The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-03-08
What the Prima Donna Said About
the Conditions in Europe, .ssl
Have Riled
Them.
is NOT TRUE STORY
Possible for American Girls to Live
Straight While They
Are studying
Abroad.

respondent Of the United Press.l
BERLIN. March 7.American opera
singers in Germany and Austria, nun
dreds OF American girl music stud
ents, vocal teachers and pension OF
boarding house keepers in Berlin,
Dresden, Leipzig, Coburg, Munich and
Vienna are greatly aroused over the
statements of Walter Damrosch the
famous orchestra leader, and Alma
Gluck, the Metropolitan opera primal
donna, and attacks by certain music
journals on the moral conditions sur
rounding American girls in Europe
and the alleged moral conduct OF
students themselves. 1t has reopen sdl
the old controversy and question, Are
the morals of European especially
German-cities lower and worse thah
those OF New York, Boston and other
American. cities?' s
American women singing In operas
in the various German cities charac-
terize the intimation that no girl can
get position in German operas WITH
out paying the price and that price
her honor''-as "slanderous attack
upon their character. The protest
OF American women who are singing
in German operas, however, IS as 9.
smpest In teapot compared to the
storm Of indignation aroused among
the hundreds of American girls by the
statement of Alma Gluck that the
leisure time of the American music
students lis given up chiefly to swap
ping lies and exchanging bedfellows.'
The keepers of pensions would like
to get their fingers into Miss Chuck
locks for her assertion that the pen
sions are breeding places Of vice anu
| filth Of the worst sort" Eleanor Paint
| er, the America prima donna at the
\ Deutsche opera, which under Director
| George Hartmann has become the
! largest and most successful opera IN
Berlin and is giving the kaiser's own
opera hard run, said: Miss GlucS s
assertion is libel upon every Amer
! lean girl singing or studying In Gsr-
many and with but very few eXcep-
lions, our girls over here are
/ straight" Miss Painter is n Colorado
girl of the true Independent western
4 tyua. She has been called the most
beautiful woman on the German oper
j attic stage and also the Billie Burke
4 of opera because of her charming
personality Three years ago she was
y leading soprano in DR.. Parkhursts
4 church in New York. Unlike many
\ others. she has not been the protese
/; OF some prominent op cratic star o.
wealthy person but has had to lgh'
her own way until she is now one o
:. the leading American singers in Ger
many.
81 think it is shame for our owl
people to attack our characters SO un
iustly | haus studied and sung II
New York. London and Berlin. Thu
moral conditions on the stage her
:. are not worse than in New York
, There are not half as many 'Johnnies
!, hanging around the stage entranc'
here as in New York nor near TIN
number of wealthy young men wit
!, nothing else to do than to offer temp
!, tations to girls. Behind the scenes
as matter of fact, American girls
!, serious minded, determined to kee
, straight and with nerve enough t
q slap a man in the face, haNs giyel
. the German operate stage ney
+ tone | quite agree, however, ina
: girls in their teens should not b
!. sent To Berlin unchaperoned to study
any more than would approve 9
+ them being sent to New York unde
h similar conditions.
l. Marcella Craft and Maud Fay, tw
9 beautiful California girls, who hay
S attained international operate fam
l. by their singing in the famous oper
y of Munich, also joined in denouncin
It the staten ints of Walter Damrosc
n and Miss Gluck Miss Craft said:
s have spent the past twelve years !
i stndy and in singing in Italy and.
It Germany: have lived in many PEI
y sions in both countries and hay
$. hem in close touch with musical COZ
II yiitions here and constantly in touc
g with the American student element.
feel Therefore that | ann perhaps
o we'll qualified to speak with autho
itv as Miss Chuck who apparently hs
spent but nine months In Europe.