The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-27
AMERICAN MEMS WIVES.
Bronson Howard Discusses English
and American Domestic Morals.


Bronson Howard, the distinguished
dramatist, now in Europe, writes to a
friend in Detroit:
Mrs. Howard and 1 are now down
at celebrated watering place on the
south coast of England, with hazy in
tentions. Whether we shall continue
along the coast-wonderfully mild in
winter-or go over to southern France
Nice and the Riviera-we do not yet
guess. My bicycle is also with me, and
| have got few hundred miles out of
| it since coming over.
| II did not see much in London in
dramatic way. Mrs. Tanqueray' is
greatly acted at the st. James theatre,
and great play, very great, it seems
to me; and over here, where rich men
and noblemen are constantly marrying
women like Paula, it seems a worthy
reflection, in the dramatic mirror, of
actual life. In America the social
evil has never had this development
and there seems to be no use for the
play, except, of course, as a great
work of art. l notice that Mrs Ken
dal makes the usual English mistake
! in discussing this subject She i'm
AGNES that America, being a new
country, is simply following in the
footsteps Of England and must go
| through all she has gone through, in
spite of the differences of our origin
and the new nineteenth century cir
cumstances under which we are de-
Veloping. The truth is that so far as
this half world business of Europe is
concerned there is no evidence that we
are drifting in that direction The
sensitive feelings of our men where
their wives are concerned-their al
most fierce inSiStence on absolute re-
spect from each other in these rela-
tions-prevents all the mixing up of
questionable women in society that
goes on here. / have not seen the
slightest tendency to a change for the
worse in this regard among Americans
even with the extension of vice among
rich men and their sons. In no re-
spect do we more radically differ from
Europe, and this difference is as
strongly marked today as ever.
Charles Wyndham's play, 1.-THE
Bauble Shop" by Henry Arthur Jones'
is curious Illustration of the differ
ence between England and America in
this matter of vice in the very opposite
direction. 1t shows the prime minister
of England actually baited by his
political enemies and driven from
home on account of his secrect personal
IimmOrality-Or rather supposed immo-
rality. Imagine the politics of our
lCWo great parties turning on such
question: In this play a member of
parliament actually rises in the house
and charges the prime minister with
visiting a young girl, on the evidence
of detectives placed on his track. A
man who should attempt such thing
! at Washington would need a suit of
armor to protect himself from the
jeers of his own party; and he would
need heavy plating to get up the aisle
of the House OF Representatives. Yet
this phase of public morality in
politics is not regarded as unnatural
here; and the play is admirably writ
ten and most interesting. 1 only hope
our American public will understand
that this is a real living possibility in
English politics. If so, they will enjoy
the play and be interested in it. The
first two acts of it are of great dra-
matte interest anywhere in the world"
Detroit Free Press.