New-York tribune., 1909-10-31
THE LONDON STAGR
A" Inspector General of Thea
tyes,

The necessity for ofnc,., -.-, ~
theatrical performance. M. eSW
tom OF the censorship conssov,,,. - ~ eo'-
that is once admitted. thu cn.s. "aeA
substitute for ths Examine, :, ~.
becomes q practical matter Of a...r
Mr.. Henry Arthur Jones's luc,a A..
gss;ion In an admirably written ~.
phlet is that there should be an lusn.c,-
or general Of ali the theatres ana nm.
halls In the Kingdom The dr.m.,,.~.
argument Is that this Official shouId No..
be allowed TO prejudice a psr,orn.n..
by stopping II beforehand, nor "a ma
die with problems OF morality, but opIy
with exhibitions OF indeesncy. which !.
would be his duty TO prohibit az h. A..
cretion- After laying the sv,denc. ~
fore the Attorney General Ia ~o,,,,
leave the law officers responsible. o..
the prosecution OF violators OF public
decency. Spectators who were sboc..d
by anything fiagrantly Indecent on ~.
stage would be at liberty TO appeal -
the inspector general. and /. veu,6 h.
his duty to witness the nex. u.,,o,r,-
ance and TO pass Judgment upoau
While playwrights might be use,,.1
with their liberty after the abouuo. =.
the censorship. managers Of thsa,,~
and music halls would not welcome N.
creation Of the new Office. They xm,a
be left at the mercy Of the Official q.
pert's Interpretation OF the common Law
respecting indecent exhibitions and
would never know where they were
Only an exchange OF Judgment and Tao,
could answer the requirements OF 40
thankless an Office.
IL is notorious that the text and bu,i-
ness are changed after the Examiner OF
Plays has sanctioned production. Some
times it is for the better, hu. oftener II
is for the worse Several dramas which
have been presented this autumn In Lon
don have been tainted with coarseness Of
language. and these blemishes have been
removed by the authors after the hrst
production. The explanation is cynicalIy
offered that critics and first nlshssrSr
generally are likely TO be jaded BY con-
slant attendance at theatres and that
there must be something spicy" OF, at
least, plain spoken. if they are to be in
terested. When their approval has been
won the strong meat is either disin-
feeted or removed altogether and the
play is adapted 20 ordinary spectators,
who are 'Old-fashiOned'' in tas,s ard
lacking in intellectual qualities"
These instances are exceptions 20 the
general rule that plays deteriorate with
long runs as vulgar byplay and catches
are introduced and the actors find out
what amuses the galleries. Musical
comedies and broad farces are often
transformed in the course OF few
weeks SO as to be scarcely recognizable
by the censor, who has sanctioned them
in their original form. The inspector
general OF the reformed scheme would
be actively employed II he were called
upon 10 regulate the gradual evolution Of
the popular play.
Mr.. JOnes's list Of the most notable
plays and authors that have been refused
licenses by the censor during recent
years is interesting. II starts OF with
"Gdipus Tyrannus," by SOphoeles, ami
"The Cenci," by Shelley. includes Sc
ries OF foreign works. such as Ihsen's
Ghosts" Maeterlinck's "Monna Wanna
and Brieux's "Maternits" and "Thres
Daughters OF NJ. Dupont" and is closed
with Mr., Granville Barker's Waste" and
Shaw's Mrs warren's Profession" "Ths
Showing Up OF Blanco POsnet" and
Press Notices
The list as il stands is a good adver-
tisement for advanced drarnatists. who
are artificially raised 20 the classical
heights OF Sophocles and the Greek
masters. II does not include plays OF
operas prohibited for political reasons
such as "The Mikado.' Mr.. Hall Games
suppressed drama on the Founder OK
Islam and other works rejected for rsa-
sons of political expediency. MI Jones
asserts that any attorney general VIII
a good enough lawyer TO find a sufficient
excuse for holding over any play II ID :
considers its production ineSpedienN
This may be true. but the Examiner Oh
Plays, MIR. Redford. has been enabled
do this without legal quibblins and sn'
ply by enforcing standards set BY psec-
ecessors in Office. LNF-