Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-20

- RS. ANNA sTEEsE RICHARD
MI SON, Care Of the World. New
lVk York City-Dear Madam. Some
hH.W few thousands OF your former
IS84 fellow townspeople were visibly
- disappointed that you were not
presentkn your own proper person during
the week, that they might have expressed
" you directly the pleasure they took in
gNnossing at the Boyd the performance by
D. Edeson and his excellent company OF
the splendid play you wrote In conjunction
with Mr.. Frleberger. In addressing you
thus publicly on the topic. no violence is
committed against the prophecies, for It is
but performing a public service In extend
ing to you the congratulations and felicita-
lions Of very many well wishers, who feel
a great deal Of personal satisfaction in
knowing that you have made good" In
fact, It may be confidently stated that were
YOU to take a vote on the matter, or secure
in any way the consensus Of local opinion,
you would find unanimous Told you So"
You have written a play that narrowly
misses being a great play. II Is better
than most great plays, for IT Is a clean
play; its lines and situations are such as
leave no sense Of outraged modesty even
with the least experienced, nor, on the con-
trary, does It at any moment reach a point
where one might say it even verges on
p%rudery. It's situations are clearly developed
and strongly set forth. but with such deli
caey Of perception and dizziness OF ex-
preston that memory does not now readily
recall a more excellent example OF what a
modern play ought to be. Dealing with a
topic that has been so variously and so
frankly discussed by dramatists as well as
polemlc writer's, taking no account OF the
more or less hysterical Nominations Of self
appointed refofmers, who have substituted
volume for weight OF argument, your play
has avoided the Scylla OF mere maudlin
sentiment on the one hand and the
Charybdis Of sensational scandal on the
other. While IL does not dispose of the
4 question OF divorce in it's entirety, nor-as
may be readily ap~prehended-does 1t pre-
tend to any note OF finality on the topic,
It does show convincingly and logically
that people may be happy though married,
that many causes for divorce vanish when
approached from the proper angle, and
that not a little bit of the trouble that has
crept into this green old world of ours has
come through Misunderstanding that might
easily be cleared away II people were only
a little inclined to be patient with one an
other. For these and many other reasons
you are congratulated and have the thanks
OF the public.
A firm OF New York producing managers
Is just at present busy Illuminating a
crusade against the child labor laws.
urging that 1t was not intended that these
should apply to the use of children or
the stage. For the purposes Of the present
discussion the fact that this firm is very
much interested In several plays, the sue.
cess Of which depends in some measure
Rp the presence of children on the stage
Aay be waived. Yet the conclusion cannot
be avoided that in its case the wish o.
the firm is father to the thought, and
that its attitude is to some extent a
least influenced by its desires. The pity
of our modern civilization is that it hai