The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-24

end or Dotn the second anu tnTu dcss, and at the conclusion of the latter the audience would not let Mir. Kyle on un- til he had made speech, which the actor did in a most happy manner. appeal to every true American. It stirs the heart, and kindles the fires of pa- triotism in the heart. And the audience at the Academy last night respondeo most nobly to every call upon their pa triotism. MT. Kyle gave manly, earn. est, and altogether convincing portrayal of the, patriot spy, who sacrificed his dlIe for the cause of his countrymen. Miss Fiorerice Smyth gave to her impersona. ton of Alice Adams, the schoolgirl sweetheart of Nathan Hale all the charm and unconscious grace of youth; which real! and she readily won the sympathy of her audience in her most trying scenes
 anoed, and the entire production was a most creditable one. and was received with every manifestation of hearty ap- proval by quite large audience"
 Braunig Company at McDonald's.
 Referring to the Braunig Stock Com pany, which comes to McDonald's Thea tre for the entire week. The Atlanta Journal of recent date says:
 The Braunig Stock Company opened weeks engagement last night at the Co., lumbia to one of the largest audiences of the season. The company made good from the start and the large audience settled down to see pleasing perform ance, and it was not disappointed, for the entertainment offered by the Braunig Company compares most favorably with the best seen here this season. Bert Gagnon as Ned Keene, Miss Pollock as Florence Glenwood. and the other mem- bers of the company in their respective roles deserve mention. and the perform ance throughout went with that smooth ness and vim that denotes clever people well rehearsed.
 ''The speciaIties introduced between acts were of a high order of excellence plause. George Evers gave neat sing ing and dancing act. Bert Gagnon and Edith Pollock were seen in clever sketch that was so we'll liked as to re- ceive two curtain calls. The illustrated songs of Gagnon were among the most enjoyable features of the performance. The specially of the tramp and the sou brette was good
 Howard Kyle Defends Stage. Howard Kyle has been defending the stage from an onslaught made upon 1t 1 by Baptist minister of Savannah. Ga. | The Savannah News of last Tuesday tells about the speech made by MT. Kyle as | follows:
 Howard Kyle's speech in defense of the. theatre an institution at the con l clusion of the performance of Nathan | Hale last night was somewhat unex- pected. but sp ited. reply to Rev Rob
 
 Street Baptist Church the night before which the stage was attacked as an evil ! institution. unworthy of Christian pa I tronage. = 1 '"
 The audience at the Theatre had risen and was about to leave when MT. Kyle appeared before the curtain. No one had any idea that his talk would be | anything but an acknowledgement of the generous applause which he had been | accorded, but when he referred to the
  | the evil influences of the stage, the au- | dience immediately became interested and remained standing until he had fin- | ished.
 MT. Kyle said that he had read In The Morning News report of the cler- l gyman's attack upon the stage as an in- stitution.
 When a man assumes an absurd po- sition and indulges himself in the ex- pression of grotesque ideas said MT --yle, It Is rather natural that we should assume that he either does not know what he Is saying or else is animated by desire to gain some advertising. If in this case the latter assumption be correct, I shall feel, somewhat chagrined that ! have been entrapped into gratify7y Ing his ambition. at 47 .l-
 When a man condemns a whole in- stitution rcundlv. it is not ditncuit to refute his assertions, Perhaps this cler- gyman did not know that the theatre was born of the church, and that even to this day the church relies for some of its best effects upon the dramatic. What could have been more dramatic than the spectacle of John the Baptist, emerging from the wilderness, clad like Ingomar in camel skins and attacking the conventions of the day?
 Of course there are good and bad in everything. Nobody can deplore more the ephemeral success of some salacious plays designed to make money for some manager, than do the respectable mem bers of the dramatic profession. Scarce ly anything is made up of unmixed evil or of unmixed good.
 applied,
 And vice sometimes by actlon's digni-
 fled;
 Within the infant rind of this small Poison hath residence and medsin power
 "The truth is,' said MT. Kyle. it is not the vicious plays that ever endure. They may have a little temporary suc- cess. but the success soon fades, while plays like Rap Van Wrinkle, The Old in the affections of the people
 MT. Kyle told of having originated the principal part of Way Down East and commented on this because 1t was from an invitation to attend a performance of the play, that the minister to whom he referred had drawn the text of his at tack upon the theatre. He said that he the power and convincing force of which he was capable, and that he had re- ceived numerous letters from unfortln- ate women, thanking him for the revela- ton of the fact that such a man existed on earth.
 "'who can say asked MT. Kyle, that vitalized story. presented in dra- matic form on the stage, is not more ef- fective than the same story told In a dIdactic way from the pulpit? -.:' It is not well to condemn the stage because there are some salacious plays | any more than it would be well to con demn mankind because of the presence of political corruption or the golden ageI of English literature because some of It's writers wrote immoral poems or lived immoral lives. For my own part, | n have met with more real kindness and | charity from the vagrants of the stage l than from some of those who imagint themselves their betters and set up to be ! their critics. " Tn men whom men condemn as III
 I find so much of goodness still; |
 In men whom men pronounce divine,
 l find so much of sin and blot;
 l hesitate to draw the liRe,
 Where God hath not ''The audience was in accord with Mir. | Kyle and he received at the conclusion | of his remarks a generous share of ap- | plause.
 Paragraphs of Players. Clyde Fitch has agreed to write a play |