The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1905-12-02


Thos. Dixon, Jr., is a genius. a dar
ING sensauonalist, an audacious liter
airy acrobat whose feats have attract
ed attention throughout the continent
on and on. for the past fifteen years.
When the writer Of these lines first
heard Of Thos. Dixon. he (the Writer)
was a small boy, resting at the end of
corn row on the plains Of the great
west Il was in the early days of tho
farmers alliance and at a period when
times were getting hard and destined
to get harder
As the boy referred to reached the
end Of a row Of corn which he had
been blowing, an old gray-haired
neighbor, with team and wagon, pass
ed by on his return from town and he
stopped long enough to tell the boy
about the news of the day and to read
him a portion of a sermon that had
just been delivered by an eloquent
young preacher in New York City.
one passage in the sermon was parti-
cularly impressive. It read about as
follows:
There is a popular belief that the
o.. "a ---AtN-AN III TINS IUMMNLN LEClH DIT
Washington. No greater mistake
has ever been made. I'll tell you
where it lies. Go with me along
Broadway until you come to Trinity
church, then turn down a narrow alley
lined with dingy brick buildings, call
ed Wall Street. and there you'll find
the real government of this country"
These words were spoken by Thos.
Dixon, Jr., from a pulpit in the city Of
New York fifteen years ago. They
were startling words, and particular
~ coming from the pulpit but they
illustrated the originality and the dar-
ing of the man who uttered them and.
IN the light of subsequent events, there
are Few Who viii deny that they were,
partially at least true.
The Clansman is a play woven Of
incidents from Mr.. Dixon's novels.
The Clansman" and The Leopard's
Spots, and it constitutes a defense Of
the Ku KluX Khan and stimulant to
white supremacy. political as well as
social, FOR all time It is a powerful
production in which the passions Of
race feeling find full play, and the
hideous conditions which confronted
the south IN the years Immediately fol.
lowing the civil war are portrayed in
a manner whose awful hideousness
beggars description.
Il would be hard to say whether the
play leaves a good impression or a
bad one. People like it and they do
not like H. Those who were present
and lived through the times in which
Its scenes are laid say that the latter
are not Overdrawn. But the question
arises, what good can come of the
play itself? Granting that the Incl
dents portrayed be true-why re-enact
them even in drama now? The play
teaches a lesson for white supremacy
but Is such a lesson necessary? Is
not the principle of white supremacy
already established? What truth. in
fact, does the play teach that is not
already accepted
That the Clansman is a money
maker fer Mr.. Dixon there can be no
question. 1t Is greeted by packed
houses everywhere and Pensacola was
no exception TO that RUE. Mr.. Dixon.
who has travelled a portion Of the time
with the company, did not come to
Pensacola having gone to New York
several lays ago and a great many
people We're disappointed at not hav-
ing an opportunity to see him.
The play viii be presented at matt.
nee this afternoon and again tonight.