The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-09-02
SPECTACLE OF
 CIVIL STRIFE IS
 ASPIRING ONE

D. w. Griffith's mighty spectacle "The Birth of Nation" begins it's engagement at Thorna's Wednesday evening, September 4, and will also be shown on September 6 and 8.
 Nothing like this wonderful at traction has ever been seen upon the local boards. And it is given here exactly as it is being presented in New York City, where the biz drama has broken every record in the stage history of the first city in the country. In addition, the piece has piled up record engagements in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal.
 It covers a wide range of Ameri can history and touches only the highest points of interest in the great events that led up to and terminated the Civil war. The force that slavery played in producing this crisis is traced from its inception to it's abolition. While the basic theme is historical in it's foundation it's intent is the fundamental one o1 true drama. The forces which make for these results have been mar shalled upon larger scale than was ever dreamed of before. Where di rectors of vast spectacle have dealt with hundreds in the past, Griffith employs thousands. Eighteen thou sand people fill his stage, winch has vast territory for it's background Three thousand horses pass before your view in wild dahes over miles of country roadway. The decisive battles of the Civil war are repro duced in faithful detail and you sec these conflicts fought again just as they were waged 50 years ago. Cities were built up only to be destroyed to lend force and verity to the dra matic narrative. One enormous bat tlefield is shown stretching over ar area of ten square miles and upor these plains and trenches 10000 sol diers AIlash in mimic warfare that is as real as if you were an eye witness of the actual occurrence Holding the great effects in tether is a story as tender and true as love and romance can be pictured. There are tears and smiles, noble sacri fees and heroic deeds of persona valor. Youthful dreams of. loves fruitiOn are rent asunder by tht demons of war; home ties snap be fore the call to arms and suffering such as cannot be imagined is de picted in the crude manner tha history is made when men surrender reason to passion and engage in { deadlock of armed resistance.
 You see the war start after being shown the causes which precipitatet it. You see the great generals o the contending sections playing theil desperate games of human pawn. moved into the field of slaughter Then comes the agreement tor peace and Lincoln sets about his superhu man task of healing the wounds by the application of that great love which made him the towering figure of his age. A fanatics bullet stills the heart which beat so evenly fol all humanity. The south is throwr back into worse fate than war Their lands are overrun by hungry horde of vengeful politicians and grafters. The poor negro is cajolet into false understanding of liberty and in his ignorance is led into ex cesses by these scalawags of for tune. Out of it comes the ghostly garbed crusaders of terrible era tc once more set things alright and re turn the lands and liberties of peace to their rightful owners, and ovel the lands miseries sounds the chor us of brotherly love in an allegorica dream which visions the reunion oi the divided sections and the welding of that national spirit which has made this nation so great after its baptism in its own blood.
 A wonderful score of operate reaches accompanies the narrative It is all done upon most stupen dous scale. No detail has been over looked. The drama is outlined and told in the most graphic form that has yet been devised by the brain of man for such a purpose. No won der this work is epoch-making. Il has set up new standards which il will be difficult to equal for many 8 year to come.