El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-31
Other Cities Called Upon to
Produce Something That
Is Different.
CBE Emory b. CnIvert.l

TEW YORK, Nay, Slow long
~ IS this great country with its
diversified interests, its infinite
variety Of types and characters and its
local ideals, hUmOrs and tastes going
TO be dominated, in regard TO its drama,
by Broadway How long viii il be
necessary for a play to first secure
New YOrk's certificate Of approval be-
fore il can hope 10 succeed on the rOadZ
That such is the condition at the pres
enu time there can be no doubt The
claim of Chicago, that she has become
Independent of New York as a, play
producing center IS not OF any great
consequence even If the claim be true.
Chicago is, in most respects like New
York in every thing that pertains to the
drama thoroughly commercIallzed and
1mbued with the same Ideals or per-
haps il would be more accurate to say,
lack Of ideals
one reason for this condition is that
New York looms Overwhelmingly
larger in the imagination of the people
throughout the country than any other
city in the union Everything pertain
ing TO the great metropolis seems TO
take on sort OF magic spell and IS
Uagnified far beyond its real value.
The producing managers Of New York
are keenly aware Of this fact For
that matter everyone In New York is
aware of IL, and they exploit it for all
IT is worth This attitude Of the New
Yorker has been denounced as narrow
prOYincialism- It is prOvincialIsm, Of
course but prOFlnclallsm Tor Wnlcn no
one is to blame. New York is the cen
ter Of the nations financial and In
dustrlal activities II is the very heat OF
the nation IT does things on more stu
DeuQOuS scale than any other city IN
the world and this must necessarily
captivate the imaginatiOus of the peO-
pie from Maine TO California and from
Michigan to Florida
The best facilities for producing
plays are here and, Of course. the best
facilities for marketing them New
York is the one great American clear
ing house for ideas II aosor1s tnou-
sands Of mediocre ideas in its avid
hunt for one good one and when the
good one is found 1t pays fabulous
sum for IL. This is so cOnsplcuOusly
true Of the play that an those VINO
have written a play and the census or
1910 viii indicate the number, bring
their wares TO New York in quest OF
the great prize Realizing that their
success depends on Broadway hear
ing, they naturally write TO please the
Broadway palate
This condition viii not change until
cities, such as Indianapolis, Denver ana
Los Angeles have sufficient local pride
and public spirit to endOw a theater'
the main purpose Of which VIII be to
produce plays Of a local character.
These theaters viii then be conducted
for arts sake, being insured against
financial loss. and for every one Of
them there is bound to emerge a play,
at least once a year, that VIII mount
to national, or even international i'm
pOrtance, and the era OF great Amer
lean dramatic art viii have arrived
@5IIIe. Modesto"
The most important theatrical event
Of the week was the revival Monday
night Of Mile. AIodiste" with FRITZ
Scheff in the title role, which she made
famous here eight years ago The
Globe theater was the scene Of the re-
vival and a large and appreciative au-