The Washington herald., 1911-09-18
THE CENSORSHIP OF PLAYS

Editor The Washington Herald:
An indulgent smile may be the out
ward manifestation vr several internal
dispositions and mental attitudes. Men
of settled convictions and courteous
manners not infrequently adopt this
convention as a means to express a
kindly interest in another man and his
proposition, but a fundamental dissent
with his tenets and intentions. This smile
may be interpreted as a tacit invitation
to close the matter as quickly as pos
sible, since an agreement is impossible
through lack of interest. Such does not
seem to be the meaning of the 'indul-
gent smile which your correspondent
vouchsafed at the Aloysius Truth So
ciety in your esteemed paper yesterday.
His interesting remarks on the subject
Of the drama forbid any such suspicion,
but rather indicate a deep student and
an appreciative critic of the drama as
form of art His repeated references
to students of the drama" and to those
who have made a study of the drama
class him among the well-wishers OF the
art who are anxious to lend their valu-
able assistance to whatever tends to
benefit the stage. Hence, the movement
for clean plays may be assured of his
kind assistance, provided the oriGinators
of the same are able to satisfy certain
doubts which he expresses in rather clear
language in his communication to The
Sunday Herald.
An 'indulgent SMILE" Mr.. Editor, may
also denote a mental attitude Of a type
somewhat different from the first, but
hardly as kind and chivalrous. This less
desirable attitude is that of the man
who, on "a priori'' grounds, condemns,
not the proposition OF the agitator nor
his purpose and good intention. No; he
heartily concurs in the plan. but through
very excess of zeal and love of the prof.
ect discounts the intellectual ability of
another man in that especial field, in
which he, by reason of his long study,
experience, and keen insight, feels him
self solidly grounded and a competent
authority. He seriously questions the
intellectual qualifications of those who
are fathering the movement he knows
absolutely nothing of the man who
stands before him with a plea for a
public hearing. and yet he brands him
on the spot as "zealot,' no student,
no analyst, a mere sentamentalist, with
no deep understanding of the matter
under discussion and utterly lacking in
Intellectual discrimination! Thoughts
such as these surge through his mind
and are mirrored in the ''indulgent
SMILE" half Of pity, half Of annoyance.
The searcher after truth or what not is
thus condemned without a hearing. con-
hNya in faI CT
chamber far more secret than the one
your correspondent Indignantly REPRO
bates in the closing lines of his letter.
Types such as these are rare, Mr. Edi-
tor, especially in these enlightened days
when knowledge is so widely diffused.
Modern scholarship and modern scholars
have learned to respect the intellectual
capacity of an untried colleague work
ing at their elbow until subsequent
events give them grounds for a rational
opinion. If, however there be any of
this old school. you might remove their
dark fears and assure them through the
pages of your esteemed paper that in
the present instance th"y may reserve
their shudders for more fitting occasions.
The Aloysius Truth Society has not rush.
ed into the vast and intricate field of
dramatic criticism with its eyes blind
folded and at the bidding of parties
manifestly blind to the true aim and
purpose of the drama, and utterly lack
ing in intellectual discrimination" On
the contrary. the movement has been in
augurated with the approval and prac-
teal cooperation Of scholars who have
made a systematic and prolonged study
of the drama. and precisely because of
their contact with the best in the his
tory of the art have been induced to