Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-09-11
FREE SILVER DRAMA.
"rHE SILVER LINING" PRODUCED IN
CHICAGO.

A Play Suggested by "Coin's" Book and
Presenting . Dramstixed Argument For
Free Coinage - Political AIiegory.
Thread OF the Story.
"The Silver Lining" IL dramatized
argument In favor OF free silver.
IL was played at tho Chicago Opera
House for the first time tho other evening
TO largo audience, which was evidently
In hearty sympathy with the doctrine
which saturates every sceno and almost
every incident OF tho four act play. At
least once every flvo minutes during the
play the characters como around TO tho
silver question and make speeches on bi-
,metallisfn, demonetlzation, the curse of
Wall street and tho persecution of tho
farmer. Under any but extraordinary con-
ditions such play could not fail 10 bo
tiresome to the auditors. With housoful
Of free silver people such play might be
q real hlt and certainly there were plenty
1f people at the Chicago Opera House who
abplauded until they were tired and then
departed In glow over their aroused be-
iief.
"The Silver Lining" is quite unlike any
play that has boen presented In Chicago
for many years. The boyish appearing
&uthpr appeared before tho curtain and de-
!olared that the stage should be force in
education, the same as the newspaper, the
novel OF the pulpit. In his play he has
not masked the educational intent.
Tho play deals with the present time.
An Illinois farmer mortgaged his farm at
\ time when he mas getting good prices
l0r his crops Prices fall, and he is unable
% mset his debts. His son, q young man
.Q progressive ideas, radical, hos political
ambitions. This son loves the bankers
tdaughter. The rival is Wall street nnan-
''Oler who is In Illinois promoting railway
scheme. The farmer and his son are for
tiine crushed by the money power, and the
manner of their crushing Is supposed to
,Npresent the working Of the gold influ-
Iepoe In everyday life. There s q love
ttory, q thread Of domestic villainy, q
tprinkling of comedy incidents, but all
are subsidiary to the main argument Of the
play. Evidently the author has brought
into his play all the parties to tho silver
controversy and turned them loose at one
Another, with results which arc startling
10 the average playgoer. In the exuber-
anoe OF his educational intent he has
brought in some problems--the woman
problem, tho sex problem, the strike prob
lem, the unbridled newspaper press prob
lem and other problems-on each of which
ono or more characters are permitted to
make speeches.
Fitzgerald Murphy, tho author, has GER
tainly displayed an ingenious ability In
dramatixing the free silver argument. HIS
play Is not taken to be anything else 1t
is certainly not picture of Illinois rural
life, although the pictures are adequate SO
Tar as nero scenery Is concerned. In real
life mon and women do not spend all their
time on political discussions. When q
young man meets young woman, be does
not Immediately begin to prove TO her
that national bimetalliSm is the only hope
OF tho section hands who arc out on a
strike The tramp who drifts into farm
bouse does not Immediately enter into
learned and eloquent discourse on the
primary cause of tho depression In the la
Dor market.
Mr.. Murphy's play Is really an alle-
CORY. The young lawyer represents the
radical beliefs of the day. He Is the free
silver argument personifled from the au-
thor's standpoint. The local banker rep
resents the conservative business element.
The railroad promoter is Wall street-and
Wall street Is an utter villain In this play.
When the tramp speaks, 1t Is tho voice of
speak for labor and a newspaper man to
offer excuses for the conduct Of the press.
No time is lost in preliminaries. It Is ar
gumont, rebuttal, denunciation and de-
fense from start to finish, with free silver
getting tho best of 1t and tho advocate of
free silver demonstrating that unpaid
mortgages, starving families strikes, poor
prices for wheat and high prices for loans
are all TO bo directly traced to tho "crime
of 1873"
In tho evolution of tho argument there
are some dramatic scenes and climaxes,
but even these have the silver speeches in
them. Notwithstanding tho constant re-
currence to arguments, tho play tells a
story in which there might be more of hu-
man interest IL the characters were not
kept busy saying the things that are to be
said on tho different sides Of tho silver
problem Evidently tho house wanted
them to say these things, for they applaud
ed every ten strike Of argument. Occa-
sionally there was q hiss from some angry
unbeliever but IL was lost In tho applause
OF the other side. Hard raps were admin
istered TO Wall street bankers, plutocrats,
conservatives, mortgage sharks and the
others, but the house couldn' 9 get too much
. of it.
When tho author came before the curtain
to make speech, ne said that the idea Of
the play came to him after reading "Coin's
Financial SCHOOL, and others Of Mr.. Har-
vey's books. Mr.. Harvey was evidently
Interested In tho production OF the f1rst
"Coin" drama, for no occupied one Of tho
right hand boxes and applauded frequent
ly. Speaking of the demonstration Of
silver In 1878, tho author of the play turn
ed to Mr. Harvey and asked him II certain
statistics wcro not accurate
Harvey arose and said, Eyes, your fig
ures are corgoct. Chicago Record.
An Ode to tho Mouth