Year: 1875

The Eastern press n general, and the New
York Times in particular, is surprised that
$50 genial paper as TIE CHICAGO Tnm-
uSE" should be indignant at the subservience
of Chicagoans to Eastern canons of dramatic
criticism. The Tines informs Us that new
plays, instead OF being produced at New
York, are often first put on the boards in the
provinces in order to obtain q verdict as to
their excellence. This sort OF thing, it
seems, is called "Trying it on the dog!
This is an allusion, We presume, to the story
Of the sagacious person who was afraid some
dish was poisoned, and so gave part Of it to
his dog before tasting it himself. While we
disclaim, phi1osophical1y and publicly, Of
course, any indignation at this revelation,
there may be somewhat Of secret rancor in our
reception Of it. The theatre-goer Of Chicago
might be tempted to say to the Eastern actor
who poses on the stage in new part: Is thy
patron dog !? and if he felt sure that he was
canine in the eyes of the actor, he might
like to show his contemner TINT dog can
both bark and bite. But he is freed from
this unholy temptation by the consciousness
that Eastern managers, despite the Times as
sertion, do not try their new plays on the
Western dog. Perhaps our New York con-
temporary will take the trouble to print
the names of the plays that have been thus
experimental with. A single line Of non-
pareu type would doubtless suffice for this
purpose. We repeat what We said before,
that the dependence Of the whole country
upon the metropolis, in matters dramatic, is
serious injury to the American stage. For
the Times is mistaken in saying that a man
with a first-class play in his pocket twill find
welcome and market in New York" The
process of getting play into New York man
ayers hands is one Of wire-pulling and log
rolling. It is not very difficult for dra-
matte author in Trance to get his brain
bantlings into the managers portfolio and
then before the managers eyes. The great
majority Of proffered plays are necessarily re-
iected They ought to be. But they are
read and judged on their merits, while IN
New York they are not read at all The
half-dozen new plays that the metropolitan
theatres can produce each season are written
bY New Workers. who have earned reputa-
ton as playwrights. This may ba all right;
but is it not evident that the fact that
the only new plays produced in the
country are upon New York boards
wholly excludes from competition every
other .would-be--and, under different
system, might be-playwright in thecountry7
Art, music, letters, and the. drama, never
Hourished more in Germany than when the
capitals of the provinces were in fact
capitals, when Weinar dared to admire new
effort Of GoErHE's genius without waitingto to
hear Berlin's opinion Of it, and when the
Frankfort theatre-go applauded what they
liked themselves, and not what the applause
Of metropolitan audience had given them
permission to like. Compare, too, the literary
life Of Edinburg in soorr's time, before the
city became huge provincial town, and the
literary life Of Edinhurg now, when London
has absorbed the brains of the United King
doms. IT,.


The distinguishing feature Of American
politics II its localization. Tha New England
townships gave nx TooauEv1Lr The hoy to Cur
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