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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1908)
n TTIF, OMATTA SUNDAY BEE: JANUARY 26, 1903. Gossip About Plays, Players and Playhouses MAHA thnater managers made a statement during the twk to the effect that their business la far ahead of their experience of last wason, and that no algn of a falllnc off la noted. Thla Is t.iy enenuralng and ought to Induce tha big magnates of th business In tha fast to let soma of their Idle stars come out this way and get more of the money the Omaha public la willing to pay for being amused. It Is a fact that not a atrlctly first rlaaa attraction has suffered here from lack of attention by the paying folks." One or two of tha minora have gotten off badly, but the good plays and the good players have done good business. The closing of tha Burwood theater Is due' to the fact that Omaha .would not pay a dime for the quality of entertainment served there, while It continues to pay half a dollar for tha vaudeville offered by the Orpheum. The Krug has had tha largest and most profitable season In Its career. These facts ought to appoal to the New York powers that be. Henry Miller, noted actor and success ful manager, la said to have lost his tam per recently In Pittsburg and to have scolded the people of that benighted city roundly because of their lack of apprecia tion of himself, his company and his play. Mr. Miller took particular exception to the utterance of tha critic of one of the local papera and declared with much vehe mence that ho would never appear In Pittsburg again until the offending critic had been- driven from tha city and some one with a truer vision and a more re ceptive mind had been Installed In his plana. Mr. Miller has probably cooled off I thlr time and may not be surprlced to learn that no closing down, of steel ml :ln has followed on him ebullition. It Is much to be regretted, of ourso, that .even a Pittsburg critic, where they are used to the real thing, should suggest that Mr. Miller's present play, which Is the work of Prof. William Vaughan Moody of Chicago university, should lack some of the elements of Interest that are now and then deemed essential to real dramatic worth. Rude minds are not apt to be impressed with the importance of the psoblem discussed. It is for the higher thought, for tha circles of uitra reflned Intellect, where tha natural man haa been sent through such processes that he Is all but sublimated. It is the misfortune of Mr. Miller that those properly attuned natures abound only in the vicinity of "tha great white lane," but It la so. Away from that center of modern thought-r-exempllfled to some ex tent In the Thaw case and the eventu that preceded the episode for which the young man Is now on trial for his II fo mental processes are atlll somewhat elemental, and the play Is likely to be given con sideration under Its first and appropriate title ol "The Sabine Woman," rather than under Its more euphemistic but less de t crlptlve appellation of "The Oreat Di vide." Tho question It asks Is: "Should a woman subsequently love her ravlshert" The Pittsburg critic who has fallen un der the displeasure of Mr. Miller is very likely in a bad way now. Omaha critics recently found themselves In an unexpected position. They were agreed, and without collusion, that a-cer tain play was inane and unworthy the ac tress who was being presented in it. In this they seemingly had the support of a lurge share of the patrons of the theater at which the play was offered, although a good many went to see If the local critics had finally reached a warranted ' conclusion. BjH some there were, who did not agree with tho critics and so expressed themselves. One lady even , went to the extent of inquiring at the box office to secure the address of one of the unfortu nates, declaring her atnjabls Intention of writing to him for the purpose of pointing out that he was very much mistaken In his estimate of tha drama in question. Another very dear friend of the same critic, and one who ought to know, ex pressed, though less vigorously, dissent from his Judgment, and suggested in a subdued and sarcastic way that tha con clusion publicly expressed by the critic had bi-en drawn from the depth of superior wisdom and riper experience. Thus Is the path of the dramatic crltle dally bright ened. He Is the envied of the community, because of the many advantages he has, and his pleasures are multiplied by the reflection that In the publto estimation he Is prejudiced if he roasts a show, and sub sidised If he praises It. It's a gay life. i A. Omaha Is not alone In Its rejection of Ibsen. Kven Mrs. Fiske cannot make the New York public like the great Nor SICK PEOPLE Made Well by Marvel- ous Discovery Prominent Physician . Gives Preacrip ' tiona Free Many lluudreda of People Have Boon Cured. The , Chicago physician who discovered Concentrated LECTO Compound, his basic remedy for the cure of the majority of human ailments, haa now arranged with the distributors of hia miraculous heitllng to enclose in each package a com plete series of his own genuine prescrlp tions, all of which contain LECTO aa tha principle Ingredient. His experiments covering yeara of ac tive practice, have resulted in what la known as the famous 'LectOxPrescrlp tlona," and, up to date, the following dis orders have been so successfully treated, that one can feel positively assured of being promptly cured If directions are faithfully followed. They cover all sorts of stomach and bowel ailments, kidney or hoar.t troubles, blood or skin disorders, malaria und all conditions arising from a dtaordered liver. Tests and experiments are, now being made to find Just the proper elements for the v cure of , colds, coughs, la grippe and lung troubles, but the result of these have not as yet been made publto. The scientific discovery that blood con gestion causes nearly all disease, prompt ed this physician to seek a combination of harmless drugs which would so thortfugn ly stimulate blood circulation that the cause of the disorder would disappear and a permanent cure be effected. How well he has succeeded la shown by the thou sands of sick people who Lave grown well and sfrong after following bis advice. LECTO la not to be taken alone, except In rare Instances. For thla reason, print ed directions will be found on each pack age showing tho sufferer Just what other . Ingredients, and the proportions lit which thty should be mixed with LECTO, for each different ailment. Simply purchase a ouace bottle of Concentrated LECTO Compound, usually sold at drug stores for about fifty cents; after securing tha en closed prescriptions, select the one you need, and ask tha druggist to mix tha other tngtedlents for you separately. This will, be done for a nominal sum. When you ara ready to take tha medicine, mix the two together, and you have a com bination which results have proved to be ' ts most wouderful remedy ever used. m wegian's drama. Bhe was pratd by all the New .York critics and reviewers for her Interpretation of Rebecca West In 'Rosmersholm," and was said to hare won tha triumph of her carenr In the role. Her company was one of the atrongest she has ever headed, and wfth' Bruce Maorae for the leading man and Oeorge Arllsa and others of similar strength, she had all that appears necessary for success, but tha public ' would not attend. Bo Mrs. Fiske cloned her New York engagement last night and will now go on the road again. Her tour will be limited. It is understood, for she will return to New York In the spring In a new play1. It Is something to be regretted locally that the war of the vaudeville magnates came to a conclusion when It did, for otherwise Mrs. Flske and her associate players might have found entrance to Omaha. Here's a chance for some of the prospective lessees of the Bur wood. Speaking of the Burwood, Mr. Albert Morrison has been In Omaha for several days. It was reported that he Intended tak ing over the house and be says he did make some Inquiries as to the terms on which It might he obtained. He was not satisfied with the conditions, and has given up the project for the present season. It Is not Improbable that he will make an effort to secure the Burwood for the season of 1908-09. In the meantime. It Is the Inten tion of Manager Weodward to Install a stock company at the Boyd theater early In the spring, which will run until well Into the summer. It will be so arranged that It. can be kept out .of the way of such standard attractions as may come this way during the spring. The disarrangement of managerial plans by the financial flurry has left the latter end of the winter season at the Boyd a somewhat uncertain quantity, nt It Is known that some of the big things are looking this way. Some of us folks wondered If she ever would when Orace Hayward said she was going to have "Oraustark" presented In New York. Bhe ha. It went on at the Keith & Proctor Harlem Opera House last Monday, and was given a warm reception. MIhs Hayward will now probably reap a little consolation for any disappointment she may have felt when Dick Ferris threw her over for Florence Stone. But, while Miss Hayward is winning real money In New York, the Dick Ferrla company, with Florence Stone at Its head. Is doing all the business at Los Angeles; so they are prob ably happy, at any rate, they have the continent between them. KLLEX TERRY TO PRODUCE PLAY Confident of Scoring In Romantic Drama by Gladys Ungrr. LONDON, Jan. 15. (Special Correspond Music and Musical Notes AST Wednesday a little feast of Italian grand opera waa spread in Omaha. Omaha was not very hungry! Whether this absence Of ap petite was due to the fact that the Italian dishes are not attractive to tha musical palate, or whether the musical people did not care for "Trovatore" and "Lucia," because they had grown tired of them. Is an open question. One of the theater staff said: "It would be Just the same If anything else had been put on, without soma one or other of the big stars." Mrs. Mary Learned,- who ateered this column for some time through the sea of musical comment and criticism, and whose eye Is ever on the musical compass, leaned over to me and said, "I think these two old operas are the causa of the empty seats." I agree with Mrs. Learned If one wants to make a musical attrac tion . a success In this town, he must get the musical people Interested first, and with their enthusiasm kindled, a good start toward a vlarge audience is made. The . trouble with most of these advance men is that they are not here long enough to gel in touch with anything. They come here from New York with certain pre conceived ideas, and they have no grasp of the local situation. In a conversation with the man ahead of tha organization which played here on Wednesday, I ven tured the statement that if that company should present, for Instance, "Otello," which Is In the repertoire of the company, the musical critics would feel an, lrmpulse to urge the people to see the production. Because, first, the people are generally familiar with the play of "Othello" through their reading of Shakespeare, even if they have not seen the drama; and, secondly, because that great musical work has never been presented here. My venturesome remark waa Instantly challenged from, of course, the box office standpoint, inasmuch aa It had always proven that the old 'favorites were the things to conjure with; that is, ts entice tha lurking dollars from the hosiery. Now, this may be true In other places, but It did not work In Omaha. Can one blame the general musical public for not rushing madly to hear the old story of Manrlco and Leonora, and the equally venerable love tale of Edgar and Lucy, sung by an entirely unknown company? The company waa a good one, as was thor oughly ventilated In Thursday's Bee, but who knew of that beforehand? I am speaking now of the "general mu sical public' when I allude to tha excuse for not hearing opera. Of course, where the musical atmosphere Is prevalent, one goes to hear opera, no matter who presents It. It Is heard for Its own sake. It Is deemed necessary that one should hear an opera several times to get anything of its beauty, y Yet we so often hear tha remark, "I heard It once before, and so I did not feel like going to hear the same thing again." Now here are two classes. Take choice. One class says: "Oh, I don't want to near 'Carmen' because I heard It once with Calve. Give us a new work." And the other class says: "I don't want to hear Otello' or any of those new things; give me the old things like Trovatore;' let me hear the 'Miserere' and tha 'Anvil Chorus.1 Now for some Inscrutable reason the om niscient opera manager always caters to the second class above quoted. Perhaps you and I would be sorely disap pointed If a newer work were put on and tha feats were empty. But they could not be much emptier than they were on Wednesday afternoon. Would It have been worse had "Alda" been presented? There la the question. It Is a question, but some day we hope to find a manager with enough sporting blood In his veins to give the "strange" work , a trial. It la odds against him he says. If I had the money I would bet him worth of tickets and take my chances. I believe firmly In the fact that the musical taste and musical appreciation of Omaha, South Omaha. Council Bluffs, Benson, Dundee and sur rounding towns has grown proportionately with other growth, nay more,. I believe that it has grown beyond our most hopeful Idea of It. Omaha people ara not averse to a new thing. Ontaha people are not given over to the Idolatry of the past. Idolatry la a vice. If wa hang on with love and veneration to the "old" opera we will never progress. But my faith la such ence.) If It be true that "keeping evet lasllngly at It brings success,' then the day surely Is coming when fame as a dram atist will be possessed by Miss Oladys lin ger, who was born In Ban Francisco, but has spent most of her not very lengthy existence on this side of the Atlantic. ITp to now. despite many effort, thla Ameri can girl has failed to score a really big bull's-eye such, for example as those that have been "plumped" by another young Anglo-American playwright who Is Identi fied with her native city, Hubert -Henry Davles, who gave us "Cousin Kate.", If Miss Unger has not yet succeeded 'In writing a money-making play, she cannot complain of any difficulty In getting her stags .pieces produced, and by prominent actors, too. For example, her first really serious effort, "Edmund Kean," was put on by Seymour Hicks, her "Mr. Sheridan" was produced by Arthur Bourchler last season, and If one mistakes not, a comedy of hers called "The Gambler was tried at home by Frank Worthing. All these Just failed to "hit It off," however, and up to date the nearest that the young authoress has come to scoring was with a little two act piece called "Tho Lemonade Boy," which seems to have had quite a friendly reception when given In Boston, Mass, about a year ago, and which won decidedly encouraging comments from the London critics when produced by the late Grant Allen's son, 'Jerrard Grant Allen, at the London Criterion. The same manager recently has been touring a melodrama by Miss Unger, called "The Knave of Hearts," in the English provinces, but the piece does not seem to have made sufficiently good to warrant Its production In the .metropolis as was In tended. Far from being discouraged, how ever, the young authoress has spent the last few months In writing a new play, and this has Just been accepted and will be produced In Dublin next month by no less a person than Ellen Terry, who will be supported In It by her American leading man (and husband) James Carew. These two players, who scored so em phatically on both sides of the water In Captain Brassbound s Conversion, are to reappear In the Shaw piece at the King's theater. Hammersmith, on Febru ary ,10 and will then start on tour. Miss Unger a new play, a romantic drama,1 which as yet Is not named finally, Is to see the light In tho Irish capital on Feb ruary 27. S The tfart of its heroine, the famous Elizabeth of York, will, of course, be played by Miss Terry, and, Incidentally, It Is the longest she has ever undertaken. Miss Unger"a story, however, though con cerned with the adventures of historical personages, has only the slightest foundation In fact. The action , takes place during the turbulent period of the that I believe the majority of our people do not worship idols. Omaha Is Omaha and wants what It wants when It wants it, regardless of what other towna or cities may feel about the matter. Then there are a few trains rolling Into Omaha every few minutes, and those trains have borne many thousands of people hither from time to time tb hear musical presentations, and the fact is that we are in the center of a very responsive musical section of the coun try, which has never yet been analyzed or put into statistical form. ' Perhaps I am wrong In saying that the majority do not Indulge In the idolatry of the old things. If so, let me restate the proposition. I believe that there are enough of those who, while respecting the past great works, ara yet anxious to meet the newer 'ones to make It worth while. To be sure, the germ of Idolatry is pre valent, in everything. Who haa said anything better on this Idea than Ralph Waldo Emerson when he gives us these great thoughts: "We cannot part with our friends. We cannot let our angels go. We do not see that they only go out that archangels may come In. We are idolaters of the old." There Is a thought to rivet one. That ts a real live, throbbing Idea. An idea, mark you, not a notion. (I stole that. The Chief Priest told me the other day that most people thought they had -'ideas" when they only had "notions." Isn't It humorously true?) If we refuse to let the angel go, the archangel will never come. If we will have none but Gounod's "Faust," we will never have Wagner's "Lohengrin." If we will not let "Robin Hood" go out, "The Merry Widow" will never come in. f Let us give the angels a chance to rest, while wa welcome some of the archangels. Hear the conclusion of the matter. The Sage speaks again to us: "We linger in the ruins -f the old tent, where once we had bread and shelter and organs, no be lieve that the spirit can feed, cover and nerva ua again. We cannot find aught so dear, so sweet, so graceful." Is not that exactly the attitude which people (let me hope, the minority in mu sical circles) take in reference to hearing anything "new" in music? And, mark you well, while Emerson has brought this home to us In these majestic sentences, the thought Is as old as the ages; it is almost aa old as the "New Thought!" and that Is old enough, isn't It? What else do these words mean ?--"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not," neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in' all his glory was not arrayed like one of these; wherefore. If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today Is, and to morrow Is cast into tha oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" When wa turn our ears away for a mo ment from the old familiar strain, which we heard "in the old tent," we are sur prised to find that other strains come to our ears of much more beauty perchance, and we are fed and covered and clothed again, and wa have lost nothing. Wa hear often quoted the words, "Old songs to sing, old wine to drink, old friends to love." That is all very well. But wa may In this become Idolaters. We don't want old bread to eat, old milk to drink, old stories to tell, old carriages to drive in, old flowers to smell, old houses to live In. Perish the thought. We must be careful how wa lay down our creeds lest we become Idolaters. But note the rest. "But," says our Phil osopher, "we sit and weep In vain. The voice of the Almighty salth, 'Up and on ward fore vet-more.' Wa cannot stay amid the ruins. Neither will we rely on the New: andV so wa walk ever with reverted eyes, like those monsters who look back wards." Who would be a monster looking back wards? Who will refuse tha "New" and untried because it Is new and untried? Wa sit and weep in vain. Tha voice aays "Onward." ' And one day that "old" thing waa "new," And one day that old idol you' worship waa Just the latest thing out. And one day it waa nam to you, brand new. UOMAfl J. KELLY. w!-3 of tha roses, or at tha time when I tba heroine of tha play was Just entering on womanhood. Tha hero Is Henry of Lancaster, which will be played by James Carew, and something ta seen also of tha earl of Warwick and of Richard III. Tha first act Is laid In a blacksmith's forge la Yorkshire and the remaining three In a castle In the . same country, where Elisabeth and Warwick are held prisoners. In a note which I received from Miss Terry yesterday, after falling to catch her at the flat In Chelsea which she and her husband are occupying, she declares that she Is delighted with Miss Unger's play "quite positive of Its success and looking forward with the greatest pleas ure to acting In It" If the act read's ex pectations are realised It will be the biggest kind of a score for the American girl dramatist and one that- she thor oughly deserves for her grit and perse verance. ( - Since "Tha Merry Widows" captured both Europe and America, light operas by Viennese composers have been In great demand, and If present plans are car ried out two of the best recent ones will be on , view shortly at London theaters controlled by George Edwardes, whose chief production, "The Widow" Itself, is confidently expected to run here for an other year, anyhow. The first of these two pieces, "The Dream WalU," already has been described in this correspondence; the second, the rights in which have Just been secured by Edwardes, la "The Dol lar Princess.'" Composed by Heir Fals, It has had an enormous success at the An der Wlen theater, Vienna, none the less perhaps because "The Dollar Princess" of the title is an American girl. She is a dashing millionairess who has engaged an impecunious young nobleman to be her secretary. She find.", however, that he is by no means prepared to fall in with her whims and vagaries; that. In short, she has found a master .where she expected to discover a servant. Of coure she becomes passionately attached to him, while he, although secretly re turning her affection, remains stubbornly cold and phlegmatic. Presently, being led to believe that a rival has appeared In tha field, her sense of injury prompts her to reprisals of the most decisive description. How, In the and, like Katherlne and Petmchla, tha lovers are brought to gether it la needless to reveal. According to existing plans, 'The Dollar Princess" will be put on at the London Gaiety in March, following "The Girls of Gotten' berg." ' HAYDEN CHURCH. Cosiisg Events. "The Red Mill," the comic opera by Henry Blossom and Victor Herbert, pre sented by Charles Dillingham's company, will be given at the Boyd theater Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, in the same complete manner as during Its all-year run at the Knickerbocker theater, New York City, where the Innumerable features of the es cape from the mill, the Dutch kiddles, the Broadway soubrettes, the Fifth avenue girls, tha boxing dance, the motor beauties, the Bowery belles and the no end of Victor Herbert brilliant and popular music, will all form an entertainment of refreshing refinement and good cheer, with all the requisites of an unusually clever perform ance. "The Land of Nod," accompanied by an unusually large bevy of chorus girls and catchy. Jingling songs, is what the Boyd theater offers next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and Saturday matinee. Among the least of tha things that can be said of "Tha Land of Nod' is that it haa stood the test of time. In the cast this season ara all of the old favorites, including Knox Wilson, as April Fool; Ursula March, aa the Chorus Girl; William Friend, Grace Drew, Lawrence Coever, Luella Drew, Wil liam E. Morgan and William Struns. Tho production Is characterised as having an unusually large and beautiful chorus and Includes the famous Madcap ballet. The advance sale of seats will open Tuesday. "Coming Thro" the" Rye" occurs at the Boyd theater next Sunday, Monday, Tues day and Wednesday. The comedy element of "Coming Thro" the Rye," while farcical to some extent, la at the same time thor oughly clean and wholesome. It tells n story which is sufficiently connected t keep interest alive and Its Incidents ami situations are uproariously humorous. The musical score contains many delightful numbers. Since "Coming Thro' the Rye" was last seen in this city It has undergone a process of remodelling, especially as to Its musical features. The cast Is headed, as formerly, by Mr. Frank Lalor, a capable and thoroughly enjoyable comedian. The important changes which have been madu in the cast include Miss Sallle Stembler, a comedienne of fine capabilities; Miss Dorothy Brenner, a petite Ingenue who plays the part of Bossie, the girl with the white horse; Miss Eveleen Dunmore, a vocalist who has won distinction; Mr. Sid ney Toler, who, will be seen as the artist, Van Dyck Browne; Mr. Fred L. Tlden, who plays Lord Battersbee, and Mr. Vincent MacCarthy, who impersonates Spayce, Mrs. Kobb's press agent. A young bride's struggles In a sea of doubt against tha suspicions of an uncom promising husband and the persecutions of relentless enemies ts what forms ' the foundation of the emotional drama, "A Wife's Secret," which Spencer and Aborn have been presenting for over three years with splendid success,' and which will be seen at the Krug for four days, starting with a matinee today. It haa many Inter esting characters, portrayed by a carefully selected cast of melodramatic favorites, and tire aeenlo equipment is on the same pretentious scale as the last three seasons. At the. Krug theater for three days, starting Thursday, will be presented by A H. Woods his newest melodramatic pro duction entitled "Convict 99," described a the epitome of modem sensation plays In four, acts and thirteen scenic settings. The story unfolds Itself In New York City and Its vicinity and deals with the startling episodes which occur In the life of a manly young National Guardsman, named Dick Thurston, who Is accused of a brutal murder, convicted on circumstantial evi dence and sentenced to the electric chair, through the fiendish machinations of a villain, who holds the high position of first assistant district attorney and who ts himself guilty of the crime. A chance of escape comes to Dick and he Is enabled to hide himself in a ruined mill until such a time as he can make his way to New York, where he goel with the assistance of his faithful sweetheart, Alice Brad stone. The more gruesome portions of the play are offset1 by a number of splendid comedy situations In which figure several extremely humorous characters. The LaScala sextet from the LaScala theater, Milan, Italy, rendering gems Inm grand opera, will constitute the hea iline attraction for the ensuing week at the Orpheum. They will sing selections from "Cavallerla Rustlcana," "II Trovatore, "Pagllacl," "Regoletto" and "Lucia ,dl Lammermoor." Edwin Stevens, who when here last was seen in his Dickens char acters, and company will be seen In a new one-act comedy entitled "A Night Off" that Is ssld to be brimful of witticism and humor. Viola Gillette, tha pralty and striking blonde, who was seen here as star of "The Girl and the Bandit"', company, and George Macfarlah, leading man of the same organisation, will offer a mirthful and melodious turn called "A Bunch- of Musical Nonsense." Olympla Desval and her performing horsek, brought from Parts as a feature act at the New York Hippo drome, is among the Initial presentations. Ida O'Day, the girl with the banjo, will revive memories of the vernal time with songs of childhood and do somo Imitations. To their original wire stunts the three Meers add a brand of their own unique fun making. The I'rma sisters are shapely and graceful aerial performers, their spe cialty being the trapeze and a series of new motion pictures will be projected by the ktnodrome. STRANGE STORY OF LEAP YEAR All Sorts of Qserr Thlnars Done, to feumnry First at Very ft End of lear. The nay In which the months jvhlch form our year haye been shaJ?pn up and juggled around, pared down here and padded outf there makes a mighty Interesting story. The first' European division of the' year that we know anything about had only ten 'months and 3n4 days. This was the In vention of Romulus, who must have had a lovely time patching up things so as to come out even. They evidently did get Into a pretty bad mess, for Numa Pomplllus, the second king of Rome, had to add two whole months, January and February. January, named after Janus, the god who presided over the beginning of the year, was made the first of the twelve months. February, from a Latin word meaning to expiate", was clapped onto the end, that being considered the appropriate period for repentance. It stayed there for 200 years before It finally got Itself promoted to second place. And it has somehow always been February which was tackled first If anybody wanted to do anything to the cal endar. Even with Numa's twelve months the year hod only 354 days. The trouble was that the ancients had a very great regard for the moon and were trying to make the months follow exactly the moon's revolu tions. The result waa that the year was eleven days too short and the seasons were climbing over themselves In the most con fusing fashion. j Something had to be done and of course February was chosen as the month to be . tinkered with. The change was so clumsy that one wonders how anybody could man age dates at all under such a system. Every alternate year a whole month waa donated to the year but for some reason, Instead of putting It between two months It waa thrust squarely Into February, be tween the 24th and the 25th of that long suffering month. The length of this Inter calate months, as it was called, waa It self alternated every alternate year, and so the length of the year was made pretly nearly correct. e It was now one day too long, however. Instead of being ten days too short, so that still another clumsy device nad to be arranged for correcting this. The year was of different lengths at different times, but once in twenty-four years it came around to the right point and then started all over again. That is, it would have come around all right if it had been let alone. But the management of the calendar was in the hands of the priests, who could .alter the length of the Intercalary mouth poor Febuuary again! to suit themselves. These shrewd gentlemen, therefore, used to spin out the month when they wanted to hang onto an office for themselves or friends, or would cut it short If they were In a hurry for the annual elections. As may well be believed, the common people had no 'comprehension of the right way of running their complicated cal endar. They didn't know whether the priests were doing the thing properly or not; so it was confusion worse con founded aa time went on, until in Julius Caesar's time the year waa hopelessly muddled up. The winter months were in the autumn, the autumn months in tho summer, and so on. Something had to be done again, and ?aesar was equal to the occasion. . He .tanked in two- extra months between Vovember and December, in addition to the intercalary month in February; so that the year contained fifteen months and 446 days. This waa 46 B. C. and Is 1 known in history as the year of confu sion. , It really waa the last year of confusion, it cancelled all past errors, and the next thing was to make subsequent years the proper length. ' Fortunately there was a philosopher of Alexandria, named Boslgenes, who had thethlng all worked out. Caesar adopted his plan, and the result Is our modern year, even to the occasional leap year. But poor old February still had to como In for some tinkering. Caesar decreed that the months of the year should be of thirty and thirty-one days alternately, ex cept February, which In ordinary year was to have twenty-eight days, with an extra day for every four years. The only foolish thing about this arrangement was that the extra day was not placed at the end of the month, as at present, but be tween the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth, where the Intercalary month had been. It was Caesar therefore who Introduced leap year. In order that the name of Julius Caesar might forever be associ ated with this new calender a month, the one In which his birthday occurred, was named after him. It ,1s our July, formerly known as Qulntllls. This waa a very proper recog nition of Julius Caesar's services, but It contained the seed of - more trouble fur February. When Julius died and Augustus suc ceeded him the latter was rather jealous because of that month which perpetuated the first Caesar's name. He decided JO have one named after him, too, so when Can J. D- Rockefeller's Income per Minute Compare With This Composer's Earnings? For Just a few short hours a month ago, a young man of Detroit could fclt back In his easy chair and congratulate him self upon being the highest paid Indi vidual In thla country, If not the world. He has jual received from Jerome 11. Remlck & Co., a f.p.000 check in exchange for the manuscript and publishing rlfhH of a new aong, now familiar to evtryciu.-, CHORUS Swcrt-krart days, swtH-arart days, entitled "Sweetheart Days." J. Arton Dalley is the name of this fortunate com poser and he explains that within five hours from tho time he fimt conceived the tune of this song, he had put it in shape for the printer and sold his work to the publishing house mentioned. At this rata his remuneration figures down to the sum of It. 64 pr minute, and while )5,009 la a big prlca to pay these Bays lor BO YO'S theatre TONIGHT. MON., TUES. : Special Tuesday Matinee diaries DUlinfllinm's Production of New York's iHggest Musical Success THEKEE'EiiaflLL Thurs., Friday, Sat. :: Sat. Matinss THE RORK COMPANY'S Mammoth Extravaganza Production llCIE LA ft SO COMEDIANS, SINGERS, DANCERS AN AMAZING EQUIPMENT OF SCENERY Sunday - Mon. - Tucs. - Wed. Feb. 2 to 5 Special Sunday Matinee Regular Wednesday Matinee" THE GREATEST OF ML THE BIG MUSICAL COMEDY SUCCESSES THE RORK COMPANY'S SUPERB PRODUCTI.ON By CEO. V. HO BART and BALDWIN A. SLOANE FRANK LALOR oV..'ttS: "Nott, The Tailor' Friday, Saturday, Feb. 7-8 Matinee Saturday RICHARD CARLE ST,Jtie Spring Chicken 50 OP THE MOST DU9BE9EI his army won some victories In the month following July he picked that one out to be called Augustus. That waa all right as far as It went, but there was une serious drawback. Augus tus had only thirty days, while Julius had thirty-one. Horrid thought! Augustus was not the man to. put up with a smaller month than anybody else, so he calmly tacked another day onto August. The wonder Is that he did not tack on two so aa to be not merely equal to but ahead of July. He made trouble enough aa It waa. The length of each of the last four months had to be changed so that they would alternate In their number of days. And aa he hud added a day to the year, one had to be lopped off somewhere. Needless to say. It came off February. The year was now of the right length except for a fraction of an hour; but this slight error, only 11 minutes and . 10 seconds a year, was allowed to grow until 16S2 It amounted to ten days. In that year Gregory XIII decreed that October 6 should be October 15, thus catching up those ten lost days. , Some countries, however, stuck to the old dates. Russia still holds to the old style, and In some places In Great Britain certain term are regulated by it, al though the new style waa adopted In Eng land In tha seventeenth century. The British people thought they were being robbed of something when .he change was made and crowds of them paraded with the demand: "Give us back our eleven days," For by this time the difference had increased another day. Having corrected past errors ' Gregory de cided to keep things straight In future, so he decreed that only those century years which are divisible by 90 should be, leap years. For Instance, 1600 and 20u0 would be leap years, but 1700, 1AO0 and 1900 would not be. That makes things come out iso exactly that now there will be a difference of only one day In 3,900 years. It Is proposed, therefore, to make the year 4000, which would be a leap year, a common year, and then we will be all right again for another 4,000 years. - v Just why leap year received that name Is not quite clear. That It dates back a long way Is certain; for It Is found to have been In vogue In the Middle Ages. Some authors say that la. It because the days following the Z!lth of February leap a day beyond where they would have been had the year been an ordinary one. For In stance, If the 1st of March would have come on Tuesday leap year puta It on Wednes day Instead. Another reason Is that In England for merly the 29th and 28th of February were one In the eye of the law. The 28th, as th6 regular day, waa considered that one; and the 29th, though civilly held as a day, was not one legally. So that the legal year did really lea; .hat day. One name for It Is bissextile year, a name which goes back to old Roman times for Its origin. At that time the days were counted backward from the beginning of the next month. The th of February was the sixth before the kalends of March sextus and Kalendus Manias. The additional tiny that Cajtsar put In between the 24th and 25th waa called blum-xtum, and so the ear came to be known as the bissextile year. A Ntrong Defense. The colonel n' ti e H 'ac'klng party faced the commander-in-chief. "Geneiai," he Holly cried, "I wish you would call up the peace conference at once. The conduct of the enemy Is a disgrace to civilized - warfare. I simply can't get my veterans to meet them at close quarters." "What seems to be the trouble, colonel?" the chief inquired. "W hy, half the men of their line of de fense have been eating pTGiiic inj the other half limburger." Cleveland Pla'n Dealer. a song, It looks as If the Remlck concern had struck a rich bargain. In an Incredi bly short time "Sweethear Duys" has al most entirely superseded all other baliads. There Is somt thing irresistible about the song and Its popularity has spread like wlldflower from one town to another. Music houses and department Htoru tre crying for "more" from the publisher. "Sweetheart Days" Is a sentimental bal- Svwt - cst f all t iwfrt.hr art djyi. lad with melody that charms ine scn-ft.-of hearing and verses that compel h' art Interest. The old, old story of- love lias never before been told In such an repeal ing way. All the world t.iktl to hucIi a song; "Sweetheart Days" Is the popular theme. Surely every lover of music will not fall to secure a copy of this great new ballad, even more fasclaatlng than "DreauUug," by the same writer. aMI'SKMKm OF III I lira the we si BEAUTIFUL SINGERS 'Phone Douglas 434, ADVANCED VAUDEVILLE Mat. Every Oaf 2:15, Ever Night 8:15 Week Starting Mat. Today LA SCALA SEXTETTE Singing Grand Opera Gems EDWI1I STEVENS & CO. Presenting "A Night Out." VIOLA OSOBOS Gillette & ..lacFsrlane Late Stars of "The Girl and the Bandit" Co. OLYMPIA DESVALl I Introducing Her Trained Horses and ' Dogs. IDA O'DAY The Dainty Music Maid. 3--MEERS--3 European Comedy Wire Performers 3-URMA S1STERS-3 Sensational Trapeze Artists. K1H3DR0ME Always Newest In Motion Pictures. FKICZS lOo, 860. 60c KDIIfJ THEATER I.IIUU 15-25-50-75C Matinee Today, 10-96-60 4DMV,r'Wv-:.Td,:yo matinee today SI'ENCKK & AIJOKX PHEKENT THE GREAT EMOTIONAL DRAMA A WIFE'S SECRET Splendid Melodramatic Oat. ISiK k'enic I'rodurtlon. 3 DAYS STARTING Tl.nr Ian ID Matinee fcaturdsy ,nUr " U A. H. WOODS OFFE11S the Newest Sensational Melodrama Convict 999 liy OWEN DAVIS. I 4 Arts and 15 Scenes. The Play that Teaches a Moral. The Play You Cannot Afford to Mius. Next Sunday Tillia Olsen The Boyd Theater School ol Acting (A practical training echoo v for dramat c and operatic stage) Fcurtti Season Now Open btudenU' Matioea Kniaemenls, LILLIAN FITCH. Director W. J. BURGESS. Manage) AT f HS FINEST m CITY Big Goos3 Dinner Suadaj Excelsior Cafo 1 204 Farnarr. Q-L
