Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-19

Omaha was we'll entertained with lyri
songs and musical nonsense last week
Some disappointment was felt over the fac
that Miss Van Studdiford did not appear
thereby depriving local admirers OF tn
Bostonians Of the expected new piece. MAI
Marian" Omaha might have foregone tn,
pleasure Of hearing Miss Van studdiford
but the hope OF seeing something new b.
this company was high and 1t was will
real regret the announcement was received
that the management would not risk ar
understudy taking Maid Marian. or rather
the countess Of Huntington Uor Marian and
Robert have been safely wedded), to the
crusades. However, as dear Barnabee bids
fair to equal the record OF Tennyson'r
brook. we may hear Of the adventures Of the
sheriff Of nottingham in the holy land al
another time. Omaha gave THE Storks'
a very cordial greeting and the Bostonians
their customary enthusiastic welcome. Al
the Creighton-orpheum a typical vaudeville
bill Of really high grade was well patron
lied.
Il tsnt a very big world we live in, after
all. and events apparently local in their
effects reach out farther than would be
at FIRST thought likely. When Orestes U.
behu NEOlt III 1OTldlIon. ne ulO not
expressly stamp IL Mormon, but, the au-
thor being a Mormon and his hackers
being Mormons. some Of the thoughtless
who wrote about the play prior to its
production insisted on surrounding It with
q Mormon atmosphere. 1t was even as
serted that the purely ina ginary characters
and incidents Of the play were founded
on Mormon history. or history developed
by Mormon research. This suggestion Is too
absurd 70 warrant attention, but It carried
weight with II among the uniformed, and
these latter are both numerous and densely
ignorant as to American archaeology and
Mormonism alike. When the play was first
produced Il was at Salt Lake City, the
capital Of Mormonism, under the manage
ment Of Mormons, and by them IT was
finally started IN its career through the
cities to what fits author. its players and
its hackers hoped would be an artistic sue
cess. About this time a terrible murder
was committed In New York, and the
crime was laid at the door of a Mormon.
Immediately a hue and cry was raised by
the press OF Gotham against the Mormon
church. All the past sins and misdeeds Of
'its dead and gone leaders were ~paraded
in sensational colors, what was lacking in
historical accuracy being compensated for
by vehemenee OF asseveration, and not a
point that could be turned against the church
was overlooked Just as much reason exists
for condemning any Of the other denomina-
lions wholesale because some one processing
any Of their special religious beliefs stains
his hand in human blood, and Just as much
reason for going back into the not so very
distant past and parading afresh the atroci-
ties done IN Europe in the name OF the
churoh. But this was a modern instance"
and the yellow journals could not lose their
opportunity. william Hooper Young was
tried and convicted OF the murder Of Mrs.
Pulitzer by the newspapers Of New York
long before the courts have even approached
the consideration OF his case, and the Nor
mon church was made a party to the crime,
because the attack on an indi-
Vidual lacked the flavor that would attach
20 an attack on q whole people New
York was the goal for which ~"Corianton"
was headed, but with the outburst against
.Mormonism being so vigorously agttated,
III seemed suicidal to go there with a play
tainted with Mormonism. Kansas City saw
the end.
'sC~ortanton" wa not a Mormon play. It
was a play founded on the boiler. loftier
sentiments of religion and humanity and
taught q lesson as elevating In Its tone
and as easy in its application as the
S-eermon on the Mount" Its lines in no
instance pointed toward any church. Pres
hvterianism or Roman Catholicism were
as likely 70 be benefited by the play as
Mormonism. Its only crime lay in the
mot that its author and its hackers and
many Of those who took part In its presen-
eation were members OF he Church OF the
Latter Day Saints. Its lines were pure
and noble In sentiment. its whole action
was based on the beauties Of a godly life
and It was Invested with a production as
munincent as human ingenuity could
devise. No more attractive entertainment
was ever presented in the west, nor did
lever actors work more conscientiously or
lovingly to make q play a success than did
Mr.. Joseph HawoFth and hts associates.
Their efforts were not wholly In vain,
even II they were denied the satisfaction
of playing before New York audiences.
Those who dad see it will always have
most pleasant recollections of the piece
and the players. II was not even limited
by the hackers Of the company that they
TO 20 into New York; no word
was ever dropped by them which could be
construed into connecting the church with
the play; they simply paid on all claims
against the company, gave their actors
full salaries and tickets to their homes
and closed the career Of "Corianton-"
New York stni has Iris" The Pleasures
of Living and that sort Of drama and the
oothamitss will likely never know what
they have missed.
II n not pleasant. though, 60 have the
task Of chronieling the failure OF a really
meritorious play, based solely on an Amsri-
can tonic. While Blanche Walsh's man
ayers are delVing into the mists Of African
lore 70 find a topic sufficiently torrid ia
Withstand the calorihc passions Of that lady,
and while Rome. Greece. India, Judea. the
very ends Of the earth. are being raked
60 provide material to be set forth under
some foreign title as written by some
foreign author. an American play by an
American author. containing all the ele-
ments Of barbaric ~splendor, poetic express
sion and intensely dramatic action is
shelved. Why this is passes mortal ken.
One who loves his country and his coun-
try's literature can only exelaim with
Polonius. ""Tts true tits pity, and pity tits
'tis true"
Steven J. Donieavy Of Denver. who is MOI
unknown In Omaha. has added to the gaiety
OF the nations by heading q crusade Of the
Irish against "MeFadden's Row Of Flats.