New-York tribune., 1919-12-28

Chinese any more than you can the
Jew, the Pole or the Russian. But
You can Americanize them all.
started out with the Wilsonian idea
of the self-determination Of races;
that each must be left alone to work
out its own destiny.
Il had no particular interest in max
ing 1T Chinese play. aside from the
tact that after long diet of pork
chops one rellshes some chop suey
And there seems 10 be a craving among
the theatergoers for chop suev lust at
present. The plot would have been the
same, no matter what the locale His
torlc truth has nothing TO do with ar
tistic truth.
81 had expert advice on East Is
West The play was carefully gone
over by prominent Chinese here. and
Chinese students from Columbia at
tended the rehearsals They were en-
thusiastic about it"
Mr.. Tow had less to say in objection
to The Rose Of China" His comment
on 1t was: Il saw q peculiar carica-
ture Of a Chinese priest. | have never
seen priest in China like this Such
one may be found in the imagination
OF an artist. bat not in everyday life
Is 1t net ridiculous that this character
should be drawn IN play supposed to
represent real Chinese life ?"
Guy Bolton. who wrote the plav.
made the following statement as to the
objections raised: I'm musical pro-
ductlon characters are accentuated to
some extent. but, then, it must be re-
membered that the story is developed
for its laughter and artistry, not for its
moral. 1t would be just as reasonable
for Americans to object because the
American hero marries . Chinese girl
as II is for the Chinese to protest
about my harmless priest. After all,
the locale OF the story could be any
where. he plot happens to be laid in
emma because there is a demand for
Chinese plays and the picturesque set
tings that go with them.
ne present-day public, which has
been brought up to realism in all its
truth and fiction, demands realism as
well IN its drama and musical comedy
Frankly, that is what we try to give
them. In the plays | write | try to get
the smallest possible number of straight
character parts. What these so-called
parts are made 10 do in the play is, to
me, less important than the interest
they create in themselves. So I try
to make them human instead of stereo-
/ typed. ou can shape the characters
IN your play any way thu. makes them
,itNl cS'-it5 10 tne people Wt1 see and
hear them. While situation is impor-
tant. it is secondary to character in
all plays and in comedies in par
ticular"
Mr.. Tow finds nothing but good in
The Son Daughter" He saws of il:
81 was greatly surprised the other
night when l saw this play. The sur
prise was that ! never had seen a plav
SO free from offense to US as this. I
admire IT. not because it presents bet
ter features Of our people, but because
there Is no inconceivable exaggeration:
not because il shows that the Chinese
are patriotic, but because il proves
they are much the same as American
I and that they enjoy. suffer. are happy
and sad just as the American people.
We must congratulate Mr. Belasco. the
author Of the play, for his appreciation
OF this essential in representing a for
eign people. We must thank him for
his doing justice TO us and not de-
celving the American public.
Those who have seen East u Wes+,
must go TO see The Son Daughter for
their eyes and ears should be cleaned
with spring water. Besides. il is worth
while seeing because il teaches bows
what patriotism is and girls what love
should be. Such plays as this ars
J scarce nowadays"