The Cairo bulletin., 1906-07-08
WHICH SAYS THAT "MRS. WAR
REN'S PROFESSION" is NOT
INDECENT.
PJOR BUT NOT LEWD
New York Jurists Hold Irish Writer a
Bold Dramatist But Not immoral
DAILY, the Actor is Acquit-
ted by the Ruling.

NEW iOFk, July g. Mrs. warren :
Profe sion, the play by George Rer
nard Shaw which the police dragged
from the stage af'1 a single sensa-
tional performance here last October
Is not immoral, according to the court
of special sessions, which today de.
cided its production did not violate
the penal code.
The decision y.ndicates Shaw ana
rebukes the police. Anthony Com
stock and all who howled at the play
agents, Arnold Daily and Samuel Gul-
pertz, who were arrested after the
only production here
The decision say
The court is called upon to state
the facts and decide whether the Ian
guage of the prompt book as spoken
ON the stage, was a public nuisance
per Sc, because offensive to public de.
cency There is nothing in the words
themselves, or in any particular
phrase or expression. which can be
said TO be indecent and the court is
compelled to resort to the theme and
motive of the play TO find the in
deesney complained Of
The theme is not a pleasant one
In fact the play has 10 do with
couTtesan's excuses for her calling
These excuses are made by a cou.te-
san mother TO her daughter, apparent.
" born out Of wedlocls, young WON.
an brought MP III Ignorance Of her
mothers manner of life. and away
from its environment, a highly edu-
Gated and strong minded person, who
begins to suspect from the character
of her mothers as'ocia as and hints
thrown out by them, that there Is a
shady side to her mothers life She
forces a confess ion from the older
woman, who defends her choice of
calling with steraotyped railing
against social conditions which she al
leges force a womaa % choose the
courtesanis way.
Play Unpleasant and Poor.
This attack upon existing social
conditions particularly those which
relate to the commercial employment
of women, seems so be the motive
VIII 'ch has led the playwright to pre-
sent this unpleasant picture for pub
lie consideration. That his main idea
was not discussion of the social evil,
50 called, seems TO be demonstrated.
The dramatist has in this play used
old and hacbneyed materials, the com.
mon tools of scores of other play
wrights, but he has used them more
boldly-so boldly. i'm fact. that their
tendency is To surpr g and shock his
audience. II must be said for him that
he has in this play made vi-e less at
tractive than any other dramatists
whose plays never received the cen
serious attention of the police
"The suggestion that the clergy
man in the play {. tn ia hcr of Mrs.
Warron's daughter, with the situation
which makes that clergyman's
acknowledged son a suitor for the
daughter hand S another of the
dramatist's shock producers. AMI
there are othcr repellant things bo'h
in the play and in ij. C1aracjers-i1
fact there is So little that is attractive
in the drama that Il is afe 10 predict,
without the preliminary sensational
advertisement Of this proposed pro
duct on. its life on the boards would
De hort
No Immoral Lesson Taught
is the sugg sstion of the play In its
sence moral or immoral? l. a single
idea or purpose he inculcation Of
moral or immoral lesson2 In no ecene
Of the play is Mrs. Warrens profes
sion presented as a stage picture. ltI
Is III rely referred to. and that in a
most indirect way.
"'Nhile the court may hold decide
opinion regard ng the fitness of This
play as a stage production when It
come to con idering the que. ion Of
the c-iminality 0f the acts OF these
defendants in publicly producing it. il
must make applicatI Of the principle
law laid down by tho court Of appeals
as test Of CT minality l1 the making
If such an application i'm The case az
bar. ID appears that instead ot excit-
ing impure Imagination ia the mind
Of the spectator. that which is really
excited is disgust. that The unl0yely, Z
repcllent and disgu=tiug IN The play
are merely acce--orfes 70 Toe main
purpose Of the dram. which is an
attack On certain social conditions Te-
lating to the employment Of women. /
which ths dramatis- believes. a. Do /
many others with him. should be re- (
formed Tried by this rule. the play
does not come within the inhibition Of 4
the statute. and the defendants are 1