The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-09-26
TO TEACH AlLESSON,
SAYS THE AUTHORS
In a Speech Before the Curtain
He Said the Play Would Tell
\ the North the Southern Truth.
Well Acted, Fairly Well
Staged, But Unsatisfy- 5.
ing and Unpleasant. 3s

& Uncontrolled desires, primal passions, IN
race hatred and race supremacy are he 8
warp Of the Clansman. Through this 8Sy
runs q woof of love, adventure. moving u
accidents by flood and field, two we'll S5
turned pieces Of comedy, and one over Stt8
whelming tragedy. To-day It would be HI
futilo to prophesy long life or failuraSs
for ''The Clansman,'' but while it runs,
mono may doubt that It ls strong with f$ss
all tho strength Of crude passions OF N
semi-barbarians and gentlemen whose In
stincts have overcome the convention 8$s
Of society or the phrases of fanatic cism.g
The test OF time will show whether The s
Clansmar," like Uncle Toms Cabin,
is to sweep the passions and touch thes&
hearts Of thousands. not with the stage g8
made emotions of we'll played piece.
but with the depth Of feeling that comes gs
from, sympathy that Is as deep as ts
Is inexplicable to the dispassionate obs
server it would seem significant that
E"Uncle Toms Cabin dealt with a living.
present and pressing Issue. while the 3
dramatic force Of .'The Clansman' de-
ipeHOs LOT <B HVlttANlyd upon d atetlc " 1t
fairs that passed out Of existence thirty
five years ago. Nor is this the only
stumbling block in the way---if "a THE
tClansman,'as to be that epoch-maEing "a
force that Mr. Dixon hopes. $ 4. & jis5
Authors Avowed Ain. u
Fl 1t Is simple enough for an author to n
stand before tho curtain 1; and, in easy
phrases, tell his audience, as Mr.. Dixon
did last night, y purpose Is 3reconcilin-$
stion, through the knowledg go. OF the truth.
{ The Civil liSyvarS did not settle tho negro
question: It, smp pl VIZ created 1t and
not only have not settled 1t; Ne have
not looked at8it.'' Continuing, Mr.. Dixon &
said that his object was to give u n en-
during picture of the struggles OF anst
imperial race to maintain its civilization
ahd supremacy, and, he added If my NJ
boy ever forgets that his ancestors died 4
willingly that they might protect their ~
civilization, may God strike him dead.'H'S&
But again, It does not well appear how
the looting of South Carolina by carpet
baggers ana the negro followers teaches n
any lesson for to-day except that one *
which every Southern State has already
learned and put into practice by practi-@B
cally dsfrnnchisng the negroes.
e Mr.. Dixon has written and staged Ia u
strong play, Intensely dramatic and full x
of thrilling situations. Z OF that thereGIs "
no dispute. 1t is a loney-rnaker, ~ But!
he claims for It that 1T is a purpose play,
a play with a lesson and IA moral. But a
what good can 1t possibly accomplish II y!
necessarily assures the mos violent pas. I'll
sion Of social instinct 1t eXaggerates the
horrors of things in,possiblean the South
social equality and smiscegenation. II t will 81
unnecessarily stir the antagonlsm Of tha Il
white man and arouse the hatred OF the
black without doing good to either.
Story of the Play.
The first net finds motley crowd ~
OF negroes assembled In front OF the vil- -#
lage hotel that Is owned by the Camerons
In a South Carolina village. II is election
day, the first election In which the negro
had had an opportunity to vote. "A few
white men fitted here and there and q K
patcnt medicine vender was making tha +
best OF tho opportunity to dupe the @ne- "
groes and sell them his wares. The ne-ssf
groes are In high glee at the thought 81 s8
becoming the masters Of the white men,
and tho whites are serious and are }watch-
Ing events.
4 reply OF Dr. Cameron to his little "
daughter, Indicates the serious concern
OF the white men. When she asks Wnat q
the excitement and confusion at the Y
voting place means, he tells her It is K:
and turns tho wild beasts out of Their 4
cages. ss3 Z
Lynch tho negro candidate for Lieuten-
ant-Governor, melted by old Stoneman.
the abolition fanatic from the North, Is
the master OF the situation, and the
negroes encouraged by tho promise OF
"forty acres and mule" readily do his
bidding.
The act is entrained with plantation
dancing and some clean remarks OF two 1!
OF tho old-tlme darkeys. "Nelse" and his
wife, Eve" These two take but little Z
stock In the northern visitors, and still
less in the blessings OF freedom Which
have made tho other negroes wild, The
net closes with the announcement Of the
result OF the election, which has placed
the negroes In power and the tearing
down by Ben Cameron of the social
equality proclamation which old stoneman
had posted In front OF the Cameron house.
,FIe tears it Into shreds. throws In Lynch'a
face, and in response to StonemRn's order
< 10 replace, declares II will see you In "
hell first" The first bit OF love-makins
between Ben Cameron and Elsie Stones
man occurs.
The Second Act.
The second act opens In DR.. Cameron's
parlor. and the announcement ls made
that the sherifr's notice OF the public sale Z
OF the house to satisfy tax bills has been
posted, The faithful ''Nelse'' does some
clever acting In capturing the red nag
and bringing 1t into the house. belleytnK
he had thereby stopped the sale, Here
Nelse learns for the hrst time that his
marriage, to be legal, must be held
again, aud this time with license, He
promises himself triumph over Aunt
pye, and the scene, which, BY the way, !,
comes from The Ieopards Spots, q
very amusing, AS usual Nelse Is utterly
routed. 3S4
a stogmy scene now ts.kes elass be-