The Washington times., 1922-05-21
With Alan Dale
At N. Y. TheaterS
lContinued from Page sl

q Joke she still is one. But no
body tried to suppress the mother.
in.iaw joke. 1t merely outlived
its usefulness. as the dry" Joke
viii Eventually, too-as any joke
on earth will do.
But seriously to suggest con
csrted action OF all organizations
OF women" to insist that an en-
inentiy humorous topic should be
taken lugubriously for the sake
OF educating the masses is. on
the face Of It, a joke in itself.
It is one Of the funniest jokes
that the eighteenth amendment
has ever sponsored. And 1t HAS
sponsored a few.
The aggrevating thing about the
stage and screen at the present
time In that they will not make
their characters dependent upon
the conditions that rule us. There
IL no prohibition on either stage
or screen. The heroine goes to the
hero's room at midnight-as per
usual-and as she arrives she sees
him pouring out q glass of fine
whiskey from a decan.er. The
butler appears with cocktails. The
men and women who meet in the
library after dinner take their cof-
fee and liqueurs just as before and
yet-we in the audience break the
laws when we do 1t, IF we can!
THE stage is cruel, and so is the
screen. They flaunt the cup
that is supposed to cheer before
thirsty crowds, and there is no re.
dress. In the musical show the
drinking song" has not been
banned just because the eighteenth
amendment has set in. Not a bit
Of 1t. The merry-merries trot forth
and chirrup pretty toons whilst
they hold in their hands cups fille,l
with wines. Neither the stage ror
the screen recognizes the eigh-
teenth amendment, unless it does
90 to laugh at Il. And in the in
terests Of education" isn't It bet.
ter to laugh at It than to ignore it
and teach the lessons that IT has
always suggested?
The serious lady in Washington
talks feelingly about "demoralizirg.
belittling and misrepresentation
statements depicting In.
fractions Of the law" and yet in
real life-which both stage and
screen must mirror-we have q
Judge asserting in his court that
never in pre-prohibition has he en-
countered such a collection of
drunks. and terrible drunks. as
those he meets now that the eigh-
teenth amendment is in force.
II the lady in Washington wants
stage and screen to preach prohi-
bition-to advocate strict adherence
TO the law, and to make a "meriy
evening" one Of tortured education
well, I'm afraid that wise mana
gers and producers and exhibitors
are not going to help her along.
Their mission is to amuse, to hold
the mirror up to nature, and 10
give the public relief from the
solemn problems Of everyday.
LIKE serious people In very
homeopathic doses. They are
very useful to suppress you when
you are feeling frightfully elated.
They are effective as dampers and
as wet blankets. Oh, they have
their uses. But when they ruIe
the roost and ask you not to dare
to laugh at certain things-why,
you are going to roar at them.
You are going to explode with
mirth. The serious lady in Wash
ington may be responsible for tr''.
mendous merriment at the expense
Of the eighteenth amendment, be-
cause people are "cussed" and ai.
ways inclined to laugh when they
are asked not to do so.
Laughter is often thing OF ner-
vous impulsion. Have you ever
felt an insane desire to laugh when
Informed of the death of one you
really liked? This Is one Of the
ugly events that ensue in the case
Of nervous impulsion to laughter.
I've experienced 1t. I've been in
formed Of a death, and. though the
news gave me great pain, I've
laughed till the tears ran down my
cheeks. And principally, I presume,
because knew, sub-consciously,
that such laughter was horrible
and improper - principally i'm
proper.
The attempt to remove laughter
from the topic OF prohibition is Il
misdirected thought and a most
dangerous one. Imagine a collec.