The New York herald., 1922-01-25
JURY OF PLAYGOERS
FAVORED AS CENSOR
Broadway Wants to Keep
Stage Clean Without Ac-
tion at Albany.
LAW TO BE HEADED OFF
Panel of Five to Pass On
Productions Would Be
Picked at Random.
DIRTY SHOWS ATTACKED
Owen Davis Says Too Many
Have Appeared-'Demi-V -Vir-
GIN Criticized by Thomas.

Managers, playwrights and actors
arc ready with a plan TO clean up the
stage from within and combat Albany
agitation for an official State censor
ship of the theater, it was shown at
a meeting of the Drama League at the
Belasco Theater yesterday afternoon.
Charles Coburn, representing the
Producing Managers Association, said
the plan had been worked out by au-
thors, actors and managers as unit
Among the organizations mentioned as
backing it heartily were the Ameri-
can Dramatists, the Producing Man
ayers Association. the Drama League,
the Better Plays Movement and prac-
tically everybody with the interests of
the stage at heart. i.
Mr.. Coburn asserted that the scheme
I. would be explained to the Legislators at
Albany to offset any measure that might
be introduced to erect a stage censor
ship and to prove that the various ele-
ments in the theater could purge it.
How the Plan Will Work.
no iioidl tildId dCltI oI cdCl play
called into question is to be passed on
by an impartial. disinterested body Of
outsiders, not connected with the theater
in any way. After a. reasonable num-
Der of protests have been received. the
License Commissioner will call for q
jury, with five members, to be chosen
out of a panel of 500 names that will
be provided b ythe different theatrical
associations and sent to the License
Commissioners office. This panel will
be composed solely of men and women
playgoers.
After the names of the jury have been
drawn the five Jurors will go to see the
nlay, and the decision will be left to
Them on whether it will be condemned
rs salacious Though the Jurors will
have no legal authority, Mr. Coburn
said, all the managers, playwrights and
actors will bind themselves to abide by
the judgment of the jury and to see that
n play is withdrawn if the jury con-
dcmns It,
Owen Dvis, president of the American
Dramatists, said In a speech that "too
many dirty plays have been produced
in New York this year" He added
."rhe same two men and two women
who were behind the movie censorship
are now working for a State stage CEN
sorship. They are not cranSs They
simply say that If you boys don't clean
up the stage, we will.
"strip Poker Game Attacked"
Augustus Thomas was the only
speaker to take a fling at "The Demi-
Virgin directly by name. He said:
II have great admiration for the
skill of the writer OF that play. He
Will write many good plays. But II is
my opinion that many of its salacious
scenes are unnecessary. and were merely
put in to attract those who like that sort
OF stuff The strip poker game Is an
instance. No man able to get into the
theater without wheel chair needs such
stimulus. I'm for q clean stage, but
not a namby-pamby one. as it would
be under censorship"
Other speakers were George Arliss,
who cited some of the painful results
OF dramatic censorship in England; Ellis
Parker Butler and John Emerson, pres
ident of the Equity, who declared that
under censorship Eve should have in
q little while a. theater without blood"
S. NJ Tucker presided.