Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-06
AtnuSetnentS

Another Of the sins Of commission now
laid At the doors Of the dramatic writer's OF
the daily press is that they assist in foist-
ing on the public the made-to-order star.
Much Of real fact whereon to base this
charge exists, more's the pity. Just what
n responsible for the conditions that per-
tain at present and have. for that matter,
for the last I'VE or six years. is not read
lily apparent. Some strange sort Of mania,
due maybe TO psychological causes not yet
thoroughly define or even isolated, has
possessed both the people and the press in
a large measure. During this long con-
tinued silly season people have run about
like children at a fair, peeplng at this,
that OF the other thing. never examining
10y, never satisfied with any, always look
ing for something new. apparently be-
wildered by the profusion c. novelties and
absolutely unable to form a fixed or definite
Judgment OF one. Certain newspapers, to
whom the epithet great Is applied by
themselves, took advantage of this condl-
tion Of the public mind and. abandoning the
high calling Of a legitimate journal. ceased
all efforts to direct public thought along
sober, conservative ways and through safe
channels to the end that only good might
be had, and began to lead their followers
into the unknown and uncertain realms Of
sensatiOnalism. Truth, which lieth at the
bottom Of a we'll, was left undisturbed by
these mongers Of the salacious, the unreal
the meretrioious, and facts were either ig-
nored or distorted out Of all semblance to
facts In their daily chase for something
new" to lay before their readers. These
newspapers did not give their patrons time
e. radar4 IN tho annaTPut impOEgihility or
absurdity Of one preposterous story before
they put out another. Fake followed fake
with all the rapidity possible from the
speedy presses, and responsibility, both
moral and legal, was drowned by the golden
stream that flowed into the Golfers In the
counting rooms. Mechanical ingenuity
added color attachments to the perfecting
presses, and the daily h~ysteria OF these
journalistic irresponsibles took on an
hemorrhagic hue. Success, no matter how
ephemeral, begets imitation, and 1t wasn't
very long until imitators OF the sensational
metropolitan paper had sprung up all
over the land. As limitations are rarely
perfect copies, so these limitations generally
exaggerated the faults and worst features
of the originals, aggravating the evil by
their inherent inability to adapt the
methods or produce the results. One thing
alone Ii common to them all, the reckless
disregard for common decency, for any
thing that resembles the truth UNFINISHED
and the mad desire to excite the people by
their incessant clamor.
Incapable alike of calm criticism or de-
liberate Judgment, these journalistic jack
ais entrenched themselves behind theII
records Of papers sold. and pointing to the
cash receipts, answered all who questioned
their methods, TITS what the people want
The managers of the theaters took up the
refrain, and while pouring filth from the
lowest and vilest sources into the public
ear through the medium Of the g~rossest o.
plays, urbanely pointed to the gate re-
ceipts n suavely said. tits what thu
people want" One woman took a poem o
unuuestioned ~sort-which is to say Its In
decency was not even yelled In the sub
tlety of double meaning-and by bold!
reciting It with especial stress on its vul
rarity, achieved a notoriety which shu'
the doors Of decent people In her face
She Is now a success" on the stage. An
other woman became involved In a divorce
suit, the details OF which were too mucf
even for q paper which prided itself OF
wallowing In filth, and which had an
nounced its intention OF publishing thu
COmpl6l0 ltolluouy III INN NoS
and she was "ntted' for the stage unde
circumstance that gave rise to many NOR
columns of sensational newspaper storie
and other stories hat were never printed
She is now a most pronounced success,
her latest triumph having been achieve,
in the portrayal Of the character OF an his
torio courtesan. Is 1t, then, to be won
dered at. with such notable examples, tina
many unworthy have essRyed and in
measure succeeded in giving what tn
people want2" INSCRIPTIONS manager
and irresponsible newspapers have brough
about conditions on the American stag
which will some day be a source Of sham
to all who have the good OF the actor
art in view. II is a refreshing though
however, that through all these years @
moral dementia some newspapers hav
stood staunchly by what is a high an
honorable calling. and have gone along
unswerved from sober elaboration by tn
allurements Of pecuniary profit. and hav
steadily advocated that which is good an
condemned that which is bad. Thes
newspapers are now getting the support {
the Thoughtful actors of the country. an
their efforts In behalf of decency, com
potency and verify are bearing fruit 1
the discussion that is going on anon
stage folks as 20 the condition Of tbei
craft and the responsibility therefor. on
unfortunate feature Of the debate is ar
parent. In their discussions OF the new
papers the actors do not undertake to al
ferentiate between the good and the ba,
h honest newspaper does not hesitate
point out the good and the bad actors.
In the meantime the fusillade draw
from the writer's by Mr.. Richard Mani
fields letter on acting. actors and new
papers. continues. Not much divergent
OF opinion exists. either, although Il
methods OF expression vary with THE ind
viduAl. All admit that carelessness {
the part OF newspapers has been product,
Of csrelessness on part OF actor
but none are inclined to accept full respol
sibility for a. that is lacking in merit
the stage. They insist that the acto
themselves must accept a share OF tn
blame, and that stage directors are all
at fault. All agree that the demand Z
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