further until I realized that I was fairly launched upon the domain of history and that 1 must needs be more painstaking and more certain of my facts, and so then came a long rest for my pen and a long search of the records, of old, musty letters, of no less old, musty books; of forgetful minds of the pioneers left and again I was carried away Into the almost forgot ten past. An authoress once told me that she never named her book until after It was written. I could not understand, but I now do. While writing of pioneer life I could think of no other title than some thing like this, "Pioneer Life on Puget Sound Fifty Years Ago." a pretty long title, but that was what the writing treated of. But when I got on the Indian question and came to realize what a splendid, true story .was wrapped up in tho darkness of impending oblivion; how tho Indians had been wronged; how they had fought for their homes and won them: how the chief actors had been sac rificed but the tribes had profited; I again became enthusiastic over my theme and over my ready-made heroes and before STORIES OF "W. J. Ferguson, who Is playing the part of Monsieur Trcvour In "The Secret of Pollchln elle." at the Madison-Square Theater, has been on the 6tage longer than almost any other actor playing a leading role la New York. He has had some extremely amuslns experiences, one of which occurred In the same dressing room he Is now occupying at the Madison Square, and with which Richard Mansfield Is Identified. Mansfield was Just about to produce "Beau BrummeU." la which Mr. Ferguson tad been engaged to play the part of the valet. During the rehearsals of "Beau BrummeU" Mr. Mans field was extremely doubtful of Its success, and the night of the dress rehearsal his lack of confidence reached the limit of discourage ment. After the first act. while the stage was being set for the second, he went next door to Ferguson's room, and casting himself disgust edly down apon a chair, said: "Well. Billy. It's no use going on with this thing. It will never be a success. I think Til telephone to the newspapers to change our advertisements to read that we will put on 'A Parisian Ro mance for a few extra performances in place of 'Beau BrurnmelV until we can find some thing else to fill the gap." "Nonsense, Mansfield, said Ferguson. "What are yon thinking about? This play la going to make a great hit, and I know It." Ferguson was at the moment adjusting a new wig. which he had bought. It was one of the JL finest creatlc&s of tb wlgaakers art, and had put that amount of money into Mr. Mac Dowell's pocket, it Is -not evident, for he must know better than any one else that the success of a teacher depends upon keeping his pupils for a long enough period to develop his ideals in their work. At this figure no one but the chil dren of millionaires could avail them selves of his services, and in addition to this there is no teacher living who can give the equivalent for $10 in one lesson. If nine people out of ten were asked: "What creates refinement and culture?" they could not tell you, for these are elu sive qualities not attributable to any one Influence, but the result of several influ ences, of which many are subtle and al most unedefinable. These nine people form the majority of the taxpayers in the community, and how were It possible to make them understand what goes with the study of an art In addition to ac quiring a certain mastery of it? The part that any art plays in the psychic and spiritual development cannot be ex plained to them in any way which they recognize as reasonable. Nevertheless, it is an Influence that is clearly tangible, and It unquestionably works for the bet terment of the race. If these nine people understood this fact culture would come to the child from its home influences, and whether or not It acquired them In school would be of lit tle moment. But the fact that It does not. makes it necessary that this lack should be supplied through the same ave nues through which comes the general ed ucation. "Whether this city or thai city, or any city, considers that music In its own particular schools is well-handled makes little difference, as the fact re mains that no public school vreats music as an art. The men who should occupy the chair of music in the public schools must be men of the caliber of Edward A. MacDowell, John Knowles Paine, Horatio Parker then little difference would It make whether Columbia, Harvard or Yale paid any attention to music or not. For music under their direction would not mean only a little sight-reading, the singing of a few school songs and a slight knowledge of the fundamental principles of music, but It would be founded on a plan that would -bring about the results so long and so earnestly wished for by those who have the welfare of music and of culture in this country at heart. It is not impossible to realize that that which some may put to one side as Uto pian and impracticable can be accom plished, but It will never be done along the lines on which music Is treated at the present time. The proper man will have to be engaged cost what It may, and it will cost a good deal by those who are willing to subsidize such a department in our public school system .for one entire generation, after which such conditions will have been created as will make It a necessity and a matter of course. Be yond this. It will create a standard for music which will do away with the wan dering minstrel who comes into every town and sets himself up as "the great and only," and who actually succeeds In getting a following. A new club has Just been formed In New York City. It Is called the Portland Club, and Includes tho young ladies from Port land, Or., who are in New, York study ing music, or who have taken up their residence in this city. The first meeting was held at the home of Miss Klolse Ed wards, daughter of Captain Edwards, formerly of the American Book Company, who with his family now resides la New York. The young ladies who were Invited were Miss Anna -Rankin, Miss Imogen Harding. Miss Evelyn Hurley, Miss Eina Gates, Miss Edna Sternfels, Miss Hetta Rivers, and Miss Marlon Bauer. These young ladies gave an impromptu musical programme, and as they express It them selves, "talked a blue streak about Port land." Miss Gates Is planning to go abroad to continue her musical studies. EMILIE FRANCES BAUER. I realized it, lo a new name took posses sion of my mind and rang In It until there was born the title, "The Tragedy of Leschl." When I come to think of It, there were tribes that had never shed white men's blood until grim war came, and that then they refused to make war on their old neighbors and that but one noncombat ant settler had lost his life after the first day of frenzy,of the Muckleshoot band at the massacre of White River, that here were men we called savages, fighting for a cause, but threw themselves on the track of the military arm of the Govern ment and not against helpless settlers. I had' myself been in their power and re mained unharmed. I knew other of my neighbors also that had been exposed and remained unmolested; surely to tell the truth about such people Is no more than Justice I said to myself, I will write it down and prove what I write by the records and the best obtainable witnesses alive, and having done so, will print it, two books In one, 'two titles, yet but one volume, "The Tragedy of Deschl," with "Pioneer Reminiscences of Fifty Years Ago." And so my title Is born, the book written, and which if my life Is spared a few months longer, will be printed and launched upon a critical public It Is natural that In the stirring times of early days opinions would differ; that neighbors, and even members of families would look upon events from differing points of view, and so out of this maze I havo tried to state facts ana a raw just conclusions. The chapter of this history begins with the creation of the territory and ends with Governor Stevens official life In the territory In the period con cerned. During that period, treaties were made with the Indians: the war with them was fought: massacres horrid to contemplate were perpetrated by the In dians and white by the Indians at the outbreak, and the whites later murders were committed, martial law prociaimea, our courts Invaded with armed men, and Judces dragged from the bench: our Gov ernor in turn brought before the courts. fined and reprieved by himself and many other happenings unique In history are re lated, and so, when my labor was finished and my pen laid aside, my only regret was that the work had not been under taken earlier in life when memory served more accurately, and my contemporaries were more numerous. E. MEEKER. THE STAGE cost a considerable amount. Mansfield viewed It sadly. "I'm sorry. Billy, "that you bought such an expensive wig. for this piece will never last over a week or two at the outside." "Don't you believe It," answered Ferguson. "Will you give me the price of this wig on our 100th aightr ' "Indeed. I will." answered Mansfield, "and mighty gladly." How the play was produced, what a success It was, and how it ran for not only 100. but a great many hundred, nights Is now theat rical history. The fact not generally known perhaps Is that Annie Russell, like many another successful player, had no theatrical ambitions at the outlet. She aspired rather to letters, and her early wish was to be an authoress. But the first manuscript she sent to a publisher was returned with brief thanks, and In that re spect she became disheartened at the outset. Her fondness for the stage resulted from a short excursion Into amateur theatricals, and she made her first appearance at a church fair. Then she Joined a dramatic club, and the rest followed naturally. She relates the circumstances- of her professional debut as follows: "Miss Rose Eytlcge was coming to Montreal to play 'Miss Multoa. and as she carried cslr one child to play the boy Paul, she wrote to the local manager requesting him to engage a - girl for the part of Jeane. and to bare her per fect by the time of the star's arrival. The manager advertised for a Tonng girl, and muT-iT-p took me -down. The part waa glvan to i me. but when Miss Eytlnge saw -me at" the first rehearsal, she was dreadfully put out, and sent for the manager. -What's. thlsT she cried, pointing to me. " The child you asked for. he answered. " 1 said a girl; not a child.' declared Miss Eytlnge. 'Go and get me a girl, or a young woman who can play a glrL' 'The manager protested that no such person could be found, but Miss Eytlnge Insisted that the town be scoured. "The full significance of the scene had slow ly dawned upon me. 1 retired to the wings and set up a dlimaT howling. Then Miss Eytlnge called me over" and- asked If I wanted to play the part very much. I said I did. and added that I knew the lines. Then' she went through the part with me and seemed satis fied." 'An Italian audience can be merciless and cruel,' says Kitty Beck. "I have seen It ap plaud an actor for sheer deviltry, and even an actress, whose , only Interest was some gro tesque mannerisms, or, perhaps, physical In firmities. It can also be sufficiently apathetic Friday Is always tho fashionable house and Sunday the popular one, and on either of these occasions Yonelll on the stage in one or Ms great parts is pretty sure to bring out the best qualities of an Italian audience. 'Receptions' are rare; 'curtains' are few; 'pictures' are un known; but the fervor with which the audi ence follows a fine actor up to the top or nis great passage tho hush the suspended breath then the deep sigh the long Ah and the shout of -bravo and finally the prolonged ap plause, must be. I Imagine, an experience worth living for. The programme Is changed every night, or every alternate night, and It Is no unusual thing for a company to perform 40 or 60 dramas In a short season. As a re sult, the prompter Is a prominent performer at every Italian play. He elts on a box on the edge of tho auditorium, and bis voice Is heard as a drumming undertone through every speech that is spoken on the stage. The quick ness of the Italian dialect Is strikingly ex hibited In the facility with which the actor follows the voice that comes up from his very feet. It is a bad condition of affairs and very disturbing to an audience. The actors' pro fession Is not a good one In Italy from any point. The rank and title of the profession Is not remarkable, but the best Italian actors are among the best to be found anywhere." "How I came to dramatize Tars if al' hap pened this way," rays Fitzgerald Murphy: "I was sitting In the parlor of my flat In New Tork Christmas eve, watching my wife lighting up tne unnstmas tree ana Banging up mu toys and watching the delight in the eyes of my little girl, Geneva. T wouldn't exchange my happiness tonight for all the wealth of Rockefeller.' I said to my wife. I'd like to have some of his wealth tonight," returned she. 'Why. tonlghtt' I asked. 'So I could pay about $G0 for a box at the Metropolitan Opera-House and see the first presentation In America of Wagners great music classic. 'Parsifal.' That set up In my mind a train of thought. Only the wealthy could enjoy the luxury of this classic, and $10 for an ordinary ticket was too much for the average man and woman who had to work for a living. Why not make It possible to bring this great work within reach of the masses? Why not? Here was the opportunity, and somehow or other I felt that I was the man. 'I'll do IL 'Do whatr asked my wife, surprised. 'Make play out of the opera of Parsifal.' "Why, Fltz, you're crazy I It would be a sacrilige!' ex claimed my wlfeiarhorror. 'Oh. I don't know,' l replied. nicnara agncr v.-asu i u kimki genius than Shakespeare, and It hasn't been considered an act of vandalism to cut and con dense Shakespeare and adapt his tragedies to suit the acquirements of the modern stage. I'm going to do to the Bard of Beyreuth what Colly Ctbber did to the Bard o Avon. - Richard Le Galllenne has no great love for the typical English girl. In his picturesque. vivid way he described her one night at the Lambs' Club In New York. Finally he said: "I was walking down an English lane with an English girl on an August afternoon. The sun shone through a soft haze, and In the green fields many white lambs played. " " 'Is It any wonder. I said, 'that poets from time Immemorial have made the lamb the era blem of Innocence?" "The young girl smiled radiantly. " 'Lambs, she said, 'are Indeed delightful animals; especially with mint sauce.' " Joe Cawthorne has made as bfc a hit -it the title role of the new Drury Lane extravaganza, "Mother Goose." as he did In "The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast," In which he played the part of the Dutch nurse. Mother Goose comes on the stage In one scene dressed for a fox hunt. She rides a make-believe horse, and. after dismounting, puts him through his paces. The old lady dilates upon the wonderful wis dom of the animal, and tells how good he 13 at arithmetic "How old are you?" she asks. The horse taps tho stage three times with one hoof. "How old Is this trick?', asks the dame. The horse begins to dance and brings down all his hoofs with a merry tattoo. "How old is Ann?" Is the next question, and the animal topples over and dies. The two Hons used In "An English Daisy." at the New Tork Casino, have made a hit. Charley Blgelow. when he attempts to enter the cage, is cot acting, nor Is It stage fright It Is the real Simon pure article. Nothing can convince him that the dope administered to the Hons before they make, their appearance Is strong enough to last through the scene, and Blgelow Is convinced that the blood-thirsty nature of the beasts will return some night after he has entered the cage. This recalls the story of the late John Stet son. While he was managing the Globe The ater. Boston, he engaged Miss Lillian Olcott, an ambitious Brooklyn amateur, who had put up enough money to obtain a Sardou play and production. In this play two real lions were used. The piece was a failure. Btarved to death. and did nothing on the road, but through fall-down In the bookings Stetson was obliged to play It at his Boston house. It opened Monday night to nothing, and Tuesday's : celpts fell below that. Starvation was writ ten all over the place. Stetson could not get out of playing the attraction. One . night friend met him In front of the theater and cald: "Mr. Stetson, does Miss Olcott go Into the lions' cage every nlgntr Stetson replied: "No: I would give $1000 If she would go In one night." Clarence Drown was once playing a fly-by night engagement among the wilds of Idaho. and had experienced so calamitous a business that It became a matter of how to get out of town with his company with the clothes, on their backs. It was tho last night of the stand, and the aggregation was playing the "Drunkard's Vision; or the Lost Nail," to $14 boufe. when a little boy came down the gallery stairs and addressed the manager-ad vance-agenl-treasurer-ticKei-taicer (wmch was Drown), sobbing as though his heart would break: "I want my money back." "Whatr "I want my money back." "Tou want your money back?" "Yes." "Goodness, gracious! You are missing the best part of the play. The second act Is now on. Great stuff, my boy. Villain getting In his deadly work. Drunkard's daughter dying. and " "I don't care: I want my (boo-hoo) money back." "Why, don't you like the play?" "Yes; I Cboohoo-oo) like the play well enough, but (boohoo-oo-co-oo) I'm afraid to be up there all alone!" Like the nobility, and gentry of England, American actresses are going into business. There Is one player who Is the silent not so very silent, either, because she drives In a lot of custom for her partner one In a thriving dressmaking-shop. Neither is she a passive partner, for during so-called vacations, when she Is presumed to be climbing the White Mountains, or carrying on a Summer flirtation on the shore, she is gravely bending over her task In the sewing-room of the dressmaking' shop. She makes a tidy profit. Is free from the fear of her landlady's wrath, and is gaining broadening viewpoint. Another fair player has a typewriting office, where she keeps half a dozen girls busy mak ing money for her. She has grown so haughty. now that Independence Is in plain view, that she refuses to "play out of New York." A third keeps" a fashionable boardlcg-house on Lexington avenue. A fourth has a profit able chicken farm in New Jersey. Several are dabbling in plays, and, other things being equal, there Is no reason why they should not write successful piays. xne cnances are mucn in their favor, as against the literary person who Is Ignorant of stage technique. 7 The origin of the term "dead heads." as ap plied to those who witness theatrical perform ances without purchasing a ticket, dates from the time when ancient Rome was devoted to l the theater. Every one who received the cour tesy of a complimentary ticket was given such tickets in the form of metal discs, upon whlcn appeared a death's head. The term "gallery gods," as applied to those who occupy the highest gallery la the theater. Is of later or igin. Decoration of the modem theater calls forth considerable artistic taste, and the Ires coes and paintings usually represent historical episodes In the drama, or the mythological characters so dear to the artist. In the dome of -most theaters It will be noticed the artist usually choses the style of decorations that presents the gods, goddesses, nymphs and cherubs of mythology. The occupants of the gallery .being so near the dome, were first poken of as being In the "region ot tne-goes.-- and finally were termed "gods" themselves. Ethel Baiiymore. at a reception la Philadel phia, talked about small audiences. "Sir Henry Irving," she said, "once de scribed to me the smallest audience on rec ord. It consisted of one man. The play, nev ertheless, went on In the provincial theater, where, this one-man audience was gathered. "But .the manager, between the acts, peeped out from behind the curtain, and saw that tho house was empty. "Where is the audience?" he said, anxiously. to the usher. " 'He has gone out, sir, the usher answered. to get some beer.' " 'Will he return?' asked the manager. H "Positively. He expressed himself as very well pleased with the production." Ah,' said the manager, with a look of relief; 'then let the performance proceed. " . While her private car was lately oft the track and bumping along at a fearful rate near Ter race, Idaho, Mrs. Langtry held on to a table and pledged a toast to the frightened members f her company: "Here's to tho one who keeps the coolest head." After running down a s.teep grade for a quarter of a mile, the train vas storped. Mrs. Langtry fainted when the dan ger was over. SOCIETY'S BAD CONDITION. Evils of the Day and Their True Remedy. WILDER VTTiTjTl, Or., Feb. IS. (To the Editor)-! wrote a letter to Mr. J. H. Ackerman some time ago in .regard to the teaching of good breeding and etiquette In the public schools. Tne matter has re celved the hearty approval ot a great many Intelligent people bf this part of Oregon and has been commented on great deal. I think it Is a matter that has been shamefully neglected. As I stated before, there are children who never had a lesson in grammar or etiquette in thelr Hves. There are parents who use very inferior language, and consequently most children fall into the same habit. Now. do not want anyone to think I am doing this to excite comment, but I think every Intelligent man or woman in a position to observe, will agree with' me on the subject. Now, there Is an appalling con dltion of humanity, even in this enlight ened day and age, and especially as re gards crime and insanity. I believe good breeding and social and moral etiquette, and the Just regard we owe to one another as human beings, should be taught In school, for as a mat ter of fact a. certain per centage of the rising generation would not learn or hear of them anywhere else. I believe a great deal of crime would then be prevented. And as everyone knows In nearly every paper we pick up we see where someone has been killed or robbed or someone has committed suicide someone has sued for a divorce, or someone else has eloped with another man's wife, or someone else has wrecked railroad train and killed a lot of peo ple for the sake of a few dollars. There are men who would sandbag another for lo cents ana tninK tney naa none a creau- able act In the sight of his peers. There are men as well as women that Ignore tho company of the opposite sex. There are parents who unmercifully chastise their own flesh and blfc-od and think they aro tearhlntr a verv llmDOrtant lesson. The-e are men who afnise their wives and there are wives that abuse their husbands and they take turn about and abuse their children. It used to be thought that to spare the rod was to spoil the child It used to be thought that the old-fashioned hickory was the best method of Instruction In school. And I think It was those methods of cruelty that are re sDonsIble for a part of the predominating condition of affairs today. Now let us all that favor law and order prescribe a plan to avert some of the prevailing conditions. I have had the pleasure of reading Mrs, Duniway's letter of February C. and she seems to think that the right of woman's suffrage Is the only Infallible remedy But I will beg to differ with tne iaay as to the ballotbox being the only remedy for such ills as are set forth in her let ter. Now. as a rule, tne mosr. rennea ana enlightened women we have today are not clamoring for woman s rights, w nat we want is more parents that are retlned ladies and gentlemen that are creditable examples to the rising generation. And I think it is an absolute necessity mat the true regard we owe to one another be impressed upon the mlnas or tne voune. for it Is a hard matter to make an old crooked tree to grow straight, hut a tender sapling can be trained to grow oulte stralcht- I would like to hear upon this subject, especially from someone that Is engaged in teaching. . A. M. JEST, JR. Apparently Escaped Attention. PORTLAND, Or., Feb. 20. (To the Ed itor.) Will you permit a friendly reader to remind the elderly lady, who Is reported to have said at the recent Charities Con forence that, "When the women vote they will do away with whisky in short order," or words to that effect, that women havi been voting for 2o years In Wyoming, ten years in Colorado, and eight years In Utah and Idaho; and, although it is claimed by the representative men of all these states that equal suffrage has every where raised the moral standard, caus Ing political managers to put up cleaner men for office than they did before they were compelled to consider the woman vote as a factor in government, this vote has not "done away with whisky, nor Continuous Programme Today at the HOME OF VAUDEVILLE ?th and Washington. TO ANY SEAT HEW BILL STARTS-MONDAY A R C A D THREE RENOS Eccentric Marvels of the vuiumj ire. LESLIE AND LANGTON In an Original Comedy Skit. THREE IY1ALVERNS Artistic Acrobats. JESSIE MORE Sweet Singer of Illustrated bongs. STODDARTAND WRENN Promoters of Musical Novelties. THE AMERICAN BIOSCOPE 10c Moving Pictures of Strange signis ax .Home ana Abroad. TO ANY SEAT Continuous BUI Today 2 to 10:30 10c E MARQUAM GRAND THEATER W. T. PANGLE, RESIDENT MANAGER Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Nights, Feb. 23, 24 and 25, 1904 Special Matinee Wednesday at 2:15 o'CIock THE B0ST0 WITH Henry Clay Barnabee and William H. MacDonald Tuesday Night Robin Hood Wednesday Night The Serenade Special Matinee Wednesday at 2:15 o'CIock ROBIN HOOD EVEXTXC PRICES Lovrer floor, except Inst 3 row, $2.00; Inst 3 rows, $1.50. Bnlcony, firxt S rovra, $1.50; second 3 rows, 91.00; last C rows, 75c Gallery, 75c and 50c. Boxes) and loses, 1 -SO. SPECIAL MATXXEE PRICES liOvrer floor, except last 3 rovrs, $1.50 ; last 3 row, $1.00. Balcony, first 3 row s, $1.00; nrcond 3 rows, 75c; last G rowH, 50c. Gallery, 25c and 35c. Seats nrc now selling:. Phone Main SGS. MARQUAM GRAND THEATER W. T. PANGLE, RESIDENT MANAGER Friday and Saturday Nights, February 26, 27, 1904 Popular Price Matinee Saturday 2:15 o'CIock THE MASTERS OF MIRTH gSMURRAY&MACK irt 40 Merry Melodious Fun Makers 40 In the Second Edition of the Musical Ecstasy A NIGHT ON BROADWAY 20MusIcal Numbers 20 RICHLY STAGED, HANDSOMELY GOWNED EVENING PRICES Lower floor, except last 3 rows, $1.00; Inst 3 rows, 75c. Balcony, first G rows, 75c; last C rows, 50c. Gallery, 25c and 35c. Boxes and loses, $7.50. POPULAR MATINEE PRICES Adults, 50c; children, 25c to any part of the theater. The advance sale of seats will open next Wednesday mornlns at 10 o'clock. has it made any appreciable attempt in that direction. it TrnnJii seem, rather, that equal suf frage has opened a sort of 'scape pipe for the emotional "Isms" which rage in the four prohibition states where women do not vote. Is It not significant mat prom- THE BAKER THEATER GEORGE X. BAKER, Sole Lessee and Manager. PHONE MAIN 1307. PORTLAND'S FASHIONABLE POPULAR-PRICED PLAYHOUSE. GEORGE L. BAKER PRESENTS THE BAKER THEATER COMPANY Week Beginning Sunday Mat, Feb. 28 The Case of Rebellious Susan A Clever, High-Class Society Comedy by HENRY -ARTHUR JONES THE FIRST TIME IN PORTLAND AT POPULAR PRICES NEXT WEEK-THE TWO ORPHANS CORDRAY'S THEATER CORDRAY & RUSSELL, MANAGERS. Portland's popular family theater. Evening prices, 15c, 25c, 35c, 40c and 50c. Matinee prices, adults 25c; children 10 c. Telephone Main 992. MIR. PHIL HUNT Presents Last Season's Big Success The Romantic Comedy - Drama, DOWN BY THE Interpreted by a Splendid Company, Including iViiss Fannie Curtis SEE The Hlnmlnated Cathedral. SEE The Electrical Storm at Sea. SKE The East Haven Light and Rescue. SEE The Wonderful Electrical Effects. SEE The Magnificent Scenic Effects. SEE The Startles Mechanical Effect. Thursday. Night (The New Opera) The Queen of laughter bltion. whether In local-ontlnn fnrm. m- as a straight Issue, Is hardly ever htasfl- of In the enfranchised states? Jr This is not offered in a spirit of ccntro versy, hut merely to state a fact which has evidently escaped the good lads at tention. . SUBSCRIBER. SE A