New-York tribune., 1908-12-22
THE DRAMA
Mr.. LACKAYE AT THE SAVOY.
"The Battle. -


The conflict indicated by the word battle used
for title of ths play. is the cOnfiict-if really
there be any,-between the ideal ard the actual or,
state the fact more explicitly the practical ana
the visionary. phianthropist named Gentle and
a financier named Haggleton associated and
contrasted and the purpose Of that association ard
contrast is TO show that philanthropy I'm order to
be effective. must cease to be vague and sent-
mental and become distinct and sensible; also that
the recthcatiOn of social evils must cone through
love. NOT condescending bounty. That proposition.
which at once cOmmends Itself to general accept
ance. is not ntrinsicaIy interesting: but the in
terest of this commendable fabric depends less
upon it's freightage of ethical sisnihcance.-which
is indefinite. to practical action.-than upon
its story and the characters ard incidents
that evolved in the exposition OF its
theme. tHaggleton Is resoute, energetic
self-contained man, possessed OF great wealth
His estate consists. in part. of tenement houses
in the densey populated lower eastern district of
New York CITY Those tenements are In a squald
condition The philanthropist. Gentle, Is desirous
that they should renovated and made suitable for
habtation by the poor persons who dwell In them
With this worthy object in view and with an OBJ
ject of still more vital import, he induces Hag-
gleton 10 make a personal inspection of them
HaggIeton Is of middle age His wife has
left him, years before, taking their only son.
and they have been sought for in vain. The mother
is dead The is alive, bearing the name Of
Philip Ames being employed a driver. and dwell
ing among the East Side people Gentle is aware
of all Haggletons affairs and he knows that
Ames is the son of Haggleton- Ames. like
Gentle. is more or less theorist and a
dreamer. The purpose Of Gentle is to bring the
father and together, and ultimately. If posi-
BILE. harmonize them in righteous vein The
plot rather chimerical and certainly it Is based
rather violent assumptions presented as posi-
bllity in actual life Admitted fancy. however.
it is sufficiently terable-just the Christmas
Carol is or the Man from Mars. The purpose
seems to have been rather to depict a condition
than 10 announce any conclusion about it, and
therefore the piece which is very patchy, seems
more like discussion than a play. II close
" held the attention Of numerous au-
dience. and there is reason TO believe thai
will hold place our stage for some
time In the treatment Of the tao female
characters that implicated there is much in
certitude and some rather amateurish folly. MT
Wilton Lackaye gave a consistent and emphatic
performance. He has remarkable force. but, In
this instance no paternaI feeng-the essential re-
quirement Of the part-and tenderness His
acting reveals bitter spirit satiTfcal bent OF
mind and combative disposition. Every cynical
speech that he had TO deliver was spoken with
zest and perfectly well, while every tender utter
marked by that vehemence which aTtiice
invariably substitutes for sincerity. Mr.. Z. NJ
Holland has the most difficult part.-a kind Of
ma rine guardian angel. with very little To do
and' he contrived to make the character plausible
and TO impart air of credibilty 70 proceedings
intrinsically dubious. Mr.. IT. p. Warmers imper-
Sohatoh OF Fmlp AIheS was marked nN intrinsic
mauliness and, in trying situations. by great deli
Cacy and refnement-no emotion being Overdone
and no tameness vitiating his assumption of feel
ing. Tie merit of the production is that it will
stimulate thought upon subject Of vital impoT-
tance the welfare of the nation The
author of tho play, Mr. Cleveland Moffet has
discovered the fact-which long ago pointed
out-that the disease at the basis of all national
troubles is low standard Of public morality Per-
sons who call attention to this fact commonly
called mUCk-rakCrs The fact nevertheless. re-
mains. and abundant evidence OF it might readily
be addUcCd- There does exist. however d virtUOus
and noble public spirit. and If Mr.. MOfett's play
and Mr. Lackaye's acting should prove helpful in
stimu9tng that spirit good result will have been
attaGed. Mr. Lackaye made clever speech. after
the third curtain, and the author also spoke
stating that he had only aimed to tell story and
not to advocate any policy Of kind The 1ndi-
cations of the night all in favor of. the CON
tnuanCe Of the play. W ".