Omaha daily bee., 1902-03-16
AmuSernentS

have msnfully striven TO verify the sen
%tentious judgment pronounced upon them oy
the premier Of fakirs. As an nlustratloh'
Only a few years ago, when moderately IN
telligent folks knew the thing was impos-
sible, some thousands Of Omaha citihens
journeyed to the old fair grounds on =
Sunday afternoon to see a Tying machine
exhibition. They paid their 25 and 5O Genus
for admission. and. so far as knoWn' tne
only fight recorded was that Of the astute
promoters Of the swindle, who mace tnelr
way into lows before their dupes mao uS
covered the trick. Were santos-Dumont 10
come to Omaha with his dirigtole oaloon
It IL doubtful II he could collect enousn
money at the gate to pay for the gasonne
his engine would consume. why! In tne
one instance the people knew there must
he a fake IN the proceedings somewhere.
and. impelied by curiosity. they sought to
discover the deception. In the other they
know there Is no deceit and consequently
they have no interest. Now, this must not
be taken as an argument that honesty mas
no supporters in this world. Exactly tue
reverse Is true. In spite OF cynical asser-
tions TO the contrary, every day furnishes
forth new proof that honesty Is the pest
~policy.' People do not go to the tneeter
10 be ~humbugged, nor expecting 10
be deceived. They have come 70
make allowance for the hyperbolic
announcement that herald the approach
Of some one or another Of the various at
fractions" and do not often expect 100
much. What they mostly seek at the
tbeater is amusement. Too often they are
denied this. for the rot that is paraded on
the boards is not even amusing. The
people will go again, however, Tor the
craving for advertisement once established
is never satisfied. Therefore WINE tne
box ONCE receipts should in no case be
taken as an exact indication OF public
taste. 1t is going too far to assert hat the
managers are even inferentially dishonest
in accepting 1t as a guide.
All Of which leads up to the question
Who is to blame? 1t is difficult to fix the
responsibility. Much Of 1t must be as
sumed by the people. for II they did not
give cheerfully in support Of the trash,
thew would be furnished with a higher
grade Of amusement. At the bottom lies
the .sordid consideration of dollars ana
cents, and while the managers may be ever
so ardent in their Individual advocacy OF
better things, they are also liable to the
operations of the inexorable laws Of COM
merce. Money is the prime mover after
all. and that play which will bring the
largest income with the smallest outgo Is
the one most certain to find managerial
favor. One other thought continually
forces itself forward In this connection;
Could not the managers. by refusing to
produce inferior OF really harmful plays
even though hey be what the people
want" force the presentation Of only that
49, 10 49, an arFvE fNgN az
certain and equally satisfactory pecuniary
pront from that which will please all and
offend none, are they justified in giving
currency to that which pleases few and
onends many7 These questions are peril
nent, but immediate answers are not ex
pected. The truth is, we are living In al
> age where, indeed, things are seldom
what they seem" Quackery abounds II
. all avenues OF life and skim milk mas
querades as cream on all sides. No bet
, ter illustration OF this could be asked thai
: was offered at the willard performance Of
: Thursday night. When DR.. Yellowless q
a the profundity OF his ignorance responds
: to Lady Gildlng's. apprehensive inquiry Il
= to the nature OF her husbands ailment
'cherchez Ia femme a most natural wav
Of laughter followed from those who real
i lied the predicament in which the docto
n nad placed the noble lord. But man
= there were who laughed because the
: knew something had occurred to laugh a
y and Of these some were frank enough t
. inquire later the cause. People do thing
!" because they see other people doing then
not because they understand why. Thi
initiative propensity Of mankind is re
d sponsible for the apparent popularity Of
great many things which II judged solel
by intrinsic merit would remain foreve
g in obscurity. Happily for posterity, mod
ern popularity is her evanescent eondi
ton, and there is little danger that any {
the great mass of rubbish that IL no,
bringing such high prices in the market
Of the managers will ever endure. Som
comfort exists in the thought that the prc
cession which moves to the limbo
things literary is a constantly widenin
one. 1t may be that some day the rae
will have reached that stage of develor
le ment where a luscious Jest hidden benin
ID an ordinary French phrase will not ha,
lie to be explained and when "what the pet
lie pie want" Will be worthier Of that his
IN calling.