Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-26
ART AND pa PANTS.
-IrrepressibIe conflict of the Beautiful
and the Material.
Chlcago inter Ocean.


Five hundred OF the professional musi-
clans Of Chicago who love their art for its
own sake are said to be on the point Of
Withdrawing from all afiliation with the
1900 musicians here who are supposed to
love their art only for the money there
is in it.
The 500 charge that the 1900 are swayed
by sordid influences, that they will take
the first job that pays the union price,
utterly unmindful Of the dignity OF their
exalted calling.
Thus certain members Of the Musicians
federation will play Sousa and Strauss In
$3-pants wagons through the streets Of a
morning; Wagner, Rossini, Verdi, Mendels-
sohn, Weber and Mozart at an afternoon re-
ception; Hogan, Evans, Dresser and Solo
mon at an evening church-parlor concert,
and Beethoven, Ludov1c, Wilmark, Chopin,
O'Connor, Gounod, Sullivan and De Koven
at an all-night stag.
The 500, while willing to admit that this
is business, are not prepared to acknowl-
edge that 1t is art
On the other hand, the 1900 ask the 500:
What would you have US do? II we play
good music in s3-pants wagons through the
crowded streets OF this metropolis, there
by directing the mind OF sordid man even
momentarily to higher thought, are we not
uplifting him? True, We are advertising
So pants. but is there anything essentially
inartistic in this? II the street crowds
will not come up to our ideals. why is 1t
not right and proper and ethical and pro-
fessional that we should get down to
theirs. at the union price per hour?"
Then" they add, what II we do mingle
the classic and the ragtime at afternoon
aAaaHNfana wN- $1,000 na1 ~ AN.AN
stays? Are we not thereby popularizing
the classic and at the same time demon
strating by contrast the inferiority Of pop
ular compositions?
This argument may appeal to the ordi-
nary mind with some force, but 1t is lost
upon the 500. cart should not be degraded
upon any p~retense or under any eircum-
stances" they retort. Music has a higher
and boiler mission to perform than that
Of creating an artificial demand for 50
pants. II popular airs are demanded at
afternoon receptions. let popular airs only
be played. II ragtime and coon melodies
are demanded at church-parlor concerts
and all-night stays, let such music only
be played"
Let US not" the 500 plead. "desecrate
our art. Let us not drag Mendelssohn
Rossini, Chopin, Gounod, VERDI, Suppe,
Wagner and schumann down to the rag
time and coon level. Give the uncultivated
Resented, Dresser. Howard, sully. Sloane,
Johnson, Cole, Solomon and the like, II
needs be. but save the old masters from
pollution. We would rather that our lutes
should be idle than that we should sacrifice
art to lucre."
"All right" says the 1900. you cling to
your art, and well take the jobs"
Al NH-a -
ardous for a Philistine to intrude opin-
ION or advice. All that we would venture
to suggest Is that the 500 and 1,60c agree
upon a joint harmonizing committee. Dis
cord is entirely out Of place in . musical
federation Each side should make con-
c~essions.
II the 500 will agree to play some music
that the common people can understand
the 1900 might agree not 70 play hence
forth in wagons advertising pants at less
than S.