The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 30, 1926, Page 8

A PEEK EACH WEEK AT MOTION PICTURES Karl Marx Personal Recollections By PAUL LAFARGUE, IV. IS method of working often placed tasks before him the magnitude of which the reader of his writings can scarcely imagine. Thus, in order to write about twenty pages in “Capi- tal’ on the protection laws of the English workers, he had to work thru an entire library of Blue Books con- taining the reports of tho investigat- ing committees and of the factory in- spectors of England and Scotland. He read them from beginning to end, as is evidenced by the numerous pencil marks that he made in them. He counted these reports among the most important and most significant docu ments in the study of the capitalistic method of production and held such a high opinion of the men who had been entrusted with them that he doubted whether one would succeed in finding such experts in any other nation of Europe, “men so impartial and unpersuadable as the factory in- spectors of England.” He has paid this brilliant acknowledgement to them in his foreword to “Capital.” Marx drew a wealth of information from these Blue Books which many members of the lower house, as well as.of the, house.of lords, to whom they had been distributed, used as targets at Which Yo shoét in order to measure the force of percussion of their weap- ons by the number of pages that the shots penetrated. The others sold them according to weight; and that is the most sensible thing they could possible for Marx to buy them cheaply, from a dealer in old paper in Leong Acre, whom he visited from time to time in order to look thru the latter’s books and waste paper. Professor Beesley declared that Marx was the man who had made the most use of the official investigations of England, indeed, the one who has ac- quainted the world with them. -Pro- fessor Beesley, however, did not know that.,before 1845 Engels had taken numerous documents from these Blue Books, which he had used in the composition of his book on the con- dition of the working classes * Eng- land, In order to know and love the heart that beat umder the cover of the scholar one had to see Marx in the lap of his family after he had put aside his notes and books and on Sunday evenings in the company of his friends. He then proved to be the most agreeable compannion, full of wit and humor, and one who could Jangh -whole-heartedly. His black eyes, over-arched by thick eyebrows, sparkled with joy and mocking irony whenever he heard a witty word or a ready answer. He was.a tender, gentle and consid- erate father. “The’ children must ed- ucate their parents,” he used to say. Never in the relations between him- gelf and his daughters, who loved him very much, had even a shadow of paternal authority made itself visible, H6 never commanded them, bift asked them for whatever he wanted as for a kindness, or he suggested that they forbear from that which he wished to forbid, And yet there was seldom 4 father who was listened to more than he. His daughters looked upon him as their friend and chummed with him as with a comrade, They did not call him “father,” but “Mohr,” a nickname which he had received "because of his dark complexion and his raven-black hair and beard. On the other hand, have done, for this custom made it | the» members of the Communist League before 1848 called him “Father Marx,” altho’ he had not yet reached his thirtieth year then, ' * He spent hours on end playing with his children. The latter still remem- ber the sea-battles and the burning of whole fleets of paper boats which he made for them and which, to their great joy, he then put into a large Pail of water. On Sundays his daugh- ters did not allow*him to work: he belonged to them the whole day then. In fine weather the entire family set out for a long walk in the country, stopping on the way at ordinary tav- erns in order to drink ginger beer and to eat bread and cheéfe. When his daughters were still small he short- ened the long way for them by telling them non-ending, fantastic fairy tales which he invented as he walked and whose complications he spun out and developed according to the length of the road, so that the little ones forgot their fatigue in listening. Marx pos- sessed an incomparable richness of poetic fancy; his first literary works were poetry. Mrs. Marx carefully pre- served her husband’s youthful verses. Marx’ family had dreamed of a career for their son as writer or professor; in their opinion he degraded himself by devoting himself to socialist agi- tation and by occupying himself with political economy, which, at that time, was looked upon with contempt in Germany. Marx had promised his daughters to write a drama for them, the subject of which was to be the Graechi. Unfortunately, he could not keep his word: it would have been interesting to see how he would have treated the man who has béén called the “Knight of the Class Struggle,” this grand and frightful episode of the class conflict of the antique world. Marx carried around many plans which were never realized. Among other things, he intended to write a logic and a history of philosophy, the latter having been his favorite study in his youth. He would have had to live a hundred years in order to carry out his literary plans and give to the world a part of the treasures which his brain concealed. Thruout his life his wife was a com- panion to him in the truest and fullest sense of the word. They had both learned to know each other as chil- dren and had grown up together. Marx was not more than seventeen when they’ were-engaged. The young people waited for nine years before they were married in 1843, and from that time on they were never sepa- rated. Mrs. Marx died a short time before her husband. No one possessed the feeling of equality-in a greater measure than Mrs, Marx, and this, in spite of the fact that she had been born and raised in an aristocratic family, There existed no social dif- ferences nor classifications for her. In her house, at her table, she re- ceived workers in their working clothes with the same politeness and courteousness as tho they were sov- ereigns and princes. Many workers of all countries have learned to know her charming hospitality, and I em convinced that not a single one of them has guessed that the woman who received them with such sincere and gentle heartiness is descended in the feminihe line from the family of the Dukes of Argyll and that her brother has been minister to the king of Prussia. That did not bother Mrs. Marx; she had left everything in order to follow her husband, and she never regretted what she had done, even in the times of dire need. She possessed a cheerful spirit. The letters directed to her friends, hich flowed unforcedly and without effort from her pen, are truly master- ful contributions of a lively and origi- nal spirit. It was considered a treat to receive a letter from Mrs. Marx. Johann Philipp Becker has’ published several of them, Heine, the inexor- able satirist, feared Marx’ ridicule; but he felt a great admiration for the keen and sensitive spirit of his wife. When the married couple lived in Paris he was a frequent guest at their THE VITAPHONE IN NEW YORK. } VITAPHONE has taken New York by storm. In addition to Warners Theater where it has been playing for several months it can now be seen at the Colony Theater, both of which are packed to capacity at every performance. ‘Thru the Vitaphone, the talking moving picture has at last come into its-own, leaving the experimental stage and becoming a bona fide means of entertainment. Its future possi- bilities are endless. There is no see- ing at present what its future will bring. - One thing, however, that is appar- ent at present is that it will elimin- ate the orchestras and érgans in the future from the picture theaters. At both theaters where it is playing there is no other musical accompaniment for the feature pictures that follow the Vitaphone -prelude, except the Vi- taphone orchestra, which is a part of the film and is superior to the best orchestra because it is able to keep up with the action of the picture, inelud- ing the smallest detail im a remark- able fashion. At the Colony Theater, where the Vitaphone brings talking pictures of Elsie Janis, Al Jolson, George Jessel, Reinal Werrenrath and Willie. and Eugene Howard to us, the audience is kept spellbound as they sing and tell stories, almost every word being as clear as tho they were on the stage. After the intermission Syd Chaplin is seen inean unusually funny comedy, “The Better ’Ole,” with the Vitaphone furnishing the music, The program at Warners’ Theater includes Giovanni Martinelli, Mischa Elman, Anna Case, the Metropolitan Opera House Company chorus and the New -York ‘Philharmonic Orchestra, Henry Hadley, conductor, in Vitaphone numbers followed by John Barrymore in “Don Juan.” All and all, the Vitaphone is the beginning of a new epoch in the his- tory of moving pictures. Sylvan A. Pollack. S. 8 2# IN CHICAGO HE first Vitaphone performance which has now been showing for seven weeks at the McVickers Thea- ter, presents Anna Case, Mischa El- man, Martinelli and other opera and musical stars together with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. John Barrymore, noted stage and screen star is featured in the new. picture “Don Juan,” completing the second half of the bill. Performances are only twice daily: 2:15 and 8:15. eee IN BOSTON The Vitaphone began its first week at the Colonial Theater this week. Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia showings are being ar- ranged for early showing. A DOZEN IN BRIEF. THE STRONG MAN—Hgarry Lang: don will get a laugh eut ef you. VARIETY—Excellent. | THE AMATEUR GENTLEMAN— enter with excellent photography. MARE NOSTRUM—Holly halleluja for hundred perce: THE PASSAIC 2 -ereenn Every worker! should see it. TIN ene average picture. — LA BOHEME—Far above the aver- age. ALOMA of THE SOUTH SEAS— Gilda Gray giddily girates. UP IN MABEL’S ROOM—Enter- taining Marie Prevost. THE ROAD TO MANDALAY— Phooie! ACROSS THE evaagegs W amore Phoole! “THE EAGLE OF THE SEA.” NG fen particularly great about it. It is very doubtful whether it can compare to ““The Sea Hawk.” There is, however, some exceptionally good acting in it and a few scenes of | outstanding fineness. The story cen- ters on @ plot of Spanish emissarioes to involve the United States and Eng- land in a war, in order that Spain might again reconquer her old Louis- iana territory. The man selected to do the dirty work was Jean Lafiitte, a talented pirate ably played by the dapper young Ricardo Cortez whose morality is aroused and becomes & real gentleman. Honorable mention is due to Andre Beranger who plays the part of Jar- vis, a scoundrel but perfectly lovable young pirate who is constantly cele- brating with spirituous elements. He is consequently, seen tottering around unsteadily. But like the famous “soaks” of baseball, Alexander and Babe Ruth, he proves himself worthy of his hire in a time of pinch by hoist- ing himself over to the enemy ship and setting fire to the powder maga- zine. In getting back over to his own ship he was hit by a musket ball and carried by his comrades to Napoleon’s stateroom, where he expired. This reminds me that the ship on which the pirates, were sailing was Napoleon’s. Goodness knows why or how this ship came to be hereabouts. Florence Vidor doesn’t de” much ex- cept look beautiful and she does it rather well. She furnishes the motif for the Laffitte’s conversion. The usual fadeout takes place in a very usual manner, Florence Vidor in “The Eagle of the Sea.” THE OPERA, Six Italian works, two French ‘and one German are to be presented in the first week of the Chicago Civie Opera season in its 1926-27 season; opening Monday evening, November 8, The first week's program wil] in clude on Monday: “Aida” with Aroldo Lindi, Florence Misgen, Claudio Mu- vio, Cyreia Van Gordon and others; ‘Tuesday: “The Jewels of the Ma donna” with Rosa Raisa, Lamont and Rimini; Wednesday: “La Boheme” with Montesanto and Edith Mason; Thursday: “Resurrection” with Mary rt ™