abama," "In Mizzoura," "Arizona," and "Colorado," his plays came
from a desire to suit the eccentricities of "stars," like
Lawrence D'Orsey in "The Earl of Pawtucket" and "The Embassy
Ball"--blood-cousins in humour to _Dundreary_--or "On the Quiet" for
the dry unctuousness of William Collier. In these plays, his purpose
was as deep as a sheet of plate glass, as polished on the surface, and
as quick to reflect the rays of smiles.

What one may say of Augustus Thomas with truth is that by temperament
he is American; his dramas have a native atmosphere about them. I have
never read "The Capitol" or "The Hoosier Doctor," but it is easy to
imagine his treatment of such themes. All of his work bears the Thomas
technique. He was more successful than Fitch in dramatization; his
"Colonel Carter of Cartersville," from F. Hopkinson Smith's novel, and
his "Soldiers of Fortune," from Richard Harding Davis's story, were
adequate stage vehicles,--whereas Fitch failed in his handling of
Mrs. Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth" and Alfred Henry Lewis's
"Wolfville Stories." And the reason for Thomas's success is that he
is better equipped for mosaic work in characterization, than for large
sweeps of personality. Not one of his plays contains a dominant figure
worth remembering afterwards for its distinguishing marks. He has
never painted a full portrait; he has only taken snap-shots. His plays
have been written as houses are built. More than likely he approaches
a subject as he approached "Oliver Goldsmith," as "largely a scissors
and paste-pot undertaking." But over it, when finished, there is a
high polish which denotes guaranteed workmanship. That same care
for finish which marks his plays marks his work with the actors, at
rehearsal, who have been selected by him with the unerring eye of the
illustrator.

It is significant that Thomas began his career as page boy in the 41st
Congress; that, after his railroad experience, he studied law; and
that, after his subordinate work with the newspapers, he became editor
and proprietor of the Kansas City _Mirror_. Since the death of Bronson
Howard, he has been regarded as the Dean of playwrights, and once
held the presidency of the Society of American Dramatists. Professor
Brander Matthews, Mr. William Gillette, and he represent the theatre
in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

IN MIZZOURA

_A PLAY IN FOUR ACTS_

By AUGUSTUS THOMAS

REVISED 1916 BY AUGUSTUS THOMAS