The sun., 1919-03-07
PLAN FOR GERMAN
OPERA STIRS WRATH
Soldiers and Sailors Lead
Fight Againts Proposed
Series Here.
LABEL 1T PROPAGANDA
Six Weeks Season Of Comic
Works Scheduled to Start
Next Monday.

A great chorus OF wrath arose yes
terday. particularly among soldiers and
sailors who had just welcomed home
their fellow fighters of the Twenty
seventh Division, when word spread
among them that cycle of German
comic operas had been announced for
presentation in the Lexington Theatre
for a season Of six weeks beginning on
Monday next
The repertoire, according to the an
nouncements just made, is to be put on
by the Christians Producing Corpora
ton. headed by Rudolf Christians, who
for a long time had charge of the per-
formances of Teutonic dramas In the
Irving Place Theatre until the war put
that enterprise out OF business.
Fighters start Petition.
Against this plan petitions were cir
culated yesterday by soldiers and sail
ors. who denounced such performances
at time when the treaty of peace IT.
self had not been signed. The operas
which called forth opposition from civ
ilians as well as military men in the
order In which It Is intended to sing
them are:
Der vogenhaendler. Der waffen-
schmed," Die Fiedermaus." Der IL
btuncTDdrOn, DtT btttelstuucut, Die
| Schoene Helene" "Das Suesse Maeder
The cast will be composed Of the follow
| ing: Ellen Davis Kathryn Lynbrook
Mary Schiller, Hertha Won Tuerck, So
pranos; Harriet Behne. contralto; Lud'
| wig Eybisch, Hans Unterkircher. Angelo
| Lippisch. tenors Robert Leonhardt, s
Sofia Ernest Robert. barytones. ant
Ludwig Bauer basso. One of the centre:
| where the protest came to head wa:
the New York War Camp Commun t,
Services unit in II East Forty-irs
| street.
Here an indignant crowd OF boys IL
khaki and blue gathered about the bulle
tin board after some one posted notic'
OF the forthcoming performance. Mel
| who had suffered at the hands of thu
| Germans denounced this proposed bill o
operas as an entering wedge of German
propaganda, and suggestions were mad
that "a Wig lance committee be formed
at once to stop IL and that the Council
of National Defence be appealed to 70
aid
After heated discussion It was decided
to draw up an appeal to their fellow
In the service. and II was taken to vari
Gus headquarters for soldiers and sailors
Signatures were quickly obtained-a
the Naval Club in Forty-second street
for instance, fifty names were affixed b,
man o. wars men In the first three min
utes.
Notices Are Posted.
Then a committee was designated b
the men at the Forty-frst street head
quarters to present the matter at ever
rendezvous for soldiers and sailors 4
the city. and soon they had this motto
posted in hotels and elsewhere:
Americans Have we not had enoug
German kultur? Have not our boy
lost enough OF their limbs and lives
Are we going to permit such an out
rageous and unpatriotic act In tn
United States while we are still at wa
with the Hum
Those OF you who have been on til
, other side know their kultur. Are W
ready to allow the teaching OF this ku
tur in our country? II We are Amer
cans the German opera of March II
1919, must not begin Get together. 70
. Americans. and arouse a feeling in tn
, country to stop the spreading OF Germa
propaganda"
The members or the committee wer
. former wireless operator William Nc
Rae, recently OF the navy's North Sc
} patrol; NJ f. Ayers. private OF the Sixt
. Machine Gun Company, Sixth Regimen
, OF Marines. Second Division. and a vel
: eran of Chateau Thierry, and Charlie
Walker, who Is now under treatment q
Declaration Hospital No. 5 for woun
received in Flanders, where he las
, fought as a warrant officer OF the Tent
: Canadian Infantry.
McRae said:
mo man who has seen what the Gel
mans are capable Of will be willing
see this propaganda starting up agall
a1 1Nax 80 t1