Evening star., 1920-02-14
JOINT COMMITTEE
ENDS INQUIRY ON
COMMUNITY WORK
Continued from Second Page. }

Continued from Second Paee)
mittee Thursday night by Mrs. Bur-
leson. wife of the Postmaster General:
With the greatest regret I state
most emphatically that the reported
sta tements made in my absence by Mr..
Clifford, DR.. Johnston and Mrs. Burle-
son In regard to drama activities in
Washington do not square with the
facts. The Post Office Department
Drama Club was organized by Mrs.
Maude Howell Smith. my assistant,
and one of the first plays we put on
for them was play by DR.. Johnston.
who now sees f1t to give the wrong
impression of community service. The
Post Office Department players were
helpless until they came to US for
assistance. l wish to make gen.
eral contradiction of the statements
made before your committee by Mr..
Clifford. who was once employed by
War Camp Community Service. but
who now sees fit to misrepresent our
activities and to ignore what COM
munity service has done for the drama
development of Washington"
Mr.. Clifford Resigns.
Continuing, Mrs. Forrest said:
After the formation of the depart
ment Of Aausic and of pageantry and
drama in War Camp Community Serv-
Ice, Mr.. Clifford. appointed from the ma
tional headquarters of War Camp Com
munity Service in New York. and whose
salary was $4,000 a year, worked for
about two months in organizing what he
intended to be a combined department.
embracing music. pageantry and drama.
Mr.. Clifford then resigned from War
Camp Community Service. The work OF
producing plays for the benefit Of the
men in the service in their camps near
Washington was continued without
Mr.. Giffords direction. Plays were
produced which were furnished to
War Camp Community Service by Mr..
Franklin H. Sargent Of New York and
Mr.. Harry Neville of the Army and
Navy training camp activities. These
plays were furnished without royalty
for the benefit of the men in uniform
and in specific occasions for the
benefit of government employees.
'Only in one instance was royalty de-
manded and that was on play pro-
duced for the Powell Community Cen
ter. The royalty on thfs was paid by
US. In all other occasions where roy
atty was attached to the production of
plays such plays were avoided. In
one instance where it was discovered
that production might lead to payment
of royalty the production was stopped.
p. o. Dramatic Club Formed.
"In regard to the statement about
the Post Office Department Dramatic
Club let me say that in response to a
notice sent through the Post Office De-
partment by their social secretary be-
tween seventy and eighty employees
met the representative of War Camp
Community Service December 4, 1918,
and as a result of this meeting a tenn
porary committee was appointed to or
ganiZe employees of the Post Office De-
partment into a dramatic club. With
in very short time the Post Office
Dramatic Club was formed, which has
continued and has grown into such
efficiency as Mrs. Burleson described.
The meeting December 4 was the first
step taken in the Post Office Depart
ment to organize such a club. Since
that time War Camp Community Serv-
ice and Community Service had CO.
operated and assisted in various en-
tertainments given by the Post Of
in the Little Theater. with the fourth
assistants bureau in charge: there
was produced THE Grill" by DR..
George Woodruff Johnston. to which
he referred before at the meeting
Thursday night. The program for that
evening announced that this was done
by courtesy of the War Camp Com
this play for use in the camps and in
Washington by War Camp Community
Service.
When the federation of clubs was
proposed Mr.. Clifford asked Mrs. Smith
of War Camp Community Service dra-
matte department to furnish him with
a list of clubs which were working
along dramatic lines during the war
period and which they hoped to inter-
est in the new movement. This re-
quest was promptly complied with.
Since that time the Community Serv-
ioa Iror, RI ha r..
ly offered to serve the federated clubs
in any way possible-by lending seem
cry, props or any of its staff While
these offers have been graciously ac-
knowledged, no use of them has ever
been made.
Has Rendered Assistance.
For the Arts Club, Community
Service, upon request, supplied on four
or five occasions plays, including DR..
curtains and props for use of the Arts
Club.
AT the request of Powell Community
Center the dramatic department of War
Camp Community Service coached a
dramatic class and produced four plays.
With the Home Club Players of the
Interior Department, War Camp Com
munity Service and Community Serv-
ice had always had the closest CO.
operation. We have given and are
giving them places in which to re-
hearse and loaned them scenery, ETC.
Community Service has, in return. re-
ceived the greatest assistance from
the members of the Home Club. Dur
ing the past week a request reached
Community Service from Mr.. Winter.
director of the Home Club Players,
asking for assistance in providing a
meeting place for his members who
now are without a home. The Com
munity Service agreed to provide ade-
quate quarters if the present cam
paign for funds will permit.
Various groups in the war risk
insurance bureau have co-operated
with the dramatic department OF Com
munity Service. and plays were cast
and coached and used throughout the
camps. Through the stimulation of
this interest demands for dramatic
work were so numerous that Mrs
Putnam, the social secretary, deemed
it wise to form a dramatic club, which
was done under the name of the War
Risk Dramatic Club.
Entertainments in Y Huts.
Prom March, 1919, to January. 1920,
at the request of the Y. NJ. c. A., 145
performances were given in Y huts in
the city and in nearby camps. In a
comparatively few instances the serv:
ices Of War Camp Community Service
and Community Service have been pub