The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-11-05

as clean as II is beautiful
The tumult and uproar of denunci-
alton which attended the first pubic
performance of Mrs. Warren's Pro-
fession" anywhere reached you by tele-
graph. You know already that the
theatre was filled not only, but il was
surrounded by n multitude in eXpec-
tation of a police raid; that hundreds
with the money to outbid other folks
paid from $40 10 $50 apiece for seats;
and that official attention TO the dra-
ma has Kept IL in the news dispatches.
There is no new cal, so far as | can
See TO discuss the quality of George
Bernard ShaW's purposes. But the
plain fact is pertinent that whether
he did il with sOrdid or ethical in
tent he wrote this play 10 shock the
moral sense of the public. The ques-
ton raised in it is whether it is any
wickeder to sell a girl into unloving
matrimony than to sell her in the open
market of lust. Mrs. Warren's "profeS-
sion" is the awful business Of traffic IN
girls; and when her own daughter,
whom she has reared safely separate.
learns of her infamy and berates her
for it, she makes a defense so reoiete
with specious arguments that it con-
stitutes a plea for vice as being no
Illustrative case is. that OF a low-born
English woman, the Mrs. Warren, who
has seen one sister drudged to death
i'm an unhealthy factory and another
sell herself in wedIOck 10 a noble
man. AS to herself, she makes a for
tune by running in several European
cities what i'm New York are nick
named Raines law hotels. AS n char
acter she is drawn strongly as a COM
nzff 0f Cd e.x-sT -
as most stage figures are false. Equal
" masterful as human study is Miss
Warren, for she is not girl in whom
purity means unsophistication. but one
with full understanding and a clear
view of her mothers business. which
some one has described as the oldest
profession in the world"
Mrs. and Miss Warren are great roles
dramatically. dominating all the others
in the play and giving rare opportuni-
ties for two actresses TO help their pro-
fessional repute and hurt themselves
Personally. The women who thus dis
tinguish themselves equiVOCally are
Mary Shaw and Chrystal Herne; and it
is not impertinent TO say that, socially,
morally and intellectually they are Wo-
men for the stage 10 be proud Of. Miss
Shaw has been appreciated by the best
people who go to theatres for her far
ic literature, from the poetry of Shakes
peare's Rosalind and Desdemona to the
realism Of lbsen's Mrs. Aiving and
Hodda GablOT. Now as Mrs. Warren
she carries most of her audience quite
out of its wary curiosity TO demon
stratiVe enthusiasm for her searching
art. Miss Herne has the ben Of her
father, James A. Herne, for the brain-
Ter forms of the drama. A report spread
H., IL H. L
theatre on Monday night that she was
so distressed by the savage censure OF
I Shaw's play as to be on the verge Of
nervous collapse. ana that I'm UNDER
study was kept ready to take her place
However, she got through with her bad
job brilliantly. The conversation be-
tween Mrs. and Miss Warren. t'oul in
subject and not cleaned up in the lam
suage, were made eloquent by Miss
Shaw and Miss Herne.
There IS no bad behavior I'm Mrs.
WarTen's Profession" other than the
discussion in public of a subject COM
monty under taboo between sexes in
private, There is none OF the b=azep
show of women that is accepted cas-
ually in extravaganza: nor z serio
comic wantotn of music hall enticins
q married man Just for the price OF
supper" as in ''ZaZa;" nor a degeu-
ttaNS XIII bHgSluS her iONef 10 stay
one more night" as in "Sapho;" nor an
emot'onaliy suffering creature to ideal.
iZe vice. 80 I'm Camille" There is no
sersuai sllurement in the Shaw play
Repuisive asrects Of sin are shown to
the utter exclusion of anything in the
leas attractive A mental trag dy is
presented without recourse 10 any ply
steal demonstration OF its abhorreni
matter. ] am slad II is not for me to
decide upon q suppression of Mrs
WaTTeR's p sion" / wouldn't like
10 be the Q prevent people from
seeing II If wish 10. And it can
not possibly 90 any immoral harm. Yet
I am glad. too, that il is Arnold Daily
and not l who put it on the stage.
Forr plays OF American bosh and
beauty are nut into New York theatres
81 once. All are hodge-podged in the
native manner yet each illustrates by
Itself a phase OF the show business: