Show I W l Music and Madness St Louis Republican Dr William J OSullivan whose name does not indicate he is of Teuton extraction though he has the reputation reputa-tion of being an Insanity expert contributes con-tributes an article to the New York Verdict in which he debates learnedly the question Was Wagner a Musical Lunatic Wagnerians all over the country will naturally feel Interested in CS P tho 1 hM hi nr OSuliivan himself of a melodious race although these views may reflect upon their favorite composerS sanity and incidentally in-cidentally on their own He takes the bread ground that there are all the characteristics of an unbalanced mentality men-tality in the Wagner music that I is not only crazy itself but tends to make lunatics of all who listen to it The expert points out that many persons per-sons who profess to interpret and admire ad-mire Wagner assume lofty airs of musical superiority He infers that this circumstance in itself is an indication He that Whereas of insanity says Yheres there is a brigade of musicians detained in German madhouses every last man I of them when questioned on that point I professed himself a loyal adherent and admirer of Wagner Vager I I would be unnatural to expect members mem-bers of the Wagner cult to agree with Dr OSuliivan I will not be disappointing disappoint-ing if many of them lly Into such print as may be accessible and denounce him and his strictures in harsh language and with heated epithets Those uncultured I uncul-tured folk however who lack the quality qual-ity of mind that enables them t under ytand the music of the Nibetungen i led and Gotterdammerung may not go to the length of declaring openly I that Wagner was crazy and that the I people who admire him are electioneering electioneer-ing for straitjackets but they will smile at the doctors broadly and approvingly a dotors contention To them i comes as a vindication I vin-dication and a species of sweet revenge I re-venge |