Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-02-24

II
ciaoally 90, and socialistio. with
out being perniciousiy such
This IL the state Of the plays that
- have made the most Of the furore
on the American stage during the last
two seasons. After long period Of boot
less and at times almost nauseating dis
cussion Of The ssx question, the dramatists
are turning 10 the Industrial and social re-
lations for theme. No matter what the
pioneers may think they have Achieved.
nothing that IL absolutely vital has as yet
been accomplished by any. The attack has
been tentative. or. at least perfunctory.
The plays that are typical Of the ciass ana
the ones that are most talked OF in press
and in conversation, have evolved nothing
but what might have been discovered In
an hours perusal Of the daily papers, and
have fallen as short Of proposing an ade-
quate remedy as did their predecessors that
dealt solely with the sex question. Even
the discussion as carried on 30 far has
been Of little use. for II has not been en-
tered into vigorously at any point nor has
the attack on any Of the abuses com
planned of been directed with sufficient
force to entitie Il 20 respect as being
greater than mere protest.
-
When Mr.. Charles KleIn's THE Lion and
the Mouse" was offered to the public last
season, Il was hailed as q scathlng arraign-
ment Of the money power az represented
in the person OF one Of its leading char
acters. The personality Of a prominent
American Of wealth was thinly yelled be-
hind Mr.. Kleins loosely drawn caricature
OF a man OF commanding wealth, and as he
was mercilessly pilloried by the heroine Of
the drama. it's success was immediate and
its popularity widespread. II is still an
immensely popular play, and nightly wins
the plaudits of excited audiences in one
or the other Of the cities Of the land. This
can only be accounted for on the basis that
we dearly love to see pummeled, orally or
manually, the person to whom we have
an aversion, no matter on what ground
Il may be founded In this case the rich
man who 10 thought to have been taken
as q model for the Klein plutocrat has but
little favor among his fellow countrymen,
and they generally rejoice to see him pun
ished, IL only in a play. Mr.. Klein has
presented no new fact, has offered no new
arguments. He does not even present fun
damental conditions. His phrases are su-
perflcial, and his conclusions inconsequen-
tial, Just as the diatribes he launches
through the poor girls mouth at the rich
mans head are platitudlnous and trite. AS
has been pointed out in this department
at another time. the Nemesis in THE Lion
and the Mouse Is not actuated by de-
sire to right any public wrong, but merely
seeks redress for private grievances. 1t
can not be forgotten that Shirley Rosmore
was moved by a sense of injustice visited
on her dear father. Judge Rosmore, who
had been crushed by John Burkett Ryder.
he md fal in
Ryder and, relying on the dislnterestedness
Of the head Money Devil, had placed his
fortune in a certain stock. When the Judge
rendered decision that was unpalatable to
the Ryder person, that instant his stock
was sent TO nothing at all and he was
wiped out. Then awoke the latent power In
shirley's virgin bosom. and forth she went
q Jean d'New York, to do joust with the
center of all evils from which the business
and social world suffer. She saved her
father and married the son and heir OF
the man she had humbled. But II is not
recorded that at any time or place John
Burkett Ryder was induced to abandon his
pursuit OF other peoples money, save n
that he allowed Judge Rosmore to continue
TO ornament the federal district bench
And the thinking folks who waited for the
final curtain unanimously said "Ratsl"
This season Mr.. Klein has offered us
another and deeper" study along the
same line in Daughters OF Men" One
OF these girls IL a poor and presumably
honest working lassie. The other comes
from the very top flake OF the upper crust
They both fall in love with the same man
and in the course OF their contact with
each other spout a great deal of nothing
at all about the conditions and relations
and the fundamental principles, and tho
rights, and privileges, and all that sor
of thing In the great climactic scene
where the poor girl thinks she has hel
more fortunate rival in corner and
undertakes to expose her. the rich younl
woman merely accepts the situation will
that fine moral courage that is inheren
10 every well trained and properly bal
anced mind. and thus defeats her Jus
what triumph for society Is concealed II
this situation can scarcely be OWNED I
is automatic that a we'll nurtured ant
educated Individual has a psychic advant
age over one not so favored, and there 4
nothing remarkable in a rich girl wanting
to marry a poor man. Mr., Klein has onl
emphasized the handicap the poor girl ha
TO accept when she enters into competitio,
with a rich one. whether the contest b
Tor love OF TOT something else. He o
course uses as a background the disparit
In the physical surroundings OF the rio
and poor. But he offers no new thought
and proves no new point
Another of the plays OF the season
heralded as dealing with problems vita
20 the American people. IL THE Man
the Hour" In which Mr.. George Broad
hurst has broadly outlined couple
New Yorks local bosses and the sort
mayor Mr. McClelIand might be II he wei
not another sort. This. too. has merel
transferred from the newspaper column
to the spotlight conditions that have bee
familiar TO the public by dint Of persis
ent publication. Mr.. Broadhurst plays OF
boss against the other, and makes h
mayor act like an honest man at a tin
when It is expedient for him to do so.
IL all very nice as a play, but It propos,
nothing beyond the world-old propositiC
that honesty Is the best policy" 1t do