The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-06
SOCIETY AND HOME TOPICS FOR WOMEN
Mrs Leonard T. Beec1er Talks About the Influence of
 the Drama and the Purpose Of the Drama Lea5ue
By DOLLY DALRYMPLE

With Mrs B. F. Wilkerson as president of the Birmingham Center of the Drama League of America, and Mrs. Leonard T Beecher, member of the national organ. ization committee as a resident of this city well as the other officers and members of the local branch, there seems to be nothing short of a most sanguine prospect for the success of the enterprise here.
 Mrs Wilkerson's remarkable talent and graciousness admirably fit her for the presidency and Mrs Beecher, whose fame as reader is almost world wide, gives her prestige that is scarcely enjoyed by any other woman in the south, and with her splendid Knowledge of music. art and the drama, she makes an ideal acquisition to the work which will be counted as un- usual, within the next few years of Bir, mingham's growth and activity
 Mrs. Beecher will give the first pro gramme in the early autumn for the Bir- mingham Center of the Drama league at the Tutwiler hotel and after the initial recital semi-monthy meetings will be held and the programme committee is now eiib opidlliilS ldleUI TOT these meetings.
 Mrs. Wilkerson vii read a play and pr. and Mrs Losey of Tuscaloosa will give Shakespearean recital Lectures on the drama by Dr. Edmonds Rabbi Newfield and a talk on Irish theatre and Irish plays by Rev. Father Coyle. Dr. Burton, president of the Drama League of Amer ica and editor of that excellent magazine. The Drama will proba bly be secured for lectures some time during the year. Mrs. W. S. Lowell and others will direct the productions of an amateur play which will be given by the best histrionic talent available.
 Some professional talent is available from the Drama League of Atlanta The league in Atlanta has $50 members by the way, and meets weekly at Georgian Ter race.
 charming woman from that city vis- iting here recently hurried home because she didn't want to miss the drama league on Tuesday, and remarked i've never read plays any more in Atanta-we go and hear them read and discussed"
 Mrs. Beecher very charmingy and in- terestingly discussed some of the different phases d few days ago of the drama and it's influence, and what the Drama League of America has meant to dile- tante and professional.
 Mrs. Beecher said:
 We have made the mistake of thinking of the drama as something that we could tolerate or not according to our own individual preferences or prejudices, as an ornament or embroidery upon life, when as matter of truth the drama is not to be detached from life. It is a flower of which life is the seed. It is an eloquent poignant sign of life, and the efforts that have been made to suppress it on account of its abuse are about as sensible and well directed as would be the attempt to hold church congress to determine that be- cause literature has been made a medium of decoy and suggestion that therefore we will burn up the immortal messages of Dante and Goethe and Shakespeare; that we will all stop speaking because men lie and blaspheme and debase speech.
 "rhe drama is manifesto ton of life as inevitable as speech. It is really the oldest of the arts, preceding even speech itself, for as an outward and visible sign of thought, action is far more ef- fective than words, and doubtless was used first"
 And the attitude of the Drama league?" I asked.
 The Drama league starts off with the proposition that the drama is the demo- crat of the arts Mrs. Beecher replied. "A fine art for the many. Did you ever think that art is essentially aristocratic? After all, it is the few choice, gifted and es- pecially trained spirits that really under stand and appreciate musc4 It is the few that understand the possibilities and limi- tations of painting and sculpture, but thousands who can neither read nor write