Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-03-02
NEW YORK NOTES.
THE WAR ON SALNII NIORSE,s
PASSION PLAY.

NEW YORK, Feb. 2S.-It begins to look YER
much as if Mr.. Salmi Morse would have I
indefinitely abandon the Passion plav. H
has been warned by the police and by tn
I courts, ever since he began, that any ef
fort TO produce the Passion PLAY wOul,
! be considered illegal, and that he would b.
Iorelbly restrained. Hewent before the MAY
OF and was opposed at every move. Their,
was really not shadow of hope for him a
any point in the city government. From tn,
Mayor TO the police patrolman, every one wa.
resolved to stop his play. This was enough tC
irighten almost any man into abandoning the
scheme, but Salmi Morse was so much infatu.
ated with the idea of producing the Passion
ray that nothing could move him from his
He announced two full dress rehearsals and
Doth OF them were stopped by the police Per-
enptorY orders were issued by the heads OF
the Guy departments to STOP any perform
anee at Passion Hall. But still the iDdonnit-
able SalmI Morse went on. He has spent
over Two hundred thousand dollars already
and was perfectly reckless in the use of his
money. Where it all comes from is a deem
mystery. There is certainly an unlimited
supply. One theory is that the money is given
MN Dy the jews, who wish to bring con-
tempt upon the Christian religion and weaken
the cause of Christ by producing this miser-
able travesty upon the life of our Saviour:
oIhers claim that the wealth comes di-
Rome. r.
Morse refuses to disclose the names Of his
packers, but goes on shOveling out the money
HIS extravaganza is beyond all bounds One
little thing will illustrate his utter reckless
ness IN the use OF money. He had ordered two
hundred gas jets made after pattern sug-
gested by some biblical precept, When they
came to hand he found that there was a slight
mistake in the design-there was a leaf too
many on the stem of the lily that surrounded
the gas jet. He had the whole two hundred
nXturos taken to junk shop, and sold at a
miserable sacrifice, and ordered the same
NUMBER again OF a pattern that exactly suited
his critical taste. This was waste of trifle
more than two Thousand dollars, as the trunks
were brass and highly polished with bronze
trimmings. They were to go around the rows
OF the prOscenium arch and all along to the
edge of the gallery, where they would pass
unnotlced even if they could be seen from the
stalls below. Again, for the supernumeraries
ne ordered no less than 400 wigs, ranging in
price from $l6 down to So. The order was so
prepOsterQus that the man who took it insisted
upon half payment before he would 90 to
work. He'said that ordering such expensive
wigs for supers where ordinary flax or tow
would answer the purpose just as well was
nttle short of extravaganza. But Morse
insisted upon having the most eXDen-
SIye , kind, and carried his point Passion
IN which he has already thrown good size
fortune. Thus far the man Morse himself has
escaped personal arrest until on Saturday
night. He has flown in the face of authority
so persistently that they felt it necessary to
make decisive mOYe. On Saturday night he
went to a Judge of the Supreme Court and
asked permission to give full dress rehearsal
OF the play IN the above hall, which he calls
his residence, as he lives over the threatre
He claimed that he had the same right to give
an amateur theatrical performance in his own
house as Wm. III. Vanderbilt or as any other
citizen had Therefore he asked permission
Of the court, but it was peremptorily re-
fused. In the face of this he calmly went
on with his preparation for a full dress re-
fraW9 9fuNa
thousand of the principal citizens OF New
York. The District Attorney, the Recorder
all the Judges of the Supreme Court and of
Ihe Police Courts were especially invited.
Ihey were told to come at O'Clock in the
evening. At O'Clock the actors and chorus
entered, put ON their costumes and arranged
themselves for the first act, which represented
the temple IN Jerusalem, and at a quarter
alters the orchestra began to play. I}y this
time over thousand well dressed men, many
OF whom were among the leading citizens OF
the metropolis, sat impatiently in the audito-
rum waiting for the curtain to rise.
Then Police Captain Williams appeared on
the scene. lie went in at the stage entrance
and Mr.. Morse stepped up to him and grasped
him heartily by the hand. Morse SAID that he
hoped there would be no trouble, and the Cap
tain replied there would be none as he intend
ed to arrest him quietly and take him away
with hlm. "The show must be stopped at all
hazards, T" sad the Captain, ''but as you wish to
test the legal point have no objection to your
ringing up the curtain and starting the play.
viii then publicly arrest you, though none
OF your actors viii be taken into custody. and
you can test the matter in the courts, as be-
lieve that is what you intend to do"
Morse was entirely self-possessed and said
he could not be better pleased if he had
planned the matter himself. Before the play
had proceeded few minutes he submitted to
Capt. Williams and was taken out to the sta
tion house. On the way he was stopped by
crowds of sympathiZing friends and numerous
offers of bail were rendered. He was after
wards discharged in five hundred dollars bail
Capt. Williams says that the charge against
Morse was a violation of the theatrical act in
giving performance without a license. There
was great excitement in Passion Hall when
the arrest was made. The counsel for
Mr.. Morse jumped up on the stage and
ranted at great length about the burning
shame that a man should be arrested while
producing such sacred piece as the
"Passion Play" The lawyer believed they
were not done with the thing yet. That in
the free city of New York Mr.. Morse had
rights as citizen, which the authorities were
bound to respect. While the lawyer was
speaking an old gentleman arose in the
gallery, and after calling for silence, deliver
ed an eloquent speech, in which he said that
he had seen the play in California and was so
impressed by its beauty and charm that he
went to see it three times in succession. Loud
calls were made for the old gentemaDis
name, and he came down on the stage. He
proved to be Charles X. Thorne. Sr, the father
of the late leading man at the Union Square
Theatre. He spoke at great length about the
that he would win yet. | guess that Mr..
Morse will find that fighting public sentiment
in New York Is not so easy as it was in Cali
fornia. The large majority of citizens here
are protesting and believing Christians. and
they will resent any efforts to produce the
Passion Play.
noticed an advertisement in one of the pa
pers to-day on contest of cOlOred beauties
over on the east side of the town. The con
test consists of a lot of big grown women ar
ranged In row and their alleged beauty is to
be voted upon by visitors at ten cents head
The place is a low dive. What attracted nv
attention to it, however, was the fact that
Frank Bush and his speciality company were
advertised as an adjunct to the colored
beauties" Nothing could illustrate better
than this the pass to which variety people have
been reduced. There was a time and
it was not more than five years ago when
half the theatres in the city'were given over
to variety performances. Song and dance men,
ballet singers, acrObats, female athletes and
comedians of all sorts were sure of continually
successful engagements in the best theatres OF
the metropolis. There was a wide demand for
variety talent. Many of the leading people
got salaries as high as 5000 week, and they
were the talk Of the town. 1t was something
to be variety actor then. and the work had
a distinct place in the theatrical affairs of the
day. Bat change came very suddenly.
People began to drop the variety actors
on all sides and they found themselves without
an engagement. They were compelled to go
into the lowest dives. The case of Frank
Bush shows how hard it is for a variety actor
to occupy his time now. They are actually
obliged to play in ten cent museums as side
shows to negresses. When the change came
a few OF the more enterpfising Of these variety
showmen forced themselves up into the legiti-
mate field. Gus Williams for instance. when
he saw the variety stage crumbling under him
left the singing of comic German songs,
had play written for him, and started out
boldly to be a star of 'JOhn Mishler. One of
the Finest" Nat Goodwin did likewise, so did
William Scanlan, George knight, Louis Har-
risOn and Jerry Murphy, but the rest of the
variety actors went steadily down. Now. the
only thoroughly and respectable high priced
variety theatre in New York is Tony Pas
tors. All the others have gone down to the
level Of fifteen or twenty-five cent houses, and
the vast majority of variety actors have gone
down with them.
Society has seldom had such a thorough
going and bona flde sensation as the runaway
match of Miss Kitty Kernochan. Ii is such
rare thing now for a society girl to,run Off and
in the face OF every sort of opposition follow her
own sweet will and marry as her love directs
But the exploit Of this high spirited and indie
pendent young woman has received double
recognition. She married Herbert C.. PeI
because she loved him. There is no
uOuDI ABOUT thdt, because her
fortune is greater than his, and she
had hundreds of chances to marry. She
comes Of what is perhaps the most aristocratic
family in New York. That is though they
are not so well connected and influential a.
the Astors and one or two others. they have
always kept up SO much tone and style that
they nave ranked as the hrst society people Of
the city for years and years. Whatever the
kernOchans did was pronounced ssproperD
Miss Kitty Kernochan was old enough to know
what she was about. She was tWentvfonr
years cid and a girl of vigorous and
healthy imagination; She believed
in marrying for love, and she loved Mr.. PeU
Pell is himself very good match for apy girl
as he was wealthy and of good family. Rnt
Mrs, Kernochan would not consent to her
daughter seeing him. The Young neonle bssd
kind of secret meetings, and for four wears the
youth paid the most devoted attention TO the
maid. In this he was ably supported bv his
uncle, Aif; lorlllard, the great tobacco manu-