The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-21

the last decision for Mr. DAILY, and now
Mr. Brady appeals the case to the
United States supreme court.
The question to be decided is whether
single incident in a dramatic compo-
sition is the production of the dramatic
composition within the meaning of the
copyright law. This law prohibits,
under heavy penalties, the production
of a copyrighted dramatic composition
without the consent Of the copyright
owner Mr.. DAILY, of course, copyright
ed his play, and he claimed that the
incident of the rescue from the bridge
in front of the express train was in
cluded in his copyright.
Mr.. Brady reproduced the scene in
After Dark play entirely different
in every respect except this one Incl
dent from Under the Gas Light" The
question fought in the lower courts was
that the taking of one incident from a
play did not violate the copyright law,
the plays being entirely dissimilar in
every other respect. The final appeal
in the New York state courts. however,
went against Mr. Brady, the court hold
ing that the scenes in both plays were
identical, and that Mr.. Brady erred in
having followed Mr.. Days plan of hav-
ing a second party rescue the hero, as
in 'Under the Gas Light"
Had the second man in After Dark"
stumbled on the railroad track, causing
switch to be turned and sidetracking
the train of cars, and thus rescuing the
hero. it would not have been an in
fringement of the law. But in arrang-
ing it so that the second man rushed
upon the bridge, united the hero and
saved his life from in front of the eX-
press train, just as the second man did
in Under the Gas Light" he violated
the law.
The attorneys for Mr.. Brady claimed,
however, that the railroad scene had
been done before Mr. DAILY produced it
in Under the Gas Light" and that a
single incident did not comprise dra-
matte composition as contemplated
under the law. because the copyright
law distinctly states that the copyright
was for the dramatic composition. j"
and not for incidents, scenes or acts Of
the scenes.
Would I advise a society girl to go
on the stage?' queried Phoebe Davis
of Way Down East the other after
noon in Philadelphia. Then she became
reflective and waxed philosophical
Yes, if she's in earnest And right
here let me say something I've been
aching to say for long time. The
stage for a good many centuries was
considered the hotbed of vice. Actors.
socially, are bad lot, as judged from
the public's standpoint. A woman who
appeared behind the footlights was con-
sidered less than nobody. Until quite
recently the idea was the common one
taken from the standpoint of the
great moral public One should not
judge a class by a few individuals.
There are good men and good women
on the stage, just as there are bad men
and bad women. But then, in this
particular, the stage is not alone. De-
cency is found in every walk of life
even in the humblest. Nastiness is
found in every walk of life-even in
the highest. And that for which we
hunt we find. Another thing: The
average girl who takes up the stage as
a profession may or may not be in
earnest. To many the lights, the life,
the excitement, the applause and the
smell of sweet flowers and the name in
print and the picture Haunted on dead
walls and on fences are alluring To
others an art, sacred as religion; a
voice within that calls and must be
heard; a something that seems cramped
and must be out; an art that is serious
as life itself, and which finds that work,
work, work are the only stepping stones
successward, calls for the devotion of
life. And so once more the stage rubs
elbows with the rest of the world
some play, some work. We take our
choice and pay our money. Work or
ence. The stage, that reflects the
world is precisely like the world in
general"
Miss Loretta Mooney created no pro-
found Impression when she appeared in
the New York music halls In spite of
possessing an authentic and impressive
English title. says the New York Sun.
She was advertised here as Lady Sholto
douglas, and there We're no grounds
for disputing her right to the title.
Inc young woman proved to be good
looking pert and vivacious, with ample
eVldences OF Irish ancestry in her lively
manner and in her looks and as cana
pie as many performers of her kind,
'She soon dropped out of view. how
ever and nothing was heard of her un-
I'll word came that she had made a tri-
umphant entry into English society.
She is said to have been received
with cordiality into her husbands fami-
ly. which. in view of some revelations.
might not be distinction sought by
an American woman, and she is said,
moreover, to have made most favor
able impression on all who have met
her in society. Her looks, her manners
her style of dress. have all been praised
in London, where there is a traditional
association between the women of the
music hall stage and the titled aristoc-
racy. 1t is little difficult however,
Tor any American to sympathize with
this sentiment expressed by one Lon
don weekly journal: She quite con-
firms the accepted truism that Ameri-
can wives of Englishmen are always
charming and very often beautiful"
! saw Charles H. Hoyt yesterday as
he was starting out with his partner.
Frank Mckee, and William H. Currie
to attend the baseball game, says the
Mail and Express. For several months