Arizona republican., 1916-03-17
William Winter


 The testimonial given to William Winter in New York Tuesday night the occasion of his eghtieth birthday, though the birthday really exactly four months later July 15, may almost be considered incident the Shakespeare tercentenary for which preparation is being made all the world Even Germany, in the midst of a is setting aside period in honor of the great English dramatist. With the exception of Sidney Lee perhaps there has been other such Shakespearean scholar Winter
 Mir Winter entered the field of dramatic criticism sxty-two years ago and he became the foremost dramatic critics be said he is the last of them in this country He the editor and dra- matc critic of the New York Tribune for forty-foHr until 1909 when there severance of his lations in dramatic which disclosed the pc cuiar relations which for sometime had been in proc of establishment between the stage and the news papers. Mr. Winter made public the correspondence between him and the business department of the Trib une relating to this incident and for the first time the world apprised of the strong hold which theater homogeneous had fastened upon even the pow erful of newspapers
 It had become question whether the scholarly, honest and sometimes, criticisms of Win should be modified whether the Tribune should be deprived of patronage called theatr- cal trust The demand of the itself a tribute to the and influence of the critic who could make break a play a house. His crit csms went not only to the individual play but to the general degeneracy of the stage which panderng to popular taste that becoming low and vicious, which the stage itself had implanted and cultivated.
 MT. Winter received many communications from the business department of the Tribune first sug gesting rather apoogetically, modification of his against certain plays and heaters and limiting that closer relation ought to be established between the business department and the dramatic editor Mir. q prostitute his department at the request of whom he despsed and finally, he rendered his resig- nation.
 Will Irwin in Golfers Weekly years later disclosed the unhoy relation that had between the greater business departments and editorial managemens one side and the worst of the stage Since MT. Winter left Tribune the department of Newspaper dramatic criticism been in effect, closed though many of the metropolitan newspapers still maintain a called department of criticism But some of the great newspapers of the country no longer pretend maintain this department
 Those which do print for the most part, only eu- logies condemnation of plays, the basis of their merit but according to the relations that happen exist between the theater and the newspapers Ac- cordingly meritorious performances have been demned and worthless performances have been mended Now and then the dramatic critic when he has occasionally been given free hand has presented exhibition only of what he considered his wit with intent to provoke the wonder of the reader his powers of sarcasm, rather than impart in- formation
 In all this there has been lacking that scholarly analysis of the drama which distinguished the work of Mir. Winter and still distinguishes of English and continental dramatic critics for in Europe dra- matc criticism is still regarded honorable pro- fession a field of literature.
 The criticisms of MT. Winter essays art, analyses of plays and their presentation, which could have been made only by deep student, one who had familarzed himself with the history of the drama and the progress of it's development highest He must have been able compare the O country and period with that of country and another period. Such criticism is skillful alysis, s<illfu dissection compared with bud geon blindly and gnorantly yielded and the un- guent of commendaton now sckenngly applied in the treatment of players and plays by so-caled critics.
 There must change in newspapers, a change in the dramatic journals for journals have been brought under the influence as the newspapers, before there will be William Win