The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-04
THE THIRD DEGREE GAINS APPRECIATION;
 MELR0SE PLEASES
57 TAIN ST

The play and the players have met in The Third Degree" which was presented at Poli's twice. yesterday, to the immense pleasure of critical audiences, and will be continued two performances daily. until the end of the. week.
 Easily the feature of the presenta- ton of this sensational drama was the appearance of the new leading man, MT. C.. Wilson Melrose, in the about whose legal talents and ability revolves in large degree the plot which Charles Klein devised as the most re- markable in his . career as a play wright. MT. Melrose proved most satisfactory to his audience, at once as to person and talent. His perform ance was equal to the best work done Tn the same part in the original com pany.
 The central figure of ..The Third Degree" is the wife, whose energy, fafthfulness and persistence rescue her husband from the shadow of the
 The Third Degree is not purpose the practice of mentsi torture or % uaasasy on ac. cused persons as practiced pretty generally in the police departments of the United States.
 It also utflizes in a realistic fashion the results of auto hypnotism and the influence of suggestion, adopting some of the results set forth by Prof. Muu- sterberg of Harvard University
 Young Howard Jeffries, who has married a poor girl, and angered his rich father, goes to borrow money of friend. This friend is first class scoundrel, and has written a letter to the young mans stepmother threat ening suicide if she abandons him. L. I~S~ Robert Underwood to persuade him from hia contemplated crime Her effort is fruitless, and Underwood shoots himself Young Jeffries who is asleep in Underwood's parlor, awakes and tries to leave the house. He is found by the police, who also find Underwood's dead body.
 The curtain goes up on the grilling of Jeffries by Capt. Clinton. The ..x- animation concludes seven hours of exhaustive questioning. Finally the pistol with which the crime is com mitted is displayed before the eyes of Jenries, and he, yielding to the hyp- notic influence, accepts the words of the police Captain as his own and they are embodied into confession of a crime which he never committed.
 William Macauley excellently plays the captains role. The role of Jeff fries by Thomas Moore was equally well oone. Miss Blanche Hall, in the role of the young wife gave the part a size and reality which it would have lacked in less gifted hands.
 The story winds to a happy con- clusion. Young Jeffries is freed by the efforts of his wife, the stepmoti1- CTS name is kept from blenlish. by the self sacrifice of the same person, and the curtain goes down upon the usual tableau of the young pair hap oily reunited.
 To those who find lack of proba- bility in the drama, and to those who believe with Captain Clinton that confession is a confession,,' or that 3 man doesn't have to say mo- whom he wants to say ''yes," it may be said that the confession has repeatedly been found doubtful evidence of the guilt of the person making it. The list of cases which Richard Brewster reads are from the books. Tn the annals of justice it has again and again turned out that persons. in con have accused themselves of crimes they never committed, and tome have even been punished by 1eath upon the evidence of such un- rue confessions.