Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-01

M opened with a tragedy on Mon
day evening. the shooting Of
bS&JJ Architect White by Millionaire
Thaw proving a most startling
interruption Of the bill that was offered.
''Mam'zelle Champagne" light and
frothy summer affair, was being given and
by most singular circumstance a singer
was Just uttering the lines, Let the duel
proceed" when the shots were fired. This
has nothing whatever % do with the case.
but is referred to merely as a circumstances
in story that is destined to hold more OF
less Of the worlds attention for some time
TO come. It is just a trIne unfortunate
for the stage that the AFFAIR should have
occurred II did for II is sure to fur
nish the opponents Of the theater with
much ammunition for their uses. The fact
that the shooting occurred at a roof gar
den, that the victim known a patron"
of chorus girls and the woman in the case
was once member Of "Florodora" sex
tette. will be seized upon to point many
morals. and all Of them to the disadvantage
of the theater. II will be WELL therefore.
TO get all the facts Of the deplorable af-
fair firmly fixed in your minds before COM
ing to any definite conclusion in the mat
ter.
Miss Evelyn Nesbitt, who afterward be-
came ArA Harry Thaw, was a beautiful
girl. and has been much advertised as a
beautiful woman At Is she met Stanford
White, q millionaire architect and ollie
tante, who had already a reputation
patron and protector Of chorus girls Miss
Nesbitt was then an artists model with
an ambition to go on the stage. White
agreed to advance her interests and took
her under his protection" She got along
IS far front rank position in the
chorus. In Paris she met Harry Thaw
and there she withdrew from the "protec-
ton" OF the millionaire who was mar
Tied to that OF the millionaire who was
willing to marry her. She is no more TO
DO classed as an actor than as a painter,
for her relations to the one art is as seri-
Gus and as intimate as to the other. 1t
should be borne in mind, also, that when
Harry Thaw was marrying her he knew,
or at least should have known. enough Of
her past to have deprived him of any de-
fensivs claim against White He a
man OF much experience in such affairs; he
knew that chorus girl could not afford
the trip 20 Paris nor the expensive luxurles
with which he found her surrounded. But
he married her. and now he is locked up
In prison for shooting the man he says
ruined his wife" Just think of these
facts before you condemn the theater or
its people in connection with this tragedy.
d
When Nan Patterson. another of that
noted 'Fiorodora" collection of beautiful
women, was on trial in New York for
numbering the man who had tired of her
and was seeking to get back to his lawful
wife, she was commonly described as an
actress. This was vehemently denied at
the time, just as II will be denied that
Evelyn Nesbitt-Thaw is an actress. It may
with equal force be denied that they are
int iva ~ ard yfVar q
specting body Of young women who have
become more or less well known to the
public, at least across the footlights. The
NesbittH and the Pattersons are more
truly typical Of the chorus girl than they
are of womankind in general The choru:
girl IL q worthy and in many ways neces-
sary member of the great army that de-
votes it's life TO the amusement of the pub
lie. She is bound by the conditions of her
employment TO hard lot. The exactions
Of the theater are such prevent her
from indulging in any serious designations
for II she does she loses her place. Life Is
as earnest for her as II Is for any of her
sisters working at other employment. She
has many temptations but no more thar
the shop girl or the factory girl, and she
early learns 90 avoid the most serious OF
the dangers that surround her. She also
learns that the price of advancement in heI
elsewhere. careful attention to the worl
set down for her to do. She must exec
In each task set before she can be ad
vanced. To do this she must work hard
Her natural talent and ability is developed
20 the utmost by her efforts TO hold he
place, and II she possesses any real talen
It is soon discovered by the manager, VIII,
is always watching for these signs amonl
the girls in the chorus But II is not al
AaqV IN Nd cba ba n
good OF the profession seriously at hear
she has little or time for those thing
that end in sensational shooting ARRAYS
Neither Nan Patterson nor Evelyn Nesbit
was this kind OF a girl
One OF the unfortunate things in this con
nection is that the actor who doesn't ge
divorced or the chorus girl who doesn'
get into some sort OF unpleasant scrape 1
little heard Of They get just what motto
their work entities them to and no more
Actors have little opportunity for HON
life, but they turn TO II just as do othe
men and women, and what they can d
to make a home Is done with an avidit
that is sometimes pathetic. The weeks o
each year that they can claim for thei
own are generally spent at home. in a
EFFORT to pack into those few days all tn
enjoyment OF which they have been dc
them are fortunate enough 10 secure en-
ployment together. but this is difficult be
cause OF managerial prejudice sgains
having husband and wife IN the same com
pany. A reason exists for this. owing I
the exigencies OF the life behind IN
scenes and the desire OF the management
that each member OF the troupe shall b
on exactly the same footing as all other
in regard to the work allotted Those hus
bands and wives who can be together dur
ing the season carry their home life wit
them, and not infrsquently form lttl
nucleus around which the home instinct
the others center. that the social III
OF the organization becomes much NOR
enjoyable because OF the point on whlc
II can focus.
Once in a while the separated coup
meet at a point where the routes OF the
respective companies intercept An occs
sion OF this sort Is recalled happenin
in Omaha several seasons ago. The hui