The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-11

| shall not paSs.
This is the new slogan Of New
York theatrical producers who are
now mobilizing their forces to fighl
the bill providing for state censor
ship of the stage when 1t comes VI
before the legislature at Albany. II
their frantic efforts to avert suct
a calamity they have hit upon q
novel idea. They will consent, they
assert, to have all productions
against which complaints are made
tried by public jury.
According to this plan, the city
authorities would draw from q
panel of 800 names a jury of l.
representative citizens to consider
the character OF the production IN.
der attack. If this jury, ifteI
studying the show, should report
against it, then by a previous bind
ing contract all interests concern
ed-including the manager, play
wright and actors-would be COM
PEELED either to remodel the objec-
tionable parts or promptly to with
draw the play. If, on the other
hand. the jury failed to support the
complaints, the play woaAd be Al
lowed to continue.
In other words, by this unique
scheme, the producers hope to be
able to make the public the arbiter
in the matter of questionable shows
instead Of prejudiced state board
of censorship, probably chosen by
the very reform organization re-
sponsible for its creation.
There is no board imaginable, Il
declares one opponent to censor
ship, which will not tR personal
in it's judgments. and to that ex-
tent capricious and tryrannical
There is no board imaginable
which will not do more harm than
good. If the board is radi-
cal, the range of drama is as sure
to be narrowed to suit radical
preference and purpose as it must
be narrowed to suit the conserva-
tives il the conservatives should
dominate The state, in other words,
cannot possibly employ censorship
without to that extent entrenching
personal. government. That is the
evil of censorship, which is a de-
liberate accentuation of the most
dangerous element in public con-
trol.v
Even by the jury system, plays
fate would be determined by the
personal prejudices of IL jurors,
but at least the jury would not be
always the same. The producers
would have the benefit of a variety
Of opinion, since that which seems
indecent to some people appears in
noCuous to others.
Reformers May Object.
The great difficulty, of course. is
in getting the reformers to aban-
don their wfll-to-power activities
and to agree to the plan To those
who recently witnessed the brave
but futile efforts of the movie pro-
ducers to prevent censorship in
this state, this difficulty would ap-
pear insurmountabIe, but the the
atrical producers evidently do not
intend to submit without a fight.
So far, however, their campaign
has been more subtle than often
sive, their object apparently being
to conciliate rather than to antag
onize the censorship advocates.
Thus, it is noticeable that the the
atre and the public have recently
become very friendly. Ministers of
the gospel are now admitted - new
plays on the same footing with eel
ebrated dramatic critics; prom
inent actresses invite them to tea,
and theatres have been offered to
them for the holding of religious
services.
1t all started with the recent de-
bate in a Baptist church between
William A. Brady and DR.. John
Roach Straton, who is the leader
of the moverssnt for stage censor
ship. On this occasion DR.. Straton
indicted the modern theatre first
of all because of the harm it does
to the girls and women upon the
stage itself, and secondly, because
the theatrical managers are CAPT
talizing womanly modesty and max
ing merchandise of those female
graces and charms that God has
designed for holy purposes.
Things that used to be said at
stag parties are now openly dis
cussed for the benefit of both
sexes" he declared. The red light
has been supplanted by the
white light district and the price
of promotion in many cases is the
surrender of virtue. 1t is no won
der thai under these sad and trag-
ic conditions one of these directors
turns up now and then with bull
let in his brain or heart" This last
was a reference to the Taylor muir
der.
In reply, Mr.. Brady commended
that DR.. Straton had failed to pro-
duce a single fact. why doesn't