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Part Taken by Women in American History


Another talented writer of plays is Rida Johnson Young, who in five years has successfully produced "Brown of Harvard," 'The Boys of Company B," "Glorious Betsey," "The Lottery Man," as well as two plays for Chauncey Olcott. One of the New York successes, "Naughty Marietta," was written by her, Victor Herbert writing the music. Mrs. Young is the wife of Mr. James Young, leading man, who has appeared with E. H. Sothern. He was formerly a newspaper man on the staff of a daily newspaper of Baltimore, Md. Mrs. Young before her marriage was Rida Johnson.

Lottie Blair Parker is another successful professional woman, whose husband, Harry Doel Parker, attends entirely to the production and the leasing of her plays. "Way Down East," written in 1897, is still being played throughout the country. "Under Southern Skies" is another one from her pen. Among others by this same author are "A War Correspondent," "The Lights of Home," a dramatization of "The Redemption of David Corson," a number of one-act plays, and a novel entitled "Homespun."

Miss Alice Ives, the author of "The Village Postmaster," has done every phase of literary work, art criticisms, music notes, deep articles for the Forum and similar magazines, as well as some light verse. She has written ten plays. "The Village Postmaster" was on the road for ten successive seasons. Miss Ives wrote a clever one-act play, a satire on women's clubs, introducing all the famous women characters of popular plays. She is the first vice-president of the Society of Women Dramatists, to which all these playwrights belong.

The pioneer playwright of her sex is Miss Martha Morton. Some dozen years ago, the New York World offered prizes for the cleverest scenarios to be submitted under assumed names. It was a general surprise when a woman secured one of the prizes. This successful person was Miss Morton. Some of the