THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE ! 1. 1919. 4
The Play's the Thing
A Breezy Review of New York Stage
written Especially for Bee Readers
By ZAYDA OLOVER.
New York, May 31. A new "mat
inee idol" is setting hearts aflutter
here.
A "matinee idol" with whom both
men and women have fallen in love.
This "idol" is not a handsome, ro
mantic actor, as you'd be led to
think.
"This "idol" is a girl a pretty,
wholesome, winsome young girl.
She's not a prodigy, she's not pre
cocious. She's just a clever, un
spoiled maiden of undoubted histri
onic talent, and with a charm in
method and an appeal in manner
mat warms one's heart and electrifies
one's fancy. You feel strangely ele
vated through the sight of her dur
ing one short act the only act in
which she appears. You go away
from the playhouse with the memory
of her sweet face, her dulcet voice
and her plaintive farewell impressed
deeply upon you.
This new "idol?" She's little Helen
Hayes, appearing with William Gil-,-tte
in Barrie's remarkable comedy,
Dear Brutus," at the Empire Thea
ter. She enacts the part of a dream
child in the beautiful, enchanted for
est of might-have-been. She plays
up to Gillette in the role of Mr.
Dearth, the artist, in one of the
sweetest and quaintest scenes the
talented Barrie has ever written for
the stage. Your heart grows warm
at the sight of the wonderful affec
tion between them. You laugh at her
amusing vagaries. And your eyes
moisten when, at the end, she is left
alone in the darkening wood, and
you hear her frightened appeal:
"Come back, come back, daddy t I
don't want to be a might-have-been
1" '
And who is little Helen Hayes?
Well, there isn't so very much to
tell about her, for she is still in her
teens. She comes from Washing
ton, D. C, and her old friends and
neighbors down there call her
Helen Brown, for her real name is
Helen Hayes Brown. Of course,
she dropped the Brown when she
went on the. stage.
And how did she come to go on
the stage?; Now, that is a story.
When Helen was just a wee tot she
had an ingrowing toe, and the doc
tor said that maybe if she danced
a great dea,l she'd get over it. So
her mother' sent her to a dancing
class and little Helen soon became
the teacher's p?t pupil the one
who was always put in the place of
honor on the .program when the
class gave an exhibition.
They used to give those exhibi
tions at the Belasco theater, in
Washington, and Lew Fields, who
was playing at the Balasco, drop
ped in to see one of them. Little
Helen caught his fancy at once, and
he went back and had a talk with
Mrs. Brown.
The next season she made her
debut with Fields in "Old Dutch."
She appeared with Fields, too, in
"The Summer Widowers" and in
"The Never Homes." Then Charles
Frohman gave her the part of the
little girl in "The Prodigal Hus
band," in which John Drew was the
star. Next she played in stock in
Washington for a couple of seasons
and learned a lot, and so was quite
ready to take the job when George
C. Tyler was looking for someone
to play "Pollyanna" in a company
he was sending to the Pacific coast.
The theater-goers of California
and Oregon fell in love with her at
once and wlven the box office state
ments began to come in Mr. Tyler
pricked up his ears and said, "Here's
a find." So he had a contract
drawn up and sent it out to Mrs.
Brown and "tied" up Helen for a
term of years, promising that he
and Klaw and Erlanger would
"star" her just as soon as they could
find the right play.
Early this season Mr. Tylor put
her into "Penrod" at the Globe
theater as the "flapper" sister of the
boy hero of the Tarkington comedy.
That reminded Alf Hayman of her.
Alf Hayman is the managing di
rector of Charles Frohman, Inc., and
he wanted just such a little girl for
"Dear Brutus." He called up Mr.
Tyler and told him so.
"Nothing doin," replied Mr. Tyler.
"I want her myself." Then Hayman,
who is persistent, sent Tyler the
manuscript of "Dear Brutus" to
read.
"You can have her," said Tyler.
"It would be a crime not to let
her play that part."
And so Helen arrived.
"I wish I could go on playing
Margaret with Mr. Gillette forever,"
the girl said the other night. "He's
lots of fun. I was afraid of him at
first, but now I'm not. He lets me
tease him. And isn't it great to be
in a Barrie play? It's clever and
beautiful, isn't it?."
Then Helen was asked if she liked
being a "matinee idol."
"Oh, it's just grand!" said she.
Oh. but can't a woman keep a se
cret though I Mrs. Ottis Skinner had
a signed contract, and promise of ad
vance royalties from Alfred Hay
man, general manager of Charles
Frphman, Inc., before her husband
was aware, that she had even written
a play for him.
Evidently Mrs. Skinner knew just
what her husband ought to have so
she wrote him a play that suited him
right down to the ground and sent
it without any name or address in
evidence to the Globe theater, where
he was playing Captain Brideau in
"The Honor of the Family." Mr.
Skinner read it and hastened to sub
mit the play to Mr. Hayman, with
whom it found instant favor. Mr.
Hayman announced that if the au
thor would come forward a contract
and "advance royalties would be
forthcoming.,
Mrs. Skinner was it. Wirelike she
was afraid to hand it to Mr. Skinner
for fear he would, husbandlike, smile
indulgently and that would be the
end) of the matter which was not
her intention at all.
"But," Mr. Hayman wanted to
know, "when you found out that
Otis liked the play, why didn't you,
tell him you had written it?"
"A woman's reason," replied Mrs.
Skinner. "When he seemed so
pleased with it and talked so much
about it, I lost my nerve com
pletely and I didn't dare tell him I
was the author."
"Dangerous Years," a new three
act play by Edward Locke, has been
accepted by the Messrs. Shubert for
immediate production. Alma Tell
has been placed under contract to
play the leading role.
"Mis' Nelly of N'Orleans" will not
greet New York audiences in her
fascinating way any longer, as Mrs:
Fiske has closed her engagement in
that ' play at ' the Henry Miller
theater. Next season she will tour
in this, her favorite of all" roles.
Because she was born under a
lucky star and had the great fortune
to achieve a remarkable success in
her very first "speaking" part, Con
stance Binney, the young star in "39
East," at the Broadhurst, has of
fered to personally advise all stage
struck girls who write to her ex
plaining their qualifications and am
bitions. All letters addressed to her
at the Broadhurst theater (if the
mail does not swamp her dressing
room) will be carefully read and an
swered by Miss Brriney. After mak
ing the offer Miss Binney comment
ed as follows:
"If I were able to make my way in
the theatrical world without the as
sistance of so-called 'pull," without
the backing of long experience and
without the assistance of anybody
but myself, then surely there are
hundreds perhaps thousands of
other girls with similar ability and
similar desires who, with a little
friendly advice, can repeat the per
formance by stepping from obscur
ity to fame. To all these girls I
offer my counsel and hope that they
will not hestitate in writing to me."
Ancient Chinese Treasures
That Berlin Must Return
Paris, May '31. The threads of
history, running far into the begin
nings of the world, are invisible to
most of the generations who see
nothing but their own problems.
They have a way, however, of ap
pearing now and then with a start
ling reality and guiding contempo
rary affairs. Long before there was
any such thing as modern society,
with all its wars and intrigues, long
before Christ lived, there was an
ancient civilization rich in culture
and invention. That was China
who, with the Chaldeans in the
west, made the first astronomical
observances. They were the first
to attempt to plot the- sky and
they made the first instruments by
which they could read the stars.
At Potsdam today there stand five
bronze treasures of ancient China,
five of the most exquisite examples
of the art and science of Jthe east,
harking back to this, civilization
which had grown old when Euro
pean civilization was just begin
ning. Their surroundings are not
congenial. They seem to dream of
other worlds. And so the threads
of history, tugging, are restoring
them to their ancient seat.
This is what happened:
In 19CK) Baron von Ketteler was
murdered in the Boxer rebellion in
China. The German government,
greatly outraged, demanded repara
tion and indemnity for the insult.
Under the protocol, of 1901 the Ger
man government was given special
privileges in China, some buildings,
wharves and barracks for the muni
tions of warships and several ob
jects of art which they took from
thencient observatory of Peking.
Among these objects were five of
the most beautiful astronomical in
struments ever made. They were
1 wrought in bronze and dated back to
studies made as early as 2000 B. C.
One of these instruments is a large
devine resembling an equilateral
which was constructed in the 13th
century by Ko-Chou-Kung, astron
omer to the emperor of thefrst Tar
tar dynasty and founder of Pekin.
It" was Ko-Chou-Kung who deter
mined with accuracy the obliquity of
the ecliptic and made attempts to
estimate the distance of the sun from
the earth. In this latter calculation
he failed, because he assumed the
earth to be flat.
One of the most ancient chronicles
in existence, the "Tshun-King," re-lates-how
the emperor's two chief
astronomers, Hi and Ho, suffered
death because they neglected to pro
claim the eclipse of October 22, 2137
B. C.
Another instrument is a huge
bronze quadrant, which was sent to
the Emperor Kank Hi by Louis
XIV, and a huge brown . amillary
sphere, of the 17th century
The most beautiful of all, however,
is the celestial globe made of bronze,
seven feet in diameter. It was con
structed in 1647 by one of the Jesuit
missionaries, Pere Verbiest, who had
charge of the observatory of Pekin'
between 1661 and 1721. .
These monuments of the. ancient
glory and scholarship of China were
taken by the Germans who refused
to return them after the looting of
Pekin, when the armies of Germany,
France, Russia, Great Britain and the
United States entered the city to put
it in order. The troops of the dif
ferent nations were commanded by
Field Marshal Count von Waldersee,
who was chosen in defence to the
kaiser.
" The observatory, from which
these instruments were taken 18
years ago, is a massive tower of me
dium height, situated in the south
west corner of the inner city. Its
architecture is of feudal character,
resembling more the old gates of
the fortified city of the middle ages
than a Chinese structure. Here un
der a kind of shed that juts out
from the left of the tower the in
struments were kept.
By some of those mounted on the
ramparts of tfte observatory it ap
pears that the Chinese anticipated
by three centuries many important
inventions. Ever since 611 B. C.
they have had trustworthy come
tary records and very early at
tempts were made to proclaim the
eclipses of the sun.
The Germans took their pick of
the instruments and sent them to
Potsdam, where they were erected
for public inspection and adoration.
i
II
What Will The Harvest Be ?
Watchman What of The Night ?
In one way or another these questions are being are being asked and pondered over by thoughtful men and women, with heads in hands all over
the world. What about capital? What about labor? What about the high cost of living? Are prices to be higher or lower? Volumes might be
written in addition to those already in print about it, and after all, like the Persian Philosopher, we would find ourselves going in at the door that we
came out What we all want, NOW, is plenty of light, and not too much heat.
On Monday, June 2, We will Start a Very Interesting Sale
We received a letter a day or two ago from a Conservative man, who stands high in the Eastern Markets, who represents a large number of respons
ible business institutions scattered throughout the country and in it he wrote : "The New York market is absolutely panicky." Not a panicky condition
which means smashing of the stock market and tumbling of prices helter skelter, but a panic upward, prices soaring, jumping upwards daily and hourly.
Now, how long will it last? Is on everybody's mind, if not on everybody's tongue. Manufacturers, Commission Merchants, Jobbers, say they see no
possibility of lower prices for a year, and some say two.
A few years ago we saw a picture of a Sage looking individual with the words under the picture, "SELL AND REPENT." And this is to be our
motto for this sale.
We ownthe goods much below present market prices and will sell on same basis. You, therefore, have nothing to lose, but everything to gain by
buying NOW! .
36-inch Lonsdale Cambric 29 C
36-inch Lingerie Cloth 2Sc
42-inch Longcloth, Superior JjQ
81-inch Pequot Sheeting,
45x36 Old Coiony Cases, JC
6 Sell tit
72x90 Belfast Sheets," d1 OA
81x90 Belfast" Sheets,' " fl 1 A
each, at J)1.TW
72x99 Rugley Sheets, M fit
each, at Pl.Ud
Basement First
63x99 Pequot Sheets, M 7C 36-inch Fine Nainsook, OOl
each, at pl.liJ at LLZ
100 dozen Wash Cloths, at r 42-inch Longcloth, Q74
Instead of 7 Mi c. Jt at...... UIC
1 00 dozen Bath Towels, at 1 A 81-inch Pepperell Sheeting, TQ
Instead of 25c. 1C at OjC
100 dozen-Ribbed Towels, at OA 42x36 Snowflake Pillow Cases, OP
Instead of 45c. Ljl eacn, at ZDC
100 Instead of sik16 TWelS' at $Q 45x36 Embroidered Cases, d1 JQ
each, at wL4v
400 dozen Huck Towels, red border, nn , ou ,
at ..I 72x99 Belfast Sheets, D1 IQ
Instead of 20c. 15C each' at JlSf
100 dozen Union Towels, white, Of 63x99 Rugby Sheets, frl rr
Instead of 35c. ' LdC each, at pl.JJ
81x99 Rugby Sheets,
each, at
72x99 Rugby Sheets,
each, at
$1.75
$1.85
100 Heavy Crochet Bed Spreads,
at $1.98
37 Whole Piece Fancy White
Waistings and Skirtings,
at 39c
Cannot Replace at These Prices
39c
59c
79c
59c
98c
39c
25c
for Flaxons and Dimities.
Should be 50c:
for Fancy Waistings.
Should be 75c.
for Fancy Waistings.
Should be $1.00.
for Heavy Skirtings.
Should be 75c.
for Heavy Skirtings.
Should be $1.25. .
for Fancy Poplins.
Should be 50c.
for 36-inch Voile.
Should be 35c.
39c
49c
79c
59c
$3.95
(I 4 AT for 12-yard boltiof Nainsook.
37c
for 36-inch Voile.
Should be 50c.
for 45-inch Voile.
Should be 75c.
for 36-inch Irish Poplin.
Should be $1.00.
for 36-inch Mercerized Batiste.
Should be 75c.
for 12-yard bolt of Nainsook.
Should be $4.95.
Should be $5.50.
for 42-inch Longcloth.
Should be 55c.
AC for 42-inch Longcloth.
fWl Should be 65c.
Q AC for Crochet Spreads.
P J.4 0 Instead of $4.50.
These are Scalloped and Cut Corners.
for Satin Spreads, 88x98.
Value $6.50.
Cfi 7 for Satin Spreads, 88x98.
pU.lt) Value $7.50.
for Satin Spreads, 88x98.
Value $8.50.
for Satin Spreads, 88x98.
Value $10.00.
$5.75
$7.75
$8.75
MQ 7C for English Spread.
$10. Id . Value $15.00
These are Satin, 90x100.
AA for English Spread.
.UU Value $17.50.
for English Spread.
Value $22.50.
$15
$20.00
C99 Cft for English Spread.
P.dU Value $25.00.
After this it is likely to be a long,
long time ere you see such values again
And now a little heart-to-heart talk on Linens. Before me as I write lies a letter from a very large firm in Belfast, Ireland. This concern is not only one of the
best known internationally, but they stand at the head of the procession as Flax Spinners Linen Manufacturers Bleachers and Merchants with houses in every
important country. May we give you a few excerpts just to give you the gist of the linen situation? "During the whole of 1918 the use of linen yarns was prohib
ited' by the government except for purposes of national defense. 1917 Crop all used by government. 1918 crop cost much more. All bought by the government.
Total visible supply much below one year's requirements. 95 per cent of spinners signed an agreement not to sell below a certain list price. List price will hold
for some time and even though there should be a reduction then, which seems most improbable, the yarns would have to be delivered, prepared, woven into cloth,
and the cloth then bleached or otherwise finished. Enormously enhanced cost of production, and recent heavy advances in wages will still further materially affect
the situation. Supplies, therefore, at reduced prices cannot possibly be available at the very soonest before the end of 1919. Buyers who hold off expecting lower
prices during 1919 will miss the opportunity of securing from present stocks, and will be forced to buy later at top market value."
At the risk of tiring you we have quoted from this most reliable authority. AND NOW You will be interested in the Special Offerings of Linens, starting
also on Monday. We think it only fair to you to quote the reductions and to inform you that we never mark up to mark down. If able to make such reductions
in a January Sale it would pack the store. We make these prices now rather than put the goods in storage. Reductions apply to cotton, union and all Linen
goods in this offering.
18-inch Mercerized Napkins, d1 OP
from $1.75 per dozen to..J)l.d
18-inch Mercerized Napkins, CC
from $2.00 per. dozen to..pl.OJ
72-inch Mercerized Cloths, AO
from $2.50 each to $1.30
72inch Mercerized Cloths, tfO JC
from $3.50 to pL,lu
72-inch Mercerized Cloths, d0 AC
from $5.00 to ydUJO
72-inch Mercerized Cloths, J AC
from $6.00 to W.VJ
58-incn Mercerized Damask, CQ
from 75 to uV C
64-inch Mercerized Damask, 70
from $1.00 to IVC
72-inch Mercerized Damask, AO
from $1.25 to..... ... VOC
72-inch Mercerized Damask, d1 IP
from $1.50 to 1.13-
72-inch Union Damask, M AO
from $2.50 to pl.90
72-inch Silver Bleached, M 07i
from $2.00 to $1.0 1 2
50c Dresser Scarfs, OA
for OlJC
75c Dresser Scarfs, PA
for JJC
$1.00 Dresser Scarfs, ' 7A
for SIC
$1.25 Dresser Scarfs,
for
$2.50 Dresser Scarfs,
for :
98c
$1.79
Madeira Doilies, Scarfs, Centers,
Cloths, etc., at very low prices.
Scores of items which we haven't
space to enumerate.
And please note the reductions in Odd Cloths and Dropped Patterns, also on a few odd sets, If you look, you will buy.
25 Only Cloths, all linen, 72x90, at
Instead of $10.00.
25 Only Cloths, all linen, 72x198, at
Instead of $12.00.
3 Only Cloths, all linen, 72x108
Instead of $17.00.
$8.75
$13.75
2 OnlyCloths,- all linen, 72x126, at
Instead of $19.50.
2 Only Cloths, all linen, 72x144
Instead of $22.00.
2 Only Cloths, all linen, 81x81, at
Instead of $16.00.
$15.00
$16.75
$12.50
2 Only Cloths, all linen, 90x108, at
Instead of $20.00.
1 Only Cloth, all linen, 90x126, at
Instead of $22.00.
1 Only Cloth, all linen, 90x144, at 1 7 7P
Instead of $24.00. pll.l3
Note the quantities of each and the sizes.
$
3.75
5.75
100 pairs hemstitched
Curtains, 2 y yards, at
- Instead of $2.25.
Marquisette
$1.79
On the third floor in our enlarged Drapery Section.
2,000 yards Checked Marquisette,
50 pairs hemstitched Voile Curtains,
20 yards, at 1 J A
v Instead of $2.00. )1.4v
36 inches, at
Instead of 50c.
39c
100 Rag Rugs, 27x54, at M OA
Instead of $1.75. yxLtU
We Male Shad and Draperies to Order.
At Needlework Section on Monday, also starting at
9 A. M., 100 pairs Fequot Stamped Pillow
Cases, 42x36 and 45x36, at.
lot of Stamped Gowns at 98 value $1.50.
$2.25
A lot of Sealed Packages, containing Tie Racks, Col
lar Bags, Scarfs, Baby Caps, Lunch Sets and Bridge
Sets, to be embroidered; these have a value of 50c
to $1.50; will go, at . . -39 and 98
And now, if you have the time, it won't be amiss to read
this ad through again and pick out just what you need, so that
you can make a bee line in the morning early for this is one
sale where it won't pay to procastinate when these are gone
THERE WILL BE NO MORE.
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