The St. Louis Republic., 1902-11-05
Clara Morris Gives This as a Rea
son for so Many Nervous
COllapses.
MAUD ADAMS'S CASE A SAMPLE.
She Declares Managers and Ac-
tresses Should Jointly Call
Halt and Consider Carefully
the Pace That Kills.
REPUBLIC SPECIAL

REPUBLIC SPECIAL
New York Nov. 4.--The arrival from Eu-
rope of Maud Adams. the actress. whose I'll
health led to the canceling of all her dates
for her winter tour. has increased the talk
of the overwork of stage stars. which is
driving them from the stage
Maud Adams Julia Marlowe, Blanche
Walsh and Mrs. Patrick Campbell are
among those who have recently fallen VIC
Tins to the nervous strain of stage work
and the simulat ton of strong and deep emo
tions and have been compelled to abandon
for time at least their trying roles. Clara
Morris. one of the greatest of American
emotional actresses. herself a victim of
strenuous work. an invalid and retired from
the stage has this to say:
rs it not time to call a halt when so very
many of our brightest, bonniest young ac-
tresses are falling exhausted by the way?
What Is the meaning. people ask, OF
these prostrations, these sudden temporary
retrements. these swift attacks of brain
fever and the like?
''Overwork? Yes. very likely.
But who induces them to overXork
themselves SO cruelty? Who is responsible: I:
Juliet for little Miss Adams. A delicate
creature. she. with a will of adanant ard
the ambition of a Caesar. She was Almost
anxieties about thousand details of cos
tune. of properties. to say nothing Of her
own varying hopes and fears.
We'll, she made 4 success. Naturally she
rallied at once. She went to her managers
office for the delightful chat that be!cngs
to such joyful occasions and that manager
showed her pile of teiegrams from out OF
town. asking for at least 4 Few perform
ances of uliet before the season closed. and.
instead of mere congratulations. asked
her If she could not double up the work
and play some matinee performances of the
heavy iive-act tragedy. And she must nave
done that extra work upon bare Eerves,
animated hy the elixir of .rluiuDh
rs Miss Adams. paying now for too
generous Willingness to overwork in CTGer
to harvest those many dollars fog the man
Had Miss Marlowe been a pnlegmat:c
CHILDHOOD woman without nerves. she
would not have suffered at the delay IN the
other side of the ocean, but neither would
she have been capable of iiaytns Queen
she, like high-bred. restless young
horse, fretted herself TO exhaustion: then
worked night and day here, sleepless from
anxiety and overtire. catching food on the
fly, pride and good faith to the manager
forcing her strain on a little longer: then
the goal was reached, the play was done
and Miss Marlowe fell in her tracks
''Of course she will recover and return to
her work and perhaps she will be wiser and
Il wish managers and actresses were
compelled by law. to acquire some knowl-
edge of physiology and to know something
of the nervous structure .of women; per-
ignoring sleep and food, exercise and every
sort OF regularity of habit and producing
heavy plays by nervous strength alone
leads by a short cut to the hospital
Dear God! 1t IS the pace that kills. not
the years. as every race horse knows; and
as our youngest. brightest actresses are
finding out to their sorrow.
'Oh, If some one would call a halt?'