The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-04-14

everybody prepared for a thor.
onehly good time with Bernard
Shaw. But Mr.. Shaw is not i'm.
mune from the danger that besets
all literary leaders-that is, the
bottomless pit which his own gen.
ius has discovered. the temptation
of over-emphasizing the very
quality that distinguished bis
work from the ordinarily good
Pinero's later plays have lost
something Of their human poig-
nancy by their almost scientific
perfection Of construction; Henry
James, S elegance Of style has de-.
veloped almost to the point of in
, telligibility; the Shawn topsy.
turveydom has double. crossed it.
self into mere buffonery. One or
two Of his most recent pieces be-
ing essentially ephemeral in de-
sign, it is safe to hope, and even
to believe. his endless talk and ut
ter disregard of form-resulting in
combination of boredom and con-
fusion-is passing phase; but
surely Press Cuttings got we'll
caught in the passagel
M R. SHAW, who has sbrewd-
v4 ly upheld the feminist side
Of every argument, from the days
when advocating Nora Helmer and
A Doll e House, was a "cause'
to the militant nowadays of Mrs.
Pankhurst, Carrie Chapman Coat
and Lady Constance Lytton, wrote
the comedy of ''Press Cuttings
for tho benefit of woman suffrage.
The British censor-man that he
is'-refused to license Its produc-
ton; would it be unmanly and un-
fmr to say something for the OBJ.
Jections. to a play which, not to
quote from its cutting dialogue,
puts Mr.. Shaw's most drastic
views into the mouths of such
clumsily and thinly veiled proto-
types Of the prime minister and
Lord Kitchener as Mr. Balsauith
and Lord Mitchneh7 At first, the
very topsyturvegdom and aban-
don of "Press Cuttings makes
for laughter, but presently we
frightened into hysteria by the
dazzling name of G, B. S. The
period is that future day "wheu
military consumption shall have
been established in England
petticoats and bonnet, arrives at
fs Of ai Slfs Rsssuea Fl onS mGS
way a prime minister can get from
he explains, sis by assuming this
disguise, calling 'votes for
women' and chaining himself to
your doorstep
The antis, we are told now con.
stitute the militant ranks, having
been so disgustei by the govern
ment IS opposition to the demand
of women for the vote that they
are about to form a regiment to
fight them Mrs, Bangor, a leader
among the militant antis, main
tsins that all great men in history
were women in disguise.
DO you suppose Napoleon
would have treated women as
brutally as he did if he hadn I
been a woman himself?' she asks
portentously. "Of what use is q
vote to mena Give me a regiment
of women with snbres and we will
have no fear of a regiment Of
men with votes.''
THE orderly commanded to
Il eject her from the war Of
fee looked at her firm, reliant and
massive figure and then paused in
hesitation. However, teaching
him his duty, she seized him so
eXpertly by the collar and jacket
that he was out of the way with
out a moment 8 more ado. Every
point of humor in the character
was driven in to its fullest by the
brilliant elocution of Mary Shaw
aud, especially, by her delightful
seriousness of demeanor; but what
are we to say to leading humor-
ist who calls his militant apti.suf-
fragette Mrs Bangor in order that
another character may remark
upon the number Of quiet people
who bear aggressive namesf
Bernard Shaw-and, therefore,
his more slavish worshipers-ap-
pears to be hugely delighted with
the character of n charwoman who
runs the war Office; who unbur-
dens herself of various befuddling
"views;' who remarks of su6ra,
gettes and anti-suffragettes, 'I
don t know whether it g them that
wants it or them that don t. they
arc all alike when they get into a
state about it," and who finally
consents to become the wife of
Lord Mitchner, who wants her be.
cause she is "the only person con.
pected with the British army who
knows whore everything is when it
is wanted" At first she demurs
because "every woman is a char
woman, once she gets married.
the only difference being that af
forwards she receives no pay for
her work-with which bit of impu
dent and portcntous folly it seems
as well to leave the author who
used to take the trouble to write
such rare comedies as "Caudida"
and "Man and Superman.
A THOUGH fully appreciating
N that literary prophet is
usually without much honor-eveu
in his own column am ready to
90 on record as Seeing the
name of the author Of .'The Bar.
gain as among the bright lights
Of the future. Not that ! am rash
enough to make any prophecy
Whatsoever for John Maynard
booth; the simple reason being
thar no such drsmstist exists The
nom de thester is q hodge-podge
evolved from the fact that HillIard
Booth wrote a tense and gripping
drama called "The Sacrifice.
which Cora Maynard has retash,
ioned into "The Bargain eut !