The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-05

in their predicament OF course, this be
ing an unreasonable farce, the wife is
made to impersOnate the mythical dancer
in her home, where her husband is in
trOduced to her at a supper given by the
fraudulent JOyanna and paid for by the
junior. The wife, being played by the
cOmpany's principal sOubrette, Alice Al
lOway, not only is able to do the requis-
lite dancing, but sings ballads that
round out the enchantment of the Wis
itOr. AT first, he suspects the ruse, but
pretty soon he finds that she has Vi
Vacity, an audacIty, an amount of devil
try never shown to him by his wife. How
can the author help making him eX-
claim, in the slang phrase of the day: Il
love my wife, but OH, you JOyannaH'
Is there nothing serious, thoughtful
worth while i'm the current output of
drama in New York? Surely, yes.
Strife" the second new play at the New
Theatre, is a problem-an equitable pres
entaJion. in a strikes incidents of the
antagOnism between capital and labor.
There is no sentimental story i'm Strife, -
nor any love affair, but merely some IL
Illustrations of a strike by tin factory s
wOrkmen near Pittsburg. The most ener-
getic picture is a meeting of the strik-
ers who wish to compromise, but their
leaders fiery eiOqucnce fans the dying
embers OF their zeal to a furious blaze
again, and ne obtains the authority to
defy the employers. The representation
OF a dSOTdeTly meeting, with the speakers
fighting their way TO the dOOrsJeps that
serve for a rOstrUm. and the others fran
tic with dissension, is such stagecratt
as used to be rare, and is expected now.
Just as the leader triumphs. word comes
that his wife is dead-killed by the
strike. That doesn't deter him.
The similarly iTrec0ncilable president of
the company dominates the directors, al
though he Is the only member who
wouldn't be glad TO stop the concern S
loss which has reached quarter of a
million and may bring insolvency if con-
rte1-g
leader to a conference, and he comes with
six committeeman DESTROYS Of a ComprO-
mise that will bring the wretchedness Of
their families TO an end; but they stand
in uneasy silence while he Vehementy
defies the directors, including several
whose attitude is friendly Thus the stub
born auimOsities of two men, coming into
collision like flints, strike fire again and
threaten disaster
A Solved Problem.
Does Author Galworthy solve the prob
lem2 Partly. He says, inferentially. that
obstinate leaders of both capital and la
Dor prolCng strikes. when dispassiOnate
arbitration would prevent or shorten
them. Another conference is held. All
but the two are ready for compromise
The president would rather go to penury
than yield to the dictatiOn of labor
That's the chip on his shoulder. The
leader knocks the chip off with his vow
that he'll starVe rather than live with the
heel of capital on his neck The fight
looks like going on with new rancOr.
But the directors and the strikers have
had all they'll bear Of COerciVe mastery
and they vote unanimously to make a set
Element
MY first defeat. and at the hands of
my directors the president sroans, as ne
let's his daughter lead him away to bed
in a collapsed condition.
''The towards who ought TO stand by
me to the death have turned me down.
the leader groWls. shaking his fists after
his fellow workmen
What's the good of the striker" some
one asks of the union delegate.
William j. Locke is a novelist in fashion
and "Septimus' is the latest play made
from his matter by Philip Littell 1t
rous rescue Of Emmy, and their ultimate
love and happiness. Thus a consistent
and concise plot is offered for Saptimus
eccentricites, simplicity and nobility But
he is too worthy and the plot too clear
ana easy running. George Arliss is the
whole question That his Septimus would
be a treat was a fOregOne conclusion.
But Emily Stevens is an uncertain prop
osltion. She is young niece of Mrs
t1Ske, and dangerously like her The &C.
centricities in the famous actress meth
Cd are safe because back of them she has
long experience in the traditional way of
doing things
But Miss Stevens has not. So when she
strikes boldly out she sometimes hits it
and sometimes comes eropUer for lack
of authority. In ''SaDtimus" for instance.
she spotls a climax because she is so
good. What l mean by that is that her
excellence is so marked i'm the earlier
portion of the scene that only a great
actress could sustain the tension 10 the
end. The point is EmmV's discovery that
her lover has married another woman
and her terror of the future Rejecting
conventional stage devices. Miss stevens
slmply sits facing the audience, trying 10
STEADY herself, but her knees knocking
visibly together Tt IS so vivid a Dict11re
of brave fear that the critical audience
bursts into a storm of applause. The en-
thusiasm on the first night seemed really
20 unnerVe Miss Stevens. For after that
she seemed actually Ia loee her ra,.,-s
The end Of the act came weakly.