The evening world. Newspaper, July 1, 1912, Page 14

SS ~ rs (The New York World, “HowlI Write a Play” Famous Dramatists Tell for the First Time The Methods by Which They Have Won Success | Anan ee ESTABLISHE: | PH PULITZER, anal be ean Pubisuing Company, Nos, 0 Published Datiy Except Gunday bs : at Buwuaning A RALPH PULITZNK, J. ANGUS SHAW, ‘i JOSEPH PULITZER, J ‘ Entered at the Port-Office at Now York as Second-Claes Matter. @ubsorintion Rates to The Fvening| For England and the Continent and ‘World for the United States All Countries in the International Canada, Portal Union. 68 Park Row. Park Row. 63 Park Row. Copyright, 1912, by The Prem Publishing Co, (The New York Worl4). ere 3.—By Eugene Walter ! | , | Author of “The Easiest Way,” &c. IT HE question of how one writes a play appears to me as rather dffioelt VOLUME 5: to answer, because the process of tra ibing the play from the: mind to paper .# ‘so stinple that little inportan-e can be placed on it! Personaliy, I never have written but | One scenario in my Ife—that {s, planned ;out on paper what I Intended to do with the play when it was amplified into an actable evening's entert nt The mere mechani part writ- THE PUBLIC'S TURN. ¢ OR whose benefit docs a city pass ordinances? | i F A Committee of the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York professes to be at this moment probing deeply and with 2 painstaking thoroughness the problem of taxicab fares, New ordi- ing @ play, as far as T am concerned, Vita taation® 1 | j \ does not present great difficulties, I nances are to be passed. “Full justice” is to be done. — ‘ Sj f, think that first one gets the Idea of Justice how measured ? OSE 7 s Pes what one is going to do with a play, ‘ ' ' cis or the theme of a play, and th Before this same committee a few weeks ago the chairman of an 3 or We tiie cS ee time pavses dt takes form, the charac- association of independent taxicab owners, Michael J. Bird, made the terizations come into the mind, the story unfolds itself slowly, and finaily, structures are complete In thelr ele- mental form, and one tackles the job of making the firs transcription of tho play. It 1s so hard to explain one's method ; without appearing grossly egotistical EZUGEVE WAL ‘a that T hesitate to say that before beginning to write a play T have every sttu don in mind, every character a visual, iiving being, and practically all the mechanics worked out in their essence, including all entrances, exits and the like. ‘The next step is to engage an expert rtenographer who is not only thor- oughly famillar with the theatre, but witi my own method of dictation an@ the “kinks” tn my personality, so that he may be in sympathy with me, an@ work fast without interrupting. Plenty to smoke and comparative privasy, coupled with comparative quiet, complete your equipment, and you ge @@ | your Jop. Z | The stenographer brings back the transcription, which may be called, the | fret draft, and then the work of self-annihilation begins. You have probably overwritten everything, repeated situations and points that make your oon- struction faulty, and as you sit before your own work you place yourself In the impersonal attitude of an editor. Perhaps my long experience as reporter and copy reader on a dally newspaper has given me a siight advantage over play- | wrights who have not enjoyed this privilege, because I have had to learn the | trick of putting {n one stick the substance of a story that I have taken @ column to write. | Finally, inserts having been made, it is again turned over to the stenographer statement that there is not a taxicab operated in this city which pro- duces less than 45 per cent. on the owner's investment. | Big taxi companies paying thousands of dollars to hotels for street privileges that actually belong to the city did not agree with this state- ment. It may be interesting to see how its author figures it out. Here, then, is the reasoning of one of the non-privileged, independ- , ent taxical owners: The receipts of a public taricab in New York City will average $8.00 a day for three hundred days in each year, ‘ making $2,400 per annun, The expense of operating a single public taxicab is practi- cally equivalent to the expense of operating a motor veh owned by a private family, The public hackman has his one car, and the cost of maintenance and operation is twice as much for him as for the taxicab companies with a thousand cara, With the public hackman the erpense of operation varies be- cause some of them do not know how to save their cars, just as some farmers do not know enough to keep their plows and mowers under cover in winter, but a very liberal allowance upon cach item will show the following table of expenses to be @ safe maximum to be deducted fram the $2,400 income already - oA TT VER o/h and again edited, and this process continues until you are satisfied that your mentioned before the net profit can be figured: i hy ae i 7 as Hasty, tA. R Gi Breuer peta to te grate tad manager and is dn such @ condition : -) # ‘ $M) ts as to e ac! rehearsals. : For operator, $2.50 per day for 300 day8...........+.6+. $750.00 é r Lah A x 1" f | We hear much about producers, managers and the tike, but after you have (This is nearly 50 per cent. more than one | z KT Se ish Ws yt ‘ written your play you will find, with a few exceptions, that all that many of the of the biggest taricab companies pays its driv- evs. Some of the independants pay their men | so-called producers can give you is a theatre—or, rather, as far as the play is | Concerned, four bare walls and a checkbook, | The average of intelligence among the 1: class of actors and actresses gow $3.00 a day, but those men are 80 few it is not | 1s very low; they ha parce panes acarcel y faculty of perception, wna rad right to use that figure.) | their personalities are so negative that {t takes a superiatively positive element Oil and gasoline, 90 cents per day for $00 day: 270.00 of drama—too often theatricalism—to overcome this handicap. After you have Repairs (excluding possible accidents)..... ; ‘ 100.00 assembled the company, difficulties multiply. Day after day you,strive to get Cig RTS SERRE IR AO AS SE aera vice, tee @ value that you know is tn your play, and finally, when you cannot realize tt, you 4 commence to rewrite. Out comes this speech and out comes that! Situations (Probably no tazicab ever used ten tires in are twisted, and !t has been my observation that fine plays have been ruined oy one year, The eatimate is a generous one.) the utter and incontrovertible incapacity of their casts of players. Garage, $20 per month.. ! . 240.00 | Mind you, ft bd Laval to cant . play Mig able beige but bind cast i | nearly always requires the services of men and women who have worked thetr Contingency (such as accident). vee 100,00 | way Se to Paton of celebrity, and your commercial manager, who wants to (In eu of accident insurance.) make a hundred dollars for one dollar invested, won't allow you to expend the Replacement account . 200,00 | money that auch a cast entalls. (To replace taxicab, which ts “charged off” | Thus, 1f an author who has had some such experience can truly say he te at the rate of 26 per cent. per annum.) | v | able to approximate § per cent. of the value of a play in the average presen- Membership fee in association (telephone and clerk tation, belleve me he is getting more than the average American dramatist gen- Mre, etc.) ...... seevees 60,00 re erally succeeds in securing. (Only members of the independent owners It is hard to say which was “kicked aroun'" most this particular morn- cated in the game of love and golf. She was an expert in both, What chance | Ria get nie SIene wor erien’ doomed ois grows dual 9c; Cone 5 sociation have this expenae.) ing, the little white golf ball or Bob's big red heart. For he was unsophiati| aia the poor youth have? Wa doie TARnl Wits in called! the atame dleestor:. #t howiot possibly a hale down who are worthy of that designation in America, The rest waste their time in Total, expenses .. LALAAAAABIAMISSIGAILIAAABBASBAAB BAB! er ana fuming, dilly-dailying with the iittle things and leaving the big ones Eiepeebeteins Gistpncuns i oheseroe x Pr : 4 e alone, or discrediting their force. They have as much drama in their blood a@ $2,010 from $2,400 leaves a net income of $890 per vehicle. \ I D@ fl ° The Jarrs Sup with the Rich and there ts in a cake of ice. They take out all the real red blood in a play, and tte The average coat of a taxicab ia $800, ¢ a Tw 0) ) author wakes up to find his work justly condemned as inconsequential and talky, Reckoned as percentage, the return is 48.7 4 b T » + Please don’t misunderstand me in one particular. There are many worthy captitar invested 4 Bid ELBE Seat om: ths Great, but They Won't Do It Again. |, crt eee Oh Sanur ban ith c tek oe ey eee a w ono building next to it, with three theatres in a town where there FIAAAAHIAAABBIPPAISSISSAIIBIE IS IA ADA IS chonta iabcag ‘with five companies struggling for public patronage where I\ with the Rangle children this eventing, ; tea, lettuce vandwiches of the emallest | Mrs, Stryver; “all he ia permitted to eat! the: \ T have shown these figures to other taxicab owners and 1, discussed them freely and carefully, In the few instances ' where they were disputed I have known enough about the Jailings or carelessness of the hackmen who criticized the fig- urea to atate the eract reason why he individually failed to meet them, Fully 50 per cent. of the members of the independent taz- ' ica’ owners’ association, on a thirty cent drop, are doing better ft than above stated, should be only two, these worthy people are so widely divided that the 1s mediocrity of interpretation, as well as of stage direction, and a distines and undeniable lowering of standards for the time being, i It 1q Gertrude'’s day out, and if we|Size permitted by law, and strawberries. {1s a graham cracker and a cup of hot go to the Stryvers I won't have to get |The strawberries were ail very fine and water. dinner, and if I did get dinner you'd |large, but they only panned about five} “And the worst of it is,” growled the In learning the business of playwriting, as far as I know it, my experience have to go out to the stores, and if|per person when distributed. host, ‘I'm just dying for a good, thick | has been this: I found that the greatest help was to go to every failure, wateh you did you'd have to wear a coat and| ‘TI don’t belleve in heavy meals this beefstenk with mushrooms and a oup of| it carefully, and see what mistakes were made in that particular play—then try a collar anyway!” hot weather,” said Mrs. Stryver as vhe) good coWee with cream: Doggone these| not to make them myself. Take advantage of the other fellow's experience So as he stood to lose anyway Mr.|passed two centa’ worth of salted al-|&lakshaws! Eh. Jarr?” every chance you get, Was my rule, I made up my mind to follow the rules in Jarr arrayed himself accorling to the |monds to the Jarrs on a hundred-dotlar; Mr, Jarr was about to eay: “Don't| playwriting that had made mo a fairly successful reporter in the West. In other conventions of the middle classes and | solid silver plate. mind me! Bring on the pig eteai!| words, let your curtain go up, hit from the shoulder, get your story ‘planted’? Accompanied Mrs, Jarr to the Stryvers| “I don’t, either,” said Mrs. Jarr; “and} But Mrs. Jarr gave him another kick| as quickly as you can, and then, !f the story is worth anything, it will take care Why, then, in the name of fairness and justice, should the city | for tea, ‘Mr. Jarr is just the same. A little fruit under the table and he said: “Ouch! I|of itself. That is tho basis, the substance of what people prate about under the allow a,few companies rapidly coalescing int Taxicab T; | Copyright, 1912, by The Pres Publishing Co, | The repast was served on the finest |is all he asks.” heey: to ‘be sure!” name of technique, construction and all that nonsense, . i ypidly: escing into a Taxicab Trust to} (Tue New York Work). damask, from cut glass, fine silver and] And she kicked Mr. Jarr, under the| After the Barmectide feast the party charge a rate which amounts to ninety cents a mile, and at the same | CETTE Stryvers want us to come|Aolicate china. But it was a allm meal |table, not to contradict her. (Stiournea to the irary, where Mr. time permit these me companies to buy from hotels at } q | or over to take tea with them | for Mr. Jarr, consisting as it did of iced ‘Mr, Stryver ts on @ diet, too,” said |Stryver proposed poker. But Mra. , si Sompen © buy from hotels at huge fees | this evening,” said Mrs, Jarr, Stryver vetoed this by saying: “No, yotr exclusive privileges of doing business in public streets? when Mr. Jarr had signified he was of-! = always lose! He WILL play for big What right has a hotel to collect money for such privileges? To | Seilally at home by taking off his coat stakes and he never wins!” she added, x " @nd his collar, as well as his hat, for : Jarr, who reganied himeelt as whom do the streets belong? Why, in Heaven’s name, should any-| : Me leary little poker player, would have z k Kon ' iil jon't wi ! sald M to put 0 ort f i body be forced to pay heavy indirect tribute to a hotel for riding in leat seentne ‘wa a Yeatie pa0 hag the] dank roti, fat Mrs. Jarr, Dy adding Wat 8 taxicab in a city thoroughfare ? f e ghe thought “cards were #o stupid,” put The May Manton Fashions UBSIAN dresses, or those thi are made with belted blouses, a1 ceedingly new | sporting page and taking @ seat by the Why should the Aldermen for an i. : the t p | Window, the final quietus on the proposition. Tinw ‘one Iucludeent aii caicastn sand teod in instant allow the continuance |*.weu 1 want to 0," oald Mre. Jerr, | "Oh, by the way, Jane,” said Mr. six-gored skirt thet is of such amazing and impudent extortion and graft? “The Stryvers are good people to be In ‘ | Strrver, “T want you to stgn over those platted at the | ont Can it be true, as this taxicab owner assorts, that |with, ‘They have money and may do panera or me while I think of It, The a Every public hackman knows thia city 4# not governed SOc MIIR FRE HAN MY TEBE @ arnather the farts wt Appearance: of wid erne knows?” ( ?) excuse us oF Dy laws but by opinions. And the decisions of the courts are “know,” “AM — not isn't the question,” remarked Mra. mo uy disregarded and sidetracked when “the intereste at stake go aiviae cons Jo for} Stryver coldly. “You've wasted enough yactieal, 44) antage, ” . . ody | . nis about BEER One demand it.” Mayor Gaynor himself cannot ne 'e to Bnd Ht it 1 baer anrped? | Of tay eanaey, TN not make over an- ti eae nti narra hey ee H resulting from the multitude of jobs bein, ee, | es “YOUR money!” bawled Mr. Stryve teLttea wives nbly. “Well, thav's the way people get ru “Look at the woman! Listen to he: collar and cults eng What is a city ordinance? Ts it over a “job"? rich," remarked Mra, darn, ‘So put on Copyright, 1912, by The Press Publishing Co, (The New York World), ‘Who gave you the money, hey? Why, belt, and. by belts Mar, please. Our Wil- rf Sty ‘ +a “devil,” th mm are Having SUDDer | N “angel” is the woman whom @ man has not yet kissed; a “devil,” the your coat an Me and Kittle you'd be taking In washing to-day if {t/ ‘wasn't that I've made every cent this) on "colored dresses. are 0 Se exccedingly fash- ble. The’ model ; . ‘. fn July 1, 1863, began i | woman whom he has tired of kissing. establishment stands for!’ 00d one, how- y 1, 1863, began the Battle of Gettysburg. | " ‘Where di you get the money to "ine oer ‘au pies ¥ | **By Any Other Name. The average mother's description of her son sometimes makes a girt) Mz! ont Tt, wae -_ Yom tit 3 chambraye, for wing: A POCKET wonder tf just one “redeeming vice” wouldn't make him seem more| tetea Mra strever angrily, t Tinta of ‘imine endurable. Mra. Jarr called Mr. Jarr’s attention “ Sa to the costly of! paintings on the walls, | tiny tata, br Y, CLOP 1A, The secret of Kappiness consists not in getting the rest ur the best in peti an ear open for what was| nied °'with this world, but in making the most and the best of what you get. “Well, you get those papers and you! do as I say!" snarled Mr. Stryver. At ten a boy hates the thought of castor ofl; at fifteen the thought of a pies Men ond 37) need some jeduration; at twenty the thought of work, and at thirty the thought of | vou wilt swing it with somebody matrimony, But sooner or tater he manages to assimilate ali of them, else's cash, then!’ declared Mrs. Stryver, “And you want to look out for the postal authorities, too. If you @et in trouble again, I won't strip my- welf of money to save you as I ald before!” scalloped edges, Bits of ‘handwork are much liked and a ways give a distin tive touch, T 181—Why does a fresh egg feel colder to the tongue, ut the thirk ¢ than docs a stale egg? 182—How high above earth are the clouds? +83—Why ia it dangerous to sit near an open fire in u thunder sto me 184—Why doet rain usually follow a hot epelit 185—Why does greon wood enap lese than dry wood, when During? RSE questions will be answered Wednesday. Friday's querie: 176. (Why do lamb and veal become tainted more quickly than | beef mutton?)—They contain more albumen, Albumen dec aye quickly. 117, (Why are frogs and fish “‘cold-bloded’")--They consume Uttle air. Without plenty of air the process of combusiion is too slow to gen much animal heat. 118. (Why does the rapid inhaling of air make the body fer! warimer?)—More oxygen is thus drawn into the eystem. This causes faster combustion and warms the body, 1i. (Why have outdoor workers a better appetite than those who work at| at deske?)—Glard outdoor work causes quicker breathing. This causes quick com-| “I sh nd, and cults scalloped with whit would be dainty ‘and No ngtter how firmly a woman has hitched her wagon to a etar, she can nearly always be persuaded to unhitch it, and exchange st for a perambulator, Here are replies to | ¢ ma, 4% yards 36 or 8 44 trchos wide with ¥% yard 27 Inches wide “for the collar ana cuts, ‘The pattern 7482 “Who got the dough? I mean, who Denefited by the transactions?” began ‘Mr, Stryver, turning purple and pound- tng on the table—when Mra, Jarr sud-| denly remembered they had to go—"On , Girl’ me, account of the children,” she added| Pattern 7482 Giel'e Costume, 6 to 18 Years, sweetly, As the Jarre came away the most horrible row was going on behind them, “Oh, dear, isn't it terrible people like There is no use trying to interest a girl in a summer resort by painting the beauties of Nature, unless you paint a male, laure in white fannels re where in the foreground, very erate Lovemaking went out of fashion along with wae flowers, photograph albums, hand-painted plaques, blushing and politeness, Call at THE EVENING WORLD MAY MANTON FASHION tow BUREAU, Donald Building, 10 West Thirty-second street (oppo- te tHe Gimbel Bros.), corner Gixth avenue and Thirty-second street, The world is a crystal maze in which every man sees himsel/ glorified, vote as my conscience bustion, and the body calle for more food to servo as fuel. dictates.” magnified and multiplied to the proportions of a crowd. New York, or sent by mail on receipt of ten conte im coin ep! 1, (Why 4 tt ao write with ink on greasy paper?)—Grease will not| “8lnce when has your district re amen for each vastern entered, maix with water & ink and prevente the ink trom being propsriy absorbed | leader changed hie name to Con.| Oéviteation began when men a worshipping evil spirits and come ey trp tiers Ae ata Bre. es eremme ei qeeh ¢*-apme «sina os , sectencer” animes 1 fendiding them, = ae Ban oo oval