The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 26, 1897, Page 21

EDITOR WITHOUT ARMS The Wonderful Power of a Man Who Is Sorely Afflicted. The only armless editor lives at Mount Pleasant, T to conceal h Smith,” but his brilliant talents as a law- 2 by naming him | from ob: lack of prehensile apparat bring him into public notice, for he is a man umong men,a prominent factor in | the political life of his section, & scholar of mo mean attainment, and, with his toes, can wield a trenchant pen. Nature made amends for sendi Smith into the worla armless by endow- g bim with high ambiiion, unfailing patience and a clear b qualifications as capital stock he has im- proved his opportunities for self-culture | til he is to-day one of the most highly | respected an County, hap, THE SAN FRA NCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1897. | fully to’ the wise advice of the Doubting i the worlua | able home, with a cultivated wife and a and pre- | sweet little daughter, and surrounded by sides over the destinies of the Times- | a host of friends. Review published at that place. “Fate | and was the second of ten children. His father was a farmer County, yer and editor wouold have rescued him | Aaron was born. rity even though his sirange | offers of big salaries from museams and us had failed to | <hows to travel as the “armless wonder,” but such notoriety is most distasteful to him, and he has followed a very different course. Owing to poverty he was com- pelled to give up his dreams of going to college after having finished his g Aaron | sc hool education, but he continued to ap- ply himself diligently to his studies after | completing the high school course, and in. With these | by the aid of private instruction was en- led to considerably broaden his cur- | ricalum. Aaron Smith moved to Cass County, when quite young, He has had fluential citizens of Titus | Texas, y established in a comfort- | quently located in Mount Pleasant. He studied law there and wa- admitted to the bar in the spring of 1889, when just 20 years of aze. The outlook for a young attorney with- out a good pair of arms to swing in dra- matic fashion when striving to impress a jury was generally conceded to be very unpromising, and many people shook their heads and told him so. They even suggested that, though ambition was a good thing, in nis case it mizht prove his undoing, and recommended him to tackle a less pretentious undertaking. The fledgling attorney listened respect- Thomases, but paid no heed. He hung out his shingle (with his feet), and it was not long until he found himself estab- lished in a lucrative practice. He stuck to the law until 1893 and made a good rec- ord, developing a strong talent for jury arguments, the very classof work in which his friends had prophesied failure. In polities he is and always has been a strong Democrat and was the nominee of his party for County Judge in 1894 He is a pleasing public speaker, a good cam- paigner and has the ability to shine in the lecture field if he should choose to essay the role of a public entertainer. In the fall of 1893 Mr. Smith purchased the Mount Pleasant Times-Review, and he has since concucted that journal with marked success. Under hiz management it has become one of the best weekly papers in Texas, and Mr. Smith’s edi- torials, indited with his toes or with the pen held in his teeth, or printed on the typewriter with a stick held in a similar manner, are widely quoted for their terse, epigrammatic style, their rich humor and their apt presentation of his views on subjects of current interest. His style, both as a writer and a speaker, is ready and graceful and he is almost invariably on the right side of a question. His ability, fairness and fearlessness have made him popular as a journalist. He runs the business end of the Times-Review as well as its editorial department and his wite helps him when not emvployed with her work as teacher of art in the Mount Pleasant schools. Mrs. Smith is justly 2k PHILIPPINE proud of the succe:s of her husband and though she claims no credit for it, he un- hesitatingly says that to her encourage- ment and the influence of his mother he owes all of his success. How does Mr. Emith manage to do all these wonderful things? He just does them in the way that to him seems most natural. Never having known the use of arms and hands, he adapted himself to conditions as he found tbem, and, when still quite young, learned to use his feet for hands. When he was a little fellow people for miles around went to the Smith bome to see the wonderful baby that could feed itself with its feet. As he grew older he played games with the other boys with all the unbridled enthusiasm of youth. He played ball, marbles, croquet, etc., with the best of them, and he is still a lover of outdoor sports. He can play the guitar and piano very well with his toes, and might have been an accomplished musician had it not been for nis aversion to making an exhibition of himself. It would take up too much space to tell of all the remarkable things that this armless editor can do. His editor’s den is fitted up with #ll sorts of ingenious con- trivances to facilitate his labors, and it is | really amazing to see Low much work he is able to dispose of in a very short time. One of the writer’s most delightful mem- ories is of a half-hour’s chat with this cheery editor in the cozy sanctum of the Times Review. | i | | THE PRINGES OF HOHENZOLLERN AS WARRIORS During the Middle Ages and in feudal | William I, famous for his mania for tall times, when might made right, princes | soldiers, was of the highest importance to and noblemen were compelled to make | the newly created kingdom, as without the study of warfare and fighting their principal business. After the intraauc- | tion of gunpowder the members of the reigning families, with the exception of the Prussian, gradually withdrew from teking active part in the wars, though some monarchs as, for instance, Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII of Sweden, Peter of Russia and Napoleon, I distin- guished themselves by their exploits on the battlefield. It was very different with the members of the Hohenzollern family, and a short recapituiation of their history will amply bear out this statement. The family name is derived from the castle of Zollern or Hohenzollern in | Swatia, which, according to the “Monu- | menta Zoilerana,”” was erected about A. D. 800 by a certain Thassilio. In 1142 a Count | Frederick of Zollerr was made Burggrave of Nuremberg, and later on one of his de- scendants became Markgrave of Branden- | burg. In 1415 Emperor Sigismund ap-| pointed Markgrave Frederick IV elector of | the so-called Holy Roman Empire (Ger- many), and the eleventh successor of this elector became the first King of Prussia. Frederick William, commonly called {he Great Elector (1640-83), must be con- sidered as the real founder of the Bran- | denburg-Prussian dynasty. He was a| warrior of great renown, and from his time until the presentday his descendants have never ceased to take the most lively | interest in the military development of | their country. The first heroic deed of the Brandenburg armyv was the tb days’ battle of Warsaw (July 30, 1 in consequence of which Pru united to Brandenburg (1660). The Great | Elector gained a large number of other | victories, the most renowned of which is the battle of Fehrbellin against the | Swedes (1675). His son, Frederick III, was crowned King at Konigsbery (Jan- uary 18, 1701) and benceforth called him- self Frederick I of Prussia. The reign of his successor, Frederick | | other of his war deeds. | itis no wonder that Napoleon found it so | Auerstadt (Octover 14, 1806). Tnis defeat | did achievements of the Prussians in 1813 ihe splendid military system introduced | bv him, his son, Frederick II, better | known as Frederick the Great, would not bhave found the means and strength to achieve his great successes. The history of this greatest of all the Prussian kings has become familiar to the English- | speaking world by Thomas Carlyle’s largest and best work (commenced 1857, finished 1865) to call for any comment on this occasion. Frederick gained some of the most surprising victories and sas- tained many and total defeats, and tke quickness with which he managed to get out of the latter and to raise a new army to oppose to his astonished enemies is probably more to his credit than any Frederick, who had no issue, was suc- ceeded by his nephew, Frederick William IT, who took less interest in his army than any other Prussian king. His campaign in Holland and his war against revolu- tionary France were not successiul and he feft his army and his inances to Frederick | William TII in sucb miserable shape that easy to defeat the Prussians at Jena and was followed by the six darkest years in the history of Prussia, and the kingdom degenerated to a mere vassal of the Corsi- can conqueror. Jn 1813 the entire Prus- sian population rose up in arms against Napoleon and the ng contributed his full share in the freeing of the country from foreigners. Nevertneless the splen- and 1815 must becredited more to Blucher, Gneiseman and Scharnhorst than to the King. The years from 1815 j0 1861, under tne reigns of Frederick ,William Iil and IV, passed in undisturbed peace, if we ex- cept the revolution of 1848 and a diminu- tive war in Holstein, and we come now to the eventful reign of William L. The wars of 1864 against Denmark, of 1866 against Ausiria and the German The flowers that grow in my lady love’s Are fragrant and sweet; They flirt with the sun, but they pray for her pardon At sound of her feet. They take the bees’ Kisses and toy with And lure the young birds from their nests But when she is nigh they seek only to Their Lady of Infinite Grace. Were | but a rose to be worn for an hour Upon her dear breast; Were 1, in her garden, her favorite flower, More loved than the rest; Nor breezes, nor songbirds, nor sunshine should take My heart’s true allegiance from her, for whose sake | would gladly place all my soul’s welfare at stake And live for the light of her HOWARD V. SUTHERLAND. i garden the breeze, in the trees; please States and of 1870-71 against France are still fresh in our memories, and we will not tire our readers with a recapitulation. A great many persons ascribe the suc- cesses in these wars, as well as the estab- fishment of the German empvire, exclu- sively to the sirategy of Von Molike and to the statecraft of Bismarck. That is a mistake, and we do not detractan iota from the credit due to ihese two great Germans if we insist that much praise is due to the Emperor also. The famous military system, which has since been imitated by every Continental great power, 1s the Emperor's own work. He labored all his life from early in the morning till late at night on the reorgan- ization of the army, and it was he who brought his troops to a perfection there- tofore unequaled in any country, and neither Von Moltke nor Bismarck would have been able to accomplish what they did if Williash 1 had not paved the way for them. Itis hard to say whether he possessed much ability as a commander, for, though he personally conducted two of Lhe largest battles ever tougnt (Konig- gratz, July 3, 1866, and Gravelotte, Au- gust 18, 1870), the disposition of the troops was made by Moltke. It ought to be mentioned that in all the Prussian wars the monarchs were most ably seconded by the roval princes. Many of the victories of Frederick the Great were due to the generalship and valor of bis brother Henry. In the lastthree wars the Emperor’s only son, two brothers and wo nephews distingunished themselves. Frederick Charles, popularly called the Red Prince on account of his scarlet Hussar uniform, was commander-in-chiet in the Danish and commander of an army in the Austrian and French wars. The Crown Prince, afterward Emperor Fred- erick 111, also commanded an army in the two last mentioned wars and contributed much to the succe:s of the German arms. Prince Charles, inspector-general of artil- lery, was the reorganizer of this branch of the army and the Princes Albrecnt, EUQ":‘ 7 i ,;:, : 'Ml ISLANDS. There is a pleasing theory that the many years ago and has ever since ap- world is at peace. People sit in Sunday pealed to the better instincts, and yet the pews and hear words of gratitude thata peace is a dream, the good will a hope fraternal bond is knitting all humanity, that ever recedes, a phantom to which and in their hearts feel the impulse of a benign aspiration strerches out in vain. great amen. They icok about them and As the world goes larger there is in it there is no sizn of battle nor turmoil. “Peace on earth, good will to men.” comes older it is still guided by selfish- But when? The heavenly message came ness, and the hand of man is raised more room to war. As civilization be- acainst his brother, even as long ago the hand of Abel. Missionaries go to the ends of the earth on errands of mercy and there find strife. Eminent divines preach of universal peace. Congresses are calied to advocate universal peace, to point out its beauties and advocate its claims. Idle words. The pictures they paintare painted on the air. Fact against fancy; a glance at the globe against a notion. In Cuba there is war, cruel, unjusti- fiabie, as atrocicus as war has been since blood has stained red the pages ol his- tory. Men and womer are slaughtered, the wounded put to the knife, the inno- cent led into shame. Starvation is en- couraged, fever nurtured. The cross of chariiy on the robe of a sister is no pro- tection. Death is king, and Horror sits st his right hand. Cuba is fighting for life. Civilized nations view the struggle, butdo notking to stay the destruction. Spain scrapes the boitom of depleted coffers in the effort to raise funds to prosecutea series of wholesale murders. Men perish in malarial swamps because Cuba refuses longer to be robbed. Tndia can hardly be called the “Proph- et’s Paradise’’ to-day. Since the battle of Plissey a century and a half ago that country has not for any three consecutive vears been free from war. Its people are born to battle. They long for a fight al- ways, and grasp the abundant oppor- tunity offered by the presence of British troops. In the absence of these troops the savage tribes would with equal fierce- ness prey upon each other. Egypt has been a battleground for thousands of years. The Soudan has been fought for by the rulers from the Pharoahs to the British, and at short intervals an outbreak is certain. Catastrophe has fol- lowed catastrophe; armies are sacrificed almost every year, fair regio: nearly de- populated, and what survives the rav- ages of war left to the spoil of the Arab trader! Africa is the seat of seething vio- lence. No place is more clearly entitied to be calied dark and bloody ground. The annual loss of life there in the process of aavancing civilization by the bayonet is fearful, At no time is there safety from turmoil, which is even this day in prog- ress there, with the promise of soon be- coming worse. There is war in Brazil, in the Philip- pines, virtually always war in the Central American so-called republics. Europe keeps adding to its bands of trained mili- tary and strengthening its navies. No country there makes a friendly combina- tion with another save with the object of coercing a third, of which both are afraid. Crowned heads are resting even less easy than usual, The bomb, the knife and the pistol, aiming for the heart of royalty or of high executive, bespeaks the spirit of discontent that only needs organization to be war more widespread and cruel than all. Even the United States, standing mighty and alone, feels now and then an impulse to turn to arms. Spain, rebuked for assassination, resents interference and makes intolent threats. England, patron- izing, superior England, does much to irritate the people of thls country, going so far as to suggest adding a portion of it to Canada; talking as calmly of ability to defeat the United States as if necessity had not twice arisen to prove herinability. Commercial competition grows more deadly. Men ask for living wages and PEAGE IS SAID JO HOVER OER THE WORLD mur almost as loudly as in other lands they murmur against military despotism and the tyranny of kings. Peace con- gresses may meet, be opened with prayer and discours: on love between nations, but there is mo such love. About ths globe there stretches a belt of war. “Peace on earth,” at least a perfect peace, gives no token of drawing nigh. INDIA. the rifle replies. A system known as “government by Injunction’ has come into use and hes been employed for the most part to oppress. The people mur- COAL MINERS, PENNSYLVANIA. In the dim recesses of an old trunk, hidden away in an odd little house on William street, are hoarded a number .of the original manuscripts of Charles M. Barras, the famous playwright, who is best known to the world as the anthor of “The Black Crook.” For almosta quar- ter of a century they have lain there, ac- those who love to delve among ancient papers. In with these faded, yellowed and dogs- eared relics of bygone days is woven a story of ''sadness, gladness and despair. The wonderful success of the first pro- duction of *'The Black Crook” caused the theater to ring with the plauaits of a vast audience. But those plaudits were mingled with the moans of the heart- broken author. Possibly the world did not know it, but the old manuscripis did, for they were their creator’s only love while ne lived. Charles M. Barras died in March, 1873, while on his way to visit his dear friend, Edwin Booth. When hiseffects were dis- posed of at publicsale his brother, . A. Barras, wto now lives in this city, bought all of the dead playwright’s man- uscripts. Since then he has guarded the papers as he would his life, and has shown them to very few. So it hapvens that they areat present hidden away in the little house on Wiliiam street. father end son, participated in other, but less important, battles. It is a strange and almost unaccount- able fact that the Houenzollern person- ally were by no means fond ot warfare. The Great Elector preferred a quiet family life to all renown gained by his victorious army. Frederick the Great feit comfort. able only in the solitude of Sans Souci, where he amused himseif with belletristic pursuits and with playing the flute. William I tried everything in his power to avoid war and consented to it only As the author of “The Black Crook’ Charles M. Barras became fumous the world over. The play was first prodnced in Buffaio, N. where all new plays are, figuratively speaking, “'tried on the dog.” Its metro- politan debut, however, did not take place until Septemuer 10 0f the same year, when it was brought out at Nivlo’s Gar- dens in New York City under the manage- ment of Jarrett & Palmer. Its first run was 474 nights. when there was no other way left to'zet out of it honorably, while Frederick II1 had a perfect abhorrence of strife of any kind. The present Emperor so far nhas had no chance to show his abilities in actual war- fare. Already at the lifeiime of his father and grandfather, when there seemed to be little chance tnat he would become Em- peror before the expiration of many years, he was considered an unusually good soldier, well versed in all branches of miiitary science, and 1t is not likely that he has dezenerated in this respect since face. | CR then. It is to be hoped that he has in- herited not only his forefathers’ abilities, but also their repugnance of war, and so far, at leasi, he has not done anything to lead us to believe to the contrary. WiLLiaM LODTMANN. ——————— In the public schools of France, more than 20 per cent of the pupiis are near sighted; in those of Germany, 35 per cent; Elderly men, who were young then, de- clare that there has never been a produc- tion of any kind given since that can in any way equal the gorgeousness and splendor of that first production. Peo- ple, lirey say, who have always hived on this ccast and have witnessed oniy the poor, broken-down performances given here at different times by indifferent companies, with queer scenery and still queerer ballets, can only guess at what it was in its prime. Spectacular dramas were almost unknown in this country in 1866, and the whole of New York City, and rather a large part of the State, turned out to see ‘“The Black Crook.” Barras, who was always a well-liked, good fellow, was made a periect lion of. As every joyin life has a tinge of sor- row, so the enormous success of ‘“The Black Crook” was not without its ac- companying sadness to Mr. Barras, Just before the production his beloved wife, in those of the United Kingdom, 20 per cent, l who : was professionally known as Sally St. Clair and who was to have been the i quiring that musty odor so fascinating to | Y., in the early part of 1866, | original Stalacta in his play, died, and left Barras a broken-hearted man, He never married again. “The Black Crook” was revived in De- cember, 1870, again in 1873 and 1888 by Kiralfy brothers. There have been some attempts to revive it of late, but the old play has outlived its popularity; and | after having made thousands upon thou- | sands of dollars for its fortunate owners is | relegated to the shelf. The death of William de Verma, which | occurred in New York a few weeks ago, | brings many vivid memories of the dear | ola “Crook.” He was kpown among pro- Men,” and made 2ll the properties for the original performance. He was arranging for the production of ‘‘Nature,” a spectac- ular operatic creation of his own, when he died, noor fellow! His last words were: “If I could only have seen my play once.” Perhaps it was justas we!l he did not, for it does not seem to have bean a success, and, as he had spent the greater part of his life in arranging the details, failure would have been bitter, indeed. In the book containing the original manuscript of **The Black Crook” appears the receipt of the money paid John Hol- loway for composing and arranging the orcuestra parts and tha copyright of the same play. The manusecript is all in Bar- ras handwriting and does not show many alterations, Occasionally slight changes have been made or speeches condensed, but that is about all. The property, plot, music, cues, are all there. But it was not, “The Black Crook’ alone that gave to Charles M. Barras his reputation as a playwright. He was the author of many popular ana successful plays. Some were sensational dramas, notably his dramatization of Wilkie Collins’ “Womar 1 White'’ and “The White Terror.” Both of these plays cail for a large cast and magnificent mounting. As sensational melodramas seem to be the rage at present, either of these two plays could be easily *‘fixed’ up, modernized a bit, and would doubt- less result in drawing many tull bouses. In spite of the success of these plays, it was in farce and travesty that Barras par- ticulaily shone. In fact, he occupies the position for quaintness and originality in prose that Gilbert, the English fessional people as the “'King of Property | | Garefully Héarded in a House on William Street, in This Ci’cg. librettist, does in verse. One of his plays, “The Hypochondriac,” was exceptionally successful. Mr. Barras was also an actor as well as a playwright, and as Mr. Vertizo Morbid | in the above play he did some of his best | work. The partis that of a nervous old gentleman who fancies he is affected with all sorts of queer ailments. He keeps a staff of doctors large enough for two or three small regiments, and takes quarts and quarts of nasty stuff in a wild at- tempt to cure himself. One of his| odd conceits is that his DIhfe is like tides, the tide hizh and low by turns. Sometimes it didn’t raise above | his ankles for days, and at these times his | body being dead, he was oblized to breath through the pores of his legs. Again the tide would be in his head and then he would be obliged to stand on his head so that the tide would go up to his feet again, as he put it. This play Mr. Barras undoubtedly wrote around himself, for he had a queer hesita- | tion in his speech, a sort of impediment, and a mannerism of jerking his head round over his shoulders. These manner- | isms made the part screamingly funny. Many people would go away impressed with the idea that he was doiug a wonder- ful bit of acting, and instead he was only being natural. This play had a long run at the Metropolitan Theater in Buffalo under the management of Carr and War- ren, some time in the early sixties. Itisa “one man’’ play in two acts, taking one hour and twenty minutes for its represen- tation. It has been shelved for many years. One of Barras' cleverest travesties was in “Hamlet.” It was cailed “The Original Hamlet.” He stuck to the original plot, with the exception of the ending where Hamlet tells the King to prepare to die. The King says he will do nothing of the sort and a duel be- tween him and Hamlet ensues. Hamlet is getting the worst of it, when the ghost appears and challenges the King to mortal combat and after a furious en- counter the King js killed. A fiend ap- pears and takes the King with him to the infernal regions, first presenting the ghost with a pass to heaven. After this the King crowns Hamlet and joins his hand with that of Ophelia. The throne changes to a car and ascends heav- MANUSGRIPTS OF THE PLAYWRIGH] BARRAS. jenward, and then foilows the transforma- | tion. Hamlet’sadvice to the First Player might | be interesting to those who have seen tte kind of acting Hamlet refers to. Following are a few selections: Hamlet—'Tis well, and now for a few gen- eral remarks that might be of service to you in your profession. In the first place, always try to maintain at least an external respecta- bility. If cireumstances compel you to lodge 1n & barn, there is no necessity of your going into society in the morning with straw in your hair, thereby indicatiag where you slept the night b:fore. For every man can, by vir- tue of personal dignity, dignify his calling, be it ever so iumble. First Actor—That's so, my Lord. | Hamlet—In acting don’t slap your breast so 1 hard every time you speak the word honor. You only knock the breath out of your body, thereby reducing yourse'f to the necessity of nishing the rest of the sentence by simply going through the motions. * * * * & & Don’tsonnd the letter “R” until it rolls from your mouth likea watchman's rattle, under | the delusion that it sounds heroic—it don’t. First Actor—We get through them as quick as we can; it saves candles. Hamlet—Don't be confidential either. Au- thors have no secrets irom the audience, therefore speak out,and don’t appear to be addressing yourself exciusively to the gentle- | man who leads the orchestra, for he does not pay anything for admission. The audience | does, and has as good & rightto hear you as | the leader has. Nine times out of ten he’s German, anyway, and don’t understand & word you say. First Actor—All right, your honor. | Hamlet—If in the course of the play you | should happen to get killed, there’s no neces- sity of your dyingall over the stage, 1t's not | natural. People who really die generally do | it in oue place. | And thie last piece oi advice deserves to | be especially noted : 1f you have any funny man in the play, let him be as funuy as he pleases when it's his turn to be so, but don’t let him poke his fun behind the backs of those whose turn itisto be serious. For while such monkey-shines make that portion ot the audience with rapidly re- ceding foreheads laugh, they disquiet the ju- dicious and cause the funny man to be write ten down an ass. Barras has, of course, written many other piays, farces, etc., that have been acceptable, but these few rank among his best. Anotiher farce, “Cool as a Cucum- ber,” was exceedingly lunny. Had he notdied so early there is no telling what heights he might have attained. GERTRUDE R. SPELLAN. e e Where a Receipt Was Necessary. When Renaud, the French Senator, came from the Pyrenees to Paris he paid a month’s hotel bill 1n advance. He was a devout veliever. When the proprictor asked him whether ornot he would have areceipt, he replied: “Itis not necessary, sir. God is witnessing the transaction.” ‘W _.th a sneer upon his lips the proorietor asked, “And ao you believe in God?” “‘Certainly, sir; don’t you?” *Indeed I do not.” *“An,”’ said Renaud, ‘“that mekes a difference. You may give me a receipt.”’