The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-02-15

1.-THE trouble with The Viii


1.-THE trouble with The White
Slave is that the incidents it
purports to narrate couldn'
possibly have happened" said the
atregoer the other night in the pres
ence of Manager Robert Campbell or
The White Slave company, which
was at the Grand last week. Mr. Camp
bell happens to be a son of Barley
Campbell, who wrote the play. After
the critic had disappeared he was asked
if there was any sort of foundation for
The White Slave
Indeed there was" said Mr.. Camp
bell. ITO begin with my father was
a Louisiana man. He was dramatic
critic on the New Orleans Picayune
many years ago, and he knew the story
OF The White Slave in part, at least,
in real life. Not many miles from New
Orleans there lived a prosperous plant
er whose daughter was betrayed, as
was the mother of Lisa in the play
''She died when her child was born
and her father raised the infant as
though she were the daughter of a
slave. This was in order to save the
reputation of his own daughter The
girl had grown to WOmanhoOd when
the old man died and the story came
out. Father kept the details for fif-
teen years before the thought of max
ing a play out of them occurred to
him.
Then. in order not to make it too
strongly local in color. for he feared
that many residents of Louisiana might
remember the circumstances, he laid
the opening scenes in Kentucky. he
departed from the facts in this: IN
stead of the story coming out on the
death of the old planter, he makes
Lisa continue as q slave through the
chicanery of the villain, William Lacy,
and the weakness of the girls lover,
Clay BrittOn. That was merely for
dramatic effect. Foundation for The
White Slave? Wei, I should say yes
And speaking of that old melodrama
it was written in 1882 and has been
played almost continuously ever since
reminds one that it was among the
first of the melodramas as well as one
OF the best. 1t has earned hundreds
of thousands of dollars and promises
to earn more before its stage life is
ended. After all, melOdrama. if it is
clean and fairly bright. furnishes
plenty of thrills and plenty of whole
some amusement.
Sam Morris. who starred at the Grand
last week in The Peddler's Claim, -
comes naturally, by the Hebrew dia-
Iect for he is a Jew. Mr.. Morris is
also very genial, companiOnable fell
low, full Of good stories of his long
stage experience. One of them deals
with Paul Gilmore who recently aD-
peaTed at the Salt Lake theatre in
THE Tyranny of Tears" 1t happened
a long time ago, when Morris was in
stock in the Hopkins theatre. Chicago.
Gilmore was engaged to play a part
that required him to ride upon the
stage on horseback. Morris was a
negro body servant. The unusual en-
trance or something ratified Gilmore on
the opening night He arrived in the
center Of the stage all right, but to
save his life he couldn't remember his
lines.
For, Gods sake what do I say,
SAM" he whispered.
Say anything" replied Norris
Wen. here 1 am" began Gilmore
and there be stuck
Yes, sab, hyah you is answered
Morris. taking up mis- negro role, IAN
now Use a-gwine to take yeh away
erSin,' and he graveIy led the horse
with Gilmore seated thereon, through
the closest exit. Morris says he has
had many a laugh at and with Gilmore
over that famous stunt
In answer to an inquiry: The Grand
theatre is little more than eight years
old. 1t was opened on the evening OF
Dec. "A, 1894, by the Neill company in
Moths" Jennie Remark was the
leading woman. and the cast included
such well known people as Blanche
Bates, Timothy d. Frawley, Blanche
Carr Cook and H. c. Clark.
The treasurer of a New York theatre
was recently the victim of a most m
usual accident. At the close of an ex-
ceptionally heavy days business he
began counting the returns, which in
cluded a lot Of greenbacks. During the
count his left eye itched slightly and
the treasurer rubbed it with the index
finger of his right hand. the finger thai
had been used on the bills. Just three
days later surgeons removed the eve
and for time hope of saving the sigh
of the other was almost abandoned. Il
is supposed that the bills were infected
through much handling and that thu
treasurer rubbed a berg into his ey,
that poisoned it, with the disastrous re
suit mentioned.
Manager Piper of the Salt Lake the.
atre has been overwhelmed with in.
quiries from the matinee girls as L
whether Dustin Farnham, who played
the lover in Arizona last season, i: