The San Francisco call., 1905-06-16
WILLIAM WINTER
CR|LLS ACTORS
Delivers Powerful Lecture
Scoring Modern Tendency
Toward Sensual Drama
FAULT is WITH PUBLIC
Problem Play, Burlesque and
Semi Nude Comedy Said
to Be Menace to Progress

In the ballroom of the Palace Hotel
Yesterday afternoon William Winter
famous the world over as the able dra-
matte critic of the New York Tribune,
delivered his lecture entitled "The The
ater and the Public before a large au
dience of literary and dramatically In
clined San Franciscans.
To those who saw him for the first
time his appearance as he faced them
did not seem to ft their popular idea
of a dramatic critic. but when there
poured from his lips all the rich flow
of his pure vocabulary. clearly outlin-
ing the lessons learned from his Aex-
periences Of the last fifty years. those
present came to a realization OF the
fact that they were meeting new
kind of critic, one who knew his sub
ject with an Intense sincerity and who
was speaking from the depths OF his
soul
Mr.. Winter carried the solid 'conyfc-
tion of truth with him in all he said
A man well advanced in years, white of
hair and mustache, yet erect despite
these marks of age, he at first seemed
frail, but when he turned with all the
strength of his powerful and vltrlolic
control of language upon the mooern
tendency of degradation of the stage
his appearance of age vanished and MS
words snapped and vibrated with the
stirring intensity of youth. He left with
the audience the sharp impression of
one who has passed through the scar
ing years of contact with the evils or
the stage without receiving scar, OF
one whose integrity and professional
honor had been far above possible
smirch, of a man who spoke with
burning purpose, that purpose the ulti-
mate education of the American people
to an appreciation of the play which
seeks to protect and lead, not taint the
progress of civilization.
ATTACKS THEATER TRUST.
The veteran newspaper man spoke
with directness that marked him as
man of courage. He bitterly attacked
the theatrical trust, branding it as
"monster having it's head in the city
of New York and its serpenttne, blood
sucking tentacIes twined around al
most every theater in the United
states. This odious creature is an en-
croachfng menace to the cause of pub
lie morality"
Equally caustic was his arraignment
of the French drama. the burlesque and
the new problem play.~This latter, he
said, lis an odoriferous morsel and no
problem at all, merely a name to cover
the vile picture of an immoral life.
Madame Sarah Bernhardt. though I
will admit with a rare artistic skill,
pictured this perniciously hateful idea
of a woman whose mind is quickened
by all that is passionate and sensual,
which, say, has the effect Of forcing
that same idea upon the men and
women of this country
The speaker directly laid many Of the
evils Of the present stage to the effect
of the adverse influence under which
American society exists. He clasSed
this as the age Of materialism and COM
mercialsm, where art is sacrificed for
the lust of an1assing great wealth. The
sanctity of the individual is not now
merely infringed upon; 1t is a thing un-
known Religious zeal is declining,
and with it the desire for a strictly
moral life. Instead of the theaters
leading civilization toward the high and
the noble, they are producing that vile
class of play which the people pay to
see, but " hich hurries them along the
steep descent of moral degeneracy.
TELLS Personal RECOLLECTIONS.
It WAS with a great deal of pleasure
that the audience listened to the happy
recollections of the speaker Of the days
when he was the personal friend of
many of the old actors. He took his
hearers back with him to New York in
mitted them to listen to Edwin Booth
and others of the stage folk. He
brought them through the days Of Ad-
ains and John Mccullough and down to
our own Joseph Jefferson. upon whose
work he showered praise of unstinted
measure. Then came his appreciation,
after he had expressed his views on the
'burlesque, the sensational drama, the
semi-nude musical comedy and the
VII r,rah1arn relaup of tho
actors whose work was to him all that
any moral or artistic person could wish
for. Among these he rated Ellen Ter
ry. Augustfn DAILY, Richard Mansfield,
Henry Irving, Blanche Bates, David
Warfeld and Mrs. Fiske.
Peter Robertson, the we'll known
San Francisco critic, introduced VIII
liam Winter as "the dean of our pro-
fession and the greatest authority on
dramatics in the world to-day" Mr..
Winter then expressed his appreciation
of being so heartily welcomed in San
Francisco by so many people. In speak
ing of the remedy for the evils recog-
nized as present on the stage, he said,
in part:
Cynical levity ana unscrupulous commerce
with popular caprice are prominent character
istics of people Everything Is made the
subject of Jest. Business methods are tainted
with indirection.. Luxury is everywhere prev
Refinement is insulted at every turn The
book stalls TEEN with fiction that Is either
erotic delirum sentimental rubbish. The
public Is maddened with haste and strife and
there is no peace anywhere
REMEDIES OF EVILS.
I disclaim all purpose of disparaging the
present in order to glorify the past. The
condition Of the theater has huctuated but
there has never been warrant for proclamation
of hopeless decline. The theater must be con-
Quoted with judicious consideration OF the
community, and reason makes no protest
against practical administration OF the
theater-aiunfng to please the multitude as
well as the educated few-so long as It is
Just and honest. But experience has shown
that there is craving for evil on the part
OF a considerable public and readiness on
the part of the theater to obtain profit by
supplying that evil Refine the public mind
and the institutions that depend on public
support will exhibit refinement. A pure stage
is the consequence of q pure society. ana a
pure society is the consequence Of right edu-
cation. It Is the duty OF all intellectual au-
thorities to present ideals Of nobility and OBJ
Jects of beauty. ~
The speaker defined the duty Of the
dramatic reviewer and the function OF
the stage.
1t was through the efforts Of Will
liam Greer Harrison that the lecturer
was induced to speak in this city.
Among the many who attended were