The Washington herald., 1911-01-03
THE BEL.ASCO.
~The city,

After a long run In New York, Clyde
Fitch's last play, The City" was pre-
sented at the Beiasco Theater yesterday.
matinee and evening performances being
given. with large holiday audiences in atA
tendance.
The play is. to q considerable extent. a
preachment intending to show the far
reaching and disast1 Gus effects Of busi-
ness. political, and social dishonesty. and
particularly with that class Of crooked
ness which by long usage has gotten to
be considered permissible or condoned by
the trite excuse ''others are doing the
same thing" The idea is limited At that
certain men. born honest" continually
resort to dishonest tactics because they
know no other, having been taught. both
by precept and example, that such things
are all right, and in the light Of such
education persuade themselves that they
are honest men, but it is hardly to be be-
lieved, however. that a man could arrive
at the age of and have the experience of
the hero of the story and not know that
lying is lying. stealing is stealing. and
deceit is deceit, particularly in the face of
the suspicion which must have been
- SASoA ~ "Af%% he fRSAOA " aAo Ac>$3ASA
in the opening act unless it be explained
by the curious laws of heredity, specifically
showing that lack of perceptive sense was
inherited from the mother, which seems
to be the case in this instance, although
in certain other respects he was wonder
fully like his father.
There Is also a diScussion-and hence
the title-as to the relative effects of
city and country life in showing up the
true qualities of a man. and in this Mr.
Fitch departs radically from tradition. 1t
has always been generally supposed that
the character of a man living in the
country or village was more open 10
scrutiny than that OF the city man. In
fact. such an idea has been crystallized
into such sayings as in the small town
everybody knows everybody else's busi-
ness" and you may live in New York
fat for half your lifetime and not know
your next door neighbor,'' and such like
In this play the thing is reversed, and
the author sets up the general PROPOSE
ton that in the country it is easy for
man to fool his neiGhbors. and that
the city Stands q man stripped in the
market place" The idea will do very
well as premises upon which to build
up one of the elements of the present
play, but it will hardly be accepted as a
generality without argument The strong
est point made by the play Is probably
a strengthening Of the truth of the old
proverb about the sins of the father"
for certainly the collapsing of the struc-
ture reared upon the foundation builded
by the old man in the first act was the
cause of the catastrophe which affected
all of his children. both legitimate and
illegitimate.
The story opens in the town Of Md
dleburg. showing George Rand as the
village maSnate. He is a man Of crooked
business practices, rendered more success
full. perhaps, by a cloak of religion and
philanthropy. and at one period OF his
life must have been of loose moral hab-
its. for he has an illegitimate son, the
''revenant" of the story. which constant
ly walks as menace to the old man dur
ing his lifetime and to his family after
ward His proper son. George Rand. jr..
is associated with his father in business.
and knowing no other code than that of
duplicity. thinks that the methods taught
by the father are all right, yet he is
possessed of an inordinate desire to go to
New York. where his talents may have
greater scope, expecting to do big things:
and, in fact. the whole family. with the
exception of the father. is tired of the
restrictions imposed by their environ
ment. and long for the city. and in the
midst of a discussion of this situation
the illegitmate son appears. demanding
money. not knowing the whole truth in
regard to his parentase. however, and
levying a species of blackmail on the
strength Of his mothers former relations
with the magnate. rather than upon a
direct claim Of paternity. An angry in
terview follows, and from the effects of
the excitement the old man has a stroke
and suddenly dies. not before. however.
he had eonfided the truth to the other
son, exacting promise as to secrecy.
The way is thus opened for the advent
Of the younger man into city life. and
in the next act we find him prominent
and about to be nominated for
governor, and then the real trouble be-
gins. His half-brother, Hammock, who.
while a map Of considerable intellect, Is
a dope fiend Of the most pronounced
type, is Installed as his private and con-
fdential secretary, it being made evident