The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-29
PITTSBURG HAS A CENSOR.
DIRECTOR BROWN EDITED "ZAzA~
AND SCARED ORR MRS. LANGTRY.
He Manages the Police aud Fire Departments
BESIDES Passing upon the Morality Of
Piays-ilis Autocratc Powers Why The
atrical Managers DO Not Protest.

BESIDES Passing Upon the Morality Of
Piays-Ils Autocratic Powers Why The
atrcal Managers DO Not Protest,
Plr1sBuRG. April 2s.-Thr ract ,hut,an Eng.
glsh censor has called for a copy Of "Zaza'
reminds Pittsburg"rs that II was In this city
that Mrs. Leslie Garter first ran up against .
censor and that certain Iarts Of the text Of
her play were Topped of by PlttsburSs censor.
II was fear Of tn. same Pittsburg censor. stirred
up AZ he was by a Baltimore preacher ana the
purity clubs, that caused Mrs. IanLrry to re-
main away from Pittsburg entirely,
httSburg's censor IL J. o, Brown. Director
Of the Department of Public Safety. BY virtue
Of his office he controls the Police, the, Fire, the
Health, and the Building Inspection depart
nents. These various departments are bu.
reaus under tho control Of the Director Of the
Public Safety Department. each having q so
perintcndont, The Director 10 answerable 70
no one. Theoretically he is responsible to the
City Councils, but as he and the Director Of
Public Works, control almost absolutely the
fate OF every Councilman who aspires to q re-
election Their" il none Of them bold enough
TO court political destruction by opposing him.
To be Director means to have an opportunity
10 be a 'irst-class tyranL and that'the incum>
bent resists the temptation is owing To his OWL
49, 800 w. " ''"' ~ ~ bioNNlbboAI
outside influence.
Under the Interpretation which theAlleghemy
county courts have placed upon the police laws
Of the Commonwealth OF Pennsylvania thu
policeman IL all powerful. when acting as the
interpreter and executive, officer of tho law.
and no Pittsburger unwilling 10 risk asore head
would think Of refusing to submit to ares
quietly. be the arresting officer drunk or sober.
One reads that IN New York the desk .sergeano
occasionally exercises discretion and allows
= citizen arrested by a TOO jealous policeman
TO depart. Similar Cnses, are unheard Of hera,
where the theory rclgnstthat the artesting %.
liceman must be sustained. until a formal hear.
ing in The police court hss proved that the pris-
oner Is innocent OF wrongdoing. And in somo
OF the police courts taking back" to q policV.
man has been considered very disorderly con
duct. There is little complaint in PittsbunD
Of unjust arrests. as the policemen compa1O
very favorably with those Of any other cfty
and have not become unduly pufiedtup with tn
undoubted power they possess. All this 4
written simply to show why there was no kich
from the managers Of the theatre which had
booked Mrs. Iangtry's play. The DegsnerateAs
when the Director was called upon to prsveuo
the performance. Had Director Brown ISSUED
al order forbiddns the performance the 40.
tors could have been arrested on the stage
had they persisted An Injunction might
penss and trouble. How the courts look upou
the exercise Of the police power was illustrated
a few years ago. A bus ness man had been
ordered TO remove certain barrels and Other
obetructions that lined the sidewalk in front
OF hts store. lie went INTO court, alleged that
the POLICE had 4 i in" for him. and as proof ad.
duced the fact that merchants on each side Of
him still obstructed the sidewalk. and vet no
was the only victim. The court ruled that 40
St o Whst :, sid ,sW l"' oB BSlSs ssrs e sos i0 be so q.
sidered infractions of the law, in this case tho
police deemed his barrels and boxes obstruo-
slider tina, his n@ghbor's sidewalk litter was
illegal, well, that was not the business Of tho
court. For many weeks the sidewalk in front
Of that one store was unobstructad. but in irons
Of others adjoining The passers-by had to pick
their way.
The play OF -sapho- came. 10 Pittsburs
and went away after a weeks stay without
creating q ripple. Then came the Rev. Wilbur
+. Crafts OF Baltimore and lectllred TO crowded
audiences on the subject Of immoral plays.
Presently Mrs. Leslie Carter came along with
cara. IT. consequence OF Mr., Crafts's leo
lures Director Brown. decided 70 Judge for
pairing to the theatre on the first night with
tated. on the following day he communicated
TO the Ianasemen. suen li h.I az IN ms SapaaGty
eliminated These lines were cut out on the
succeeding nights, but the stage business re-
manned unCensOTfu, DlIfCtOT bTOWH NUS
stesdfastly refused to repeat the lines which
he thought 300 strong II they ought not 10
be uttered in the theatre they should not ap-
pear in the newspapers, he argues.
Encourased by this success, those who are
fighting for purity in the drama, turned their
guns on The Degenerates." A petition. again1
Il was sent to Mayor W. J, Diehl, who has M
power at all and he consulted Director Brown
The latter thought no could not Justly oon-
denim the play until he had witnessed at Least
one performance. The Mayor reasoned that
Mrs. Iangtary had not been permitted 70
give the play in another city and that therefore
the play could not be N for Pittsburg. -Fx-
ac,ly what was done has not been made public
At any rate an announcement was made by tho
management OF the theatre that Mrs. Langtv
would not come and the theatre would be
closed during the week for which she was
booked. By this, decision the manganese
avoided a possible police raid.
theatrical managers have not much % ny
regarding the Plttsburg censorship. -Tha1
will say nothing that might offend the Dtreos
tor Of Prblic Safety so that event they thought
Brown exceeds his rightful powers BY editA0
or sirpressing a play they would not saw 30