The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-04

however, II AF. WSpD 1SsS
playing the part without being shot b,
4 Drank he win have established hi
fame a. 4 powerful actor. II ne gefi
shot Mr.. Dixon viii be advertised again
It has been inttmated that the play 4
thriller from start to nnish ana ~
1t Is not dovetailsd together nicely
There are fiaws OF dramatic construc'
ton In It a. may well be imagined
when II 10 announced that i 10 : col.
laboration and joint dramatixatiou q
Mr.. Dixon's two novels. The Leop.
Usually when one long novel ID COM
pressed into . two hours stage per-
Torrance there are perceptible Jaws IN
the dramatic version 30 1t IL only
natural that two novels put into one
play would be open to- criticism. on the
charge OF lack Of dramatic unity.
| Dramatic interest 10 no doubt lacking.
but there Is no lack or want Of interest
In the staged version.
The play has to do with reconstruct
| ton days IN South Carolina. Austin
Htoneman. Mr.. Dixon's Disguise Of
| Thaddeus Setevens, comes down from
Washington to lead the emAnctpated
negroes. to establish them firmly In
power and to preach social equality to
them. His daughter, beautiful girl.
Is with him. She IL beloved by Ben
L
Carolinian. and by the educated mulatto
Silas Lynch. who becomes Lieutenant
Governor Of the State when the negroes.
with the help Of the federal govern
ment have over thrown the white gov
eminent and established themselves In
power.
The first scenes picture the political
uprising OF the negroes. and they de-
velop the love story between Elsie
Stoneman and Ben Cameron. Then
follows vivid portrayal OF the horrors
of Reconstruction with Its negro rule.
General Nathan Bedford Forrest. the
Grand Wizard OF the Ku Klux Khan.
appears on the scene to organise the
white men OF South Carolina into the
Khan. Ben Cameron IL made the chief
Officer Of the South Carolina Khan. The
accepted lover Of Elsie stoneman. he is
cast or when she discovers the course
he is pursuing. At this time the thir-
teen year-old sister OF Ben Cameron II
attacked by q negro fiend In the shape
Of the negro captain of the local mill.
tary company. To save herself. she
Jumps from bluff into the river. Tie
Khan catches the fiend, carries him to
their cave and tries him(i In q strong
scene. in the presence of the audience.
And he is executed.
Silas Lynch, the negro Lieutenant
1OF&Iu0It Oy 5GGuthuk SNtaSAGg W. etA1
theft of public money by Governor
Shrimp. the white radical Governor,
forces him to abdicate mis- power for q
few days, and, acting as Lieutenant
Governor, declares martial law. arrests
Ben Cameron, tries him by courtmar-
tiaI and sentences him to be shot Eli
sic stoneman comes to Lynch to ask
for the life of Ben Cameron. He takes
the chance to declare his love and when
she repulses him with lothing ana
scorn, he lays violent hands upon her.
she is saved by the timely arrival Of
her father at the outer door. She IL
secreted In an inner room and after
discussing and agreeing on social
equality with Stoneman, the radical
leader, Lynch, proposes for the hand
of his daughter. Stoneman, in spite
OF his social equality ideas, repulses
the negro with loathing and disgust.
Lynch holds stoneman at bay. and
sends for negro preacher to have the
ceremony performed at once.
In the meantime Nellie Graham,
Southern girl. has ridden to notify the
Ku Klux of the danger Of Ben Came
ron. They arrive In time to save Elsie
Stoneman after they have rescued
Cameron from his negro guards.
This in brief is the way the stage
story of ''The Clansman" runs; the play
that has stirred the Southern cities
where 1t has appeared as no other play
has ever stirred them. The play mas
set tongues to talking and pens TO N.Y.
ing like uncle Toms Cabin did in the
North. 1t has been called an answer to
s'JJncie Toms Cabin. and there 10 no
doubt there is more truth and at least
no more craftsmanship or sectionaiism In
1t than was in Mrs. stoves play ana
book. If Mrs. Stowe had the right to
put out Uncle Toms Cabin" then GER
tainiy Mr.. Dixon had a right TO put
out "The Clansman."
But what's the use, at this timer
It Is a fine reminder of the splendid
service that the conservative people OF
the South rendered their State and
their section in the stormy days OF
reconstruction. But are the younger
men Of the South forgetting this SER
vice? Certainly not. They hold the
doers Of that service in the same re-
as they hold the Confed-
crate soldier.
Is II to show the horrors of social
equality. by presenting the only par
TALLY successful attempt at IL ever
made in the South? There is no need
white man of today can no more bear
the thought of social equality than
could the white man Of third OF
century ago.
And SO what's the use?
Nevertheless, every man who went
to the theatre to see the play as a
piece of dramatic art got his moneys
worth. The presenting company all In
ali was very good, A deserved tribute
has already been paid the histrionic
of Mr.. Webb. as the negro
Governor.
Meritorious work was done by q
handsome young man named Franklin
playing his foil. Ben Cameron.
the hero OF the piece.
A peculiarly talented child actress
Violet Mersereau, did a splendid bit of
acting as the Inflated child Flora. 1t
was as natural bit of child acting as |
was ever done on the local stage.
william Pitt Shrimp (what name
for a Governor!) played the insignifi- |
cant Chief Executive who was thrown |
into ONCE by the reconstruction wave. |
He was 30 small, so ridiculously insig- |
nificant, so absurdly pompous. that the |
audience quite liked him.
Georgia Welles. beautiful young |
blonde woman, played the high-ninded
Northern girl Elsie SLOVENIAN. There /
may be some doubt as to the truth and
the art OF Miss welles's m lods, but |
there is no doubt OF her sincerity or of
her effectiveness In the emotional
scenes.
John B. Hymer is assuredly South
ern man who grew up on plantation /
with a big negro population. He could /
not have played the negro sheriff so /
true TO life, and with so fine a dialect. |
Otherwise 1t was altogether fine zee
of comedy. But as good as IL was 1t |
was no better than the negro nanny"
played by Maude Durand.