The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-07-22

very near future the government will make moderation compulsory by adopting the expedient of eliminating certain proportion of the amusement houses in all the principal cities and towns or by reducing the number of performances per week in the theatres, music halls and
 cinema houses. It is also being urged that a complete ban should be placed
 oa tango dancing in hotels and elsewhere.
 Practically everybody Is agreed that it would be a stupid blunder to place
 undue difficulties in the way of afford ing relaxation and amusement for sol- diers on leave, intuition workers and so on, but 1t is an admitted fact that the existing facilities for amusement are more than adequate, whilst an unduly large proportion of the theatrical pro- auctions now running are of nature which involve the employment of a great deal of labor in regard to scenery, stage manipulation costumes and general equipment which might well be utilized
 in work of greater national importanca
 Hence more simplicity in the matter of
 productions Is being urged and theatrical
 producers are deyoting serious attention to this subject.
 It must not be supposed that the Brit
 ish people are only just awakening to
 the necessity of curbing their pre-war
 zest for amusement and recreation For
 
 pastimes of cricket, football, golf and
 tennis has been enormously reduced;
 horse racing is being continued only on
 very restricted lines, and in the the
 atres there has for a long time been
 marked preponderance of khaki. As a
 matter of fact, total or almost total ab- stemtion from theatregoing has been
 practiced as a war economy by large proportion of the general public. With so many hundreds of thousands of profess sonal men and good wage-earners In the army and in view of the magnificent re- sponse of the people to the plea that they should lend all their available money to the government for the prosecution of the war there has naturally been marked diminution in the number of per- sons with money to burn and Tn this connection account must be take or the thousands of people who have voluntarily sacrificed lucrative positions in nonessen- tiaI occupations to take up national service of some description at bare living wage.
 VETERAN ACTOR AIDS Sir George Alexander, the veteran and distinguished actor, has figured promf- nently in the organization of stage effort in the national cause, and MT. Neville Chamberlain, thes director of national service is now finding in him loyal and most useful coadjutor. Sir George has been largely instrumental In Secur- ing unity of action by the several stage organizations of the countryside Actors association the Thea trical Managers as- sociation, the Variety Managers asso- ciation the Variety Artists Federation the Kinema Managers and the Amalgated Musicians union--in encouraging enlist raent for fighting and national servlce, and he proudly claims that the stage has more striking record for volun- tary enlistment in both directions than any other profession in the country ''The extent of voluntary enlistment from the stage says Sir George Alexan- der. s.has resulted in heavy additional labor being thrown upon the remaining members of the profession an overwhelm- ing majority of whom are beyond mill tary age or are unfit for service, and this additional labor, in a business which is admittedly of national importance, has been cheerfully undertaken. Nobody rec ognizes more clearly than the director of national service that stage perform ances are essential to the maintenance of the nations equilibrium and that they constitute an invaluable form of relax ation for soldiers on leave or wounded, keeping them in good spirits and helping them to avoid manifold and dangerous temptations
 SIMPLER PRODUCTIONS
 Our profession is now being called mon to do still more for the country in the way of finding fighters and na- tional workers and. of course, we shall do our utmost to satisfy the govern ment It is not an easy problem, put Il l T lAc cn1rr