The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-07
THE HOTEL CLERK ON
 PURIFYING THE STAGE
BY IRWIN s. COBB.

ton a hearty wallop on the point of the jaw every now and then. Y es, sir the movement is certainly booming. And why shouldn't it boom, 1 ask you? Has not it got as its main champion and chief megaphone 8 purity expert who qualified for the job few seasons back when he staged a production that was taken from the French, the French health department concurring, with a lady star in it who had a kiss that was a com bination of an endurance trial and a rainy spell. This gentleman thinks the day has come when we should return to those peaceful, simple home-like plays
 such as our fathers once went to see.
 Well, I don't want you to think I'm of
 a suspicious nature, and far be it from
 me to question any mans motives, but
 I'll bet you good cigar-if there are , any good cigars any more-that the gen
 tleman has a set of blue jeans props or
 Hazel Kirke scenery packed away in sorle storage warehouse somewhere.
 The crusade, young and lusty as 1t
 is has been going along like any young and lusty crusade always goes along
 until 1t gets a puncture. And so there's the devil and all to pay. It started out like good theatrical season, too. To begin with there was the new theatre
 nearing completion and rapidly reach
 ing the point where the three directors
 
 other three systems for running it, at
 the rate of one separate and distinct
 system per director. You've heard of
 the New Theatre, of course, founded
 as place where American native art
 and genius is to be fostered, and scheduled l understand, to open with an English star, in a French play, translated by a German author and supported by a strong company direct | from Lonodn."
 Where does the American part come in?" inquired the House Detective. "Oh 1t was American money that 1 built it. said the Hotel Clerk, and
 there's also talk of getting a bunch of American stage hands to handle the | scenery although some favor Swedes | as being willing to work oh eaper and not so liable to start forming labor unions or anything of the sort.
 But, be that as 1t may the first set | back of the season came when some | body with stone in his bosom in l stead of a heart, started a war upon l the gentle creation known to the trade as The Angel. I don't know why any l body should want to up-root the angel 1 industry. The angel has certainly been l boon to musical comedy in his day | I've known managers that had Little I
 1t came to starting up in the air and 1 meeting an angel on the way. But 1 there's bound to be a lot of jealousy | in the production business; and I im- 1 agine that maybe some manager who d l been out angel hunting all fall, and l hadn't been able to bag a mess, ob- | served a compatriot returning from tn l chase with the tips of wings and check l books protruding from his game bag, l dan0finQ Q of or | more fallen angels Naturally this would be calculated to fill the soul of | the first fellow with envy and the next l thing anybody knew there was a propo- sition to make it a closed season on
 that class of kind-hearted, easily l touched young men of the millionairing | class, with money in the bank and a l lady friend in the chorus who rather leans toward the idea of doing a little | primadonning But this n-slaught, t, l I may say, met with the silent rebuk l which 1t deserved. Without the first
 aid of the angel what would we do for 1 so many of the stars that shine on l Broadway, not to mention so many of l the shines that star?
 l 80 that fell through and now along | comes this inspiring crusade against the 1 saucy show and the ultra -saucy show, not to mention the chili-saucy show Well, so l far as I'm concerned, Larry, l could | be just as happy if they never had an I other of those plays such as the careful i father forbids his daughter to attend, one | reason being that he doesn't want her to | learn about things that she can read on l the front page of the paper any morning, l and the other being that he's afraid if she | does 80 that she might see him there | There's quite number of that kind in 1 town, right now, against which a pru- | dent parent warns his offspring and then | telephones down to the box office to | know when he can get couple of desir- | able seats in Section A, Row 1, directly | facing the point where the objectiona ble | and disgusting dlsrobing scene takes l place.
 "Pm easier to please, Larry. It's al- l ways more or less of shock to my sensi- ! bilities when a manager departs from | the time-honored traditions of the drama. l like for my comic opera lead to wear l white flannel tenor singing trousers, and l chase the limelight over the stage, all | during his scenes, with one winsome blue
 eye fixed on the prima donna and the other on the kid behind in. red, white and