I
v
V
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7
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1
. L'ST now w are about to wltnaaa
ono nune thn manlfeatutlon of
out of IM pcrultai' attributes of
modern coclal life, it might l
moat be auld Ameilcan fecial
lifethe bcilmiliis of another
ttu-on of activity at tho theater. The
conditlona that, eurround the theater In
.America are peculiar to t'.ie country itself,
a national trait of its people. In the older
countries, the stage is an limtltutlou more
of the tat,4i prowpeiing or otherwise under
the favor of the ruler, tp a decree that all
but takes It from J lie leu I in of popular. In
stitutions. This, of courne. la not to be
conxtrued llleially.. but it applies wii fuf
ftclent d!rectnc! to fairly lilutt ate the
point. The theaier ha-4 iteveiopod In both
Its dramatic and operatic axpects under the
patronage of royalty or the nobility.' until
It may reasonably be said to owe its ex
istence to that support. . In A me ilia it has
crown because of Its peculiar adaptability
to the wants of a people alnaular In ;e
development of civilization. ' The first de
mand upon the stage In America -was, per
haps, to amuse, but In this respect .the
secondary function, that, of. Instruction, was
not far .behind,-. In, tracing the develop"
ment of the theater-In-AhieMca It Is only
necessary to follow, the growth of the na
tion In the amenities of civilised life. Just
as we have 'developed in' mate-rial' ways; so
we have progressed in Intellectual growth,
and along with the. bnlldlns up of com
merce and Industry, -political and financial
systems, we have built up arts and letters
of our own. ' It, Is' admitted that the Ameri
can school. If the expression Is permissible,
does not yet rank .ai'authorUatlve in the
field of letters,- In mus'o.or In. pain this,
and yet we have a "school" that Is vlgorou?
and virile, and whose effect U felt and
whose Influence Is steiidlly growing. And
the theater has felt this Influence, until
our stage todiy Is drawing more and more
Its Inspiration from purely. American
sources, we nave now, a ,.ar.m inl
peculiarly its own. Crude, perhaps, and
dealing with tha smaller; Items of life's
mm,- but nevertheJess as Individual and
characteristic as any of the, other traits by
which a "Yankee1' Is. known when mlngltng
with other peoples, ., 1
Just as the "Vankee' Is a compuglte of
all the peoples of all the .wprld, for Into
the "melting pot" of America has been
poured a steady ' stream of the bert that
the older civilisations could offer: the alert
ar.d vigorous men. and women of other,
climes .seeking here' the opportunity that
was denied them under the restrictions
of social organisation . that recognise
fiofthe Individual -below, the .throne.' and
these have mingled their . blood Intq that
master of destlnv, the modern American,
It Is not In point Just now whether we nave
missed much that Is worth having In' fa'llnar
to grasp some of he features that have
floated away on- the top of the seething
contents of the-melting pat. .It was but
the dross, at the best, the veneer, and .lt
mayet be acquired. We have retained
the strength and purity or the virgin
metal, and from it has tveen fashioned
that which is worth having in mnttkind, a
race of clear-eyed men and women, who
are serenely facing the larger problems of
life, feeling sure of having put behind
them moat If not . nil of the pettv things
people used to wrnngle over.' And the lit
erature of this new race of men and
-women is of their sort. It lacks, perhaps,
the polish and the glitter of the older
literature, but it has somethlrg that Is bet
ter; It has a directness and an accuracy
that marks It as . dealing definitely with
questions of moment, and. while it may
lack In Its failure at furnishing a solution.
It retains, always an undeniable quality of
merit, that of sincerity. And of this lit
erature the American drama is a part.
So. It Is naturalat tfti time that we
turn first of all to the promiee of the new
set son, asking what it holds. One of the
first and most noticeable features -Is that
more attention than ever Is being given
to plays by American authors. The really
big successes of last season and of the
season before, and of the season before
that, were plays by American authors, deal
ing with purely American topics. It has
been a lung time since a play has taken
hold on the popular mind as did "The I .Inn
and the Mouse." It ts rru.de In Its con
struction, but " It Is virile in its main
thought and It pulsates wjth a lire that
touches on the life of the nation. "The
Man of the, Hour" la a similar play, both
In corst ruction and In effect, and In -e-sult
as well. Salvation Nell." "The City,"
and some of the other plays that were
stamped with public approval, dealt with
topics broader In their application to the
problems of .mankind than did the two
first mentioned, but tley were by Ameri
can authoiw -and essentially American In
their locale and treatment.
The list oouM be lengthened by the
(numeration of many plss that were
really liked by the public, and which
brought to; beth author, and producer a
golden reward, but these will serve to sup
port the assertion. It's comforting to know
It at for UM cowing season American plays
THE 5HOW GIRL - 5r- -p.O"VT , Js5fcr'- i r) ' f..rW iv. v ,
are to predominate. It 1 also-assuring to
read the -following .from an editorial In the
Drsjniatlc Mirror, the sanest of present -day
papers devoted exclusively to matters per
taining to the theater: ' "' , .
The vnunffer 'AmpHean 1t Amfltifltn whn
have twon success,. In -other vords, have
sought to take from conditions about them
social or political the theme which they
hove developed Into ulnys. and they have
only Just heun to realize the possibilities
of the material to be found on every band.
Today tlie drama In America is ;nure vivid
tuiu veiitabla than tiif u.aaiu of jM'.g.anu.
whcie modern conceits ttill arc frowned
upon by n Iarj;e class who would rather
accept plays alo.ig the old lines than plays
which mark innovation. And no 4relirn
country today Is richer In dramatic promlfle
thun ti.M country. The new. generation of
American playwrights still lack tliat finesse
which distinguishes the schools of England
and Fiance. Technically they are Inferior
to the authors in countries where method
has traditions. Yet whil they lack In grace
and surety of mere technique, they excel
in selection of topics and in the human
verity and vitality which they imrjart to
their work. , The drama in America today
deals with Unity's social problem, and
seeks to tiansrer life itrelf to the theater.
And in that direction draaia here un
doubtedly will tend so long as tbere are
problems to be discussed or. sjlved.
Ti e American dramatist Is appreciated at
home nowadays, no matter what foreign
competition may offer. And eventually he
will win appreciation abroad, asking but a
free field and no favor.
.Another point that presents itself at the
opening of the season, yet which might well
be left to its closing days for . discussion,
has to do with whether the theater Is filling
lis mission. Is It living tip to its opportun
ity?. Have the managers, In their desire
to make certain of public patronage by af
ordlng amusement, failed' to give due con
sideration to the serious side of the case,
and neglected afford Instruction as well?
It Is not at all likely that these questions
will ever be answered, for the very good
reason that individuals differ as much now
as at any other time, and that the diver
gence in habits of thoughr and matters of
taste will persist as long as the race en
dures and piosrcss Is possible. Yet it is
only fair to the theater to 'ugest in an
humble and unobstrusive way the opinion
of one person that the stage lis- In a very
large measure filled Its highest and best
mission.' It has set before us much that
Is Instructive as well as amusing; it hss
clothed for us morals an? precepts, more or
less unpalatable, but wholesome in their
application. In garments that please and at
tract, and yet do not disguise, completely
the lesson to be conveyed, if we have failed
to apply that lesson,' 1; Is not the fault of
the stage nor of those who illuminate It by
their talents. Frequently the Instruction
has been powerfully Impressive in Its de
liverance, and yet we are stiff-necked and
hard of heart and heed not. From the
plain and unavoidable admonitions of the
hortative drama we turn with delight to the
frivolity of the comedy, musical or other
wise. Just as we have the habit of turning
away from the sober things of lite as often
as we can to indulge ourselves in the light
and glow of what offers us pleasure barren
of precept. So, If the stage has not as yet
wrought the salvation of the race, neither
has the church nor the schools, nor any
other single agency for the betterment of
man's condition; - nor have all of these
agencies combined, and It is only billy to
chide either of them, because man's per
versity has so far baffled the good efforts
of all. ' It is for the stage and Its people to
go on, steadily striving for the right. Just
as do the other agencies for Intellectual
and moral advancement. The cause Is what
we fight for. after all.
. Some note ts made of the passing of the
"smart" play, the drama of epigram and
bon mots. People do not talk that way In
ordinary life, it ts argued, and why should
we. try to so delude .ourselves? If we are
to have realism in our scenery, the lights,
the furnishings, the clothes of the actors1,
why not let them talk a men and women
under such circumstances and conditions
as are described In the progress of the
play would naturally taikT The argument
Is good, and In some way the passing f
the . "smart", vplay will not be greatly ra-grettt-d.
for the reason that too many of
them'" were. .Written.; for-no . other purpow
thart merely to be smart But in days gone
by we have all derived pleasure that still
lingers (n; memory from the- "smartnaasf
of Wilde and Pinero. and Jones, and oth
who could and. did handle the English lais
gunge .with fuoh, exquisite dexterity as
brought its beauties out in glistening clap
tiy. The "modern" pursuit of realism la
Justifiable, for It Is still the objeot of the
slasc to present life In Its true colors, and
without distortion; the theory that actors
must exaggerate in carriage and conversa
tion on the stage in order, to appear real,
went out when the electrlo light was sub
stituted for the lesser Ulumlnanta. Many
of our best actors walk on the stage now
Just an they walk Into their own homes,
rlresd no differently and with only the
addition of a bit of rouge to overcome the
deadly . glare of the strong light . under
which they are shown. So, with the pass
ing of the strut and the elaborate gesture,
we may easily say goodbye to the strained
and stilted conversation. But it still ought
to be possible to preserve the purity of our
.language and make It plain that, even
If peoplo do not converse In exactly, the
same terms as do the characters in the
drama. It is because they are doing violence
to a language of most wonderful uses and
Inexhaustible' possibilities," and not because
they are altogether" right.
WHITHER ARE WE DRIFTING?
,i -
Home' PerMaent Remarks oa I) i in 1 u -'.
Isheil amber at Trade
Apprentices.
Nowadays it' Is almost Impossible to find
boys who will serve an apprenticeship In a
printing shop, although it Is a better busi
ness jiow than It ever was before" for the
very reason' that so few are learning It.
A thoroughly competent printer In these
stirring times can have his choice of a
dozen good Jobs any' day. The boy who
starts to learn the trade gets as much pay
in a week as the old apprentice did In a
month, and has various other advantages,
but he seldom sticks to it long enough to
learn the trade. lu three or tour month?
he thinks he should have charge of a llnor
type machine or be appointed foreman. In
side of six months he comes to the conclu
sion that printing is a poor business and
he'll try something else.
Conditions are much the same In other
lines of business that Involve real work.
Nobody seems to be learning tho carpen
ter's honorable trade. The blacksmith lias
a hard time finding a youthful helper who
will stay a week. The Macedonian cry of
the farmers, who can't get help at any
price, is heard all the year round.
It is no great mystery, however. The
boys are being diligently taught that they
are foolish to be satisfied wlbh the kind of
work they are doing. The printer's ap
prentice goes home In the evening and
picks up a magaslne to refresh his Jaded
intellect and finds the advertising section
full of able articles explaining that a man
Is Idiotic If he swings a hammer or pushes
a proof roller, when he might Just as w II
be sitting in a beautifully furnished office,
drawing all varieties of money for wretlng
advertisementa or dr.twlng pictures for the
magazines. All he has to do -1s to write
to the Whangdoodle Institute and he will
receive books and pamphlets telling how
het may become a great writer or a urt.i
Illustrator In three weeks, it doesn't make
any difference whether he has any educa
tion, or any gifts, or any sense; all he
needs to do Is to write to the Whangdoodle
Institute, and the learned educators who
compose the faculty of this great estab
lishment w ill teach him by mail so success
fully that in less than a month he may be
art director of Harper'a magaaine or editor
of Collier s.
Persistent Advertising ts the to Big
J Aetoj-na,
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: AUGUST
Divines exchange pulpits f J ?EssmmmoTt'm;st '
VamAni PvAAAhttM Ttf TurA I Ton 1 1 n ATI t I III 116 I. ' f n II I
. Swap Work. j ' l '''"":V ' 1
DISCUSSION OF WOMEN PASTORS
Kagllsa Wesleyaa
oa Record with
Cob f crease Goes
the .Opinio
that Mea Make Better
Bllalstera.
BT D. V. FRANCIS.
. NEW YORK, Aug. i6. -(Special to The
Bee.) The Interchange of pulpits between
famous preachers of England and Amer
ica Is not new, but this year there has
been an unusual number of such exchanges.
In London, for example, there are three
famous American ministers now preaching.
They are Rev. J, John Balcom Shaw of
Chicago, Rev.- pr. Lew- Broughton of At
lanta and Rev.- Dr. Parkes Cadman of
Brooklyn. We have hrie J. Ktuart Holden,
chaplain of the lord lieutenant of Ireland;
Rev. John " A. Hutton .of Olsesow, Itey.
Alvert Lewis.' the famous Welsh preacher,
and Kev. E. Br H. MacP.ier.on, a leader of
the English Presbyterians. - . ' ,
. YVUea Womeu Jtay Preach.
The English Wcsleyan conference at Its
renent nx-ctlng took up the. question of
women preachei s, ,
The conference declared its opinion that
cases in wlilcu It' Is desirable that women
should preach were exceptional. Where,
however, a woman possessed special gilts,
and gave evidence of having received" a.
divine call to the work of preaching, liberty
should be given her for the exercise of her
gift, but In aVl such c.uca .he preaching
of women shall be subject to the following
conditions: -
FirstThat they, shall nqt' preach, until
they have obtained the approbation of the
superintendent and quarterly .meeitng.''
Second Before they go Into any other
circuit and preach they shall have a wrlwcn
Invitation from the superintendent of that
circuit and a recommendatory note from
the superintendent of their own circuit.
Outdoor Work in w York.
One of the most gratifying developments
of the' open-air work undertaken by the
evangelistic committee of New York this
summer Is the growth In power and in
number Of, the so-t ailed "auxiliary meet
ings." In connection wtih twenty-six or
ganisations. (Including various - Epworth
leagues. C'irrlstlan Endeavor societies,
hoods ' and 'other men's organizations, out
door evening meetings are held Sundays
and ,week days at strategic points on the
west side from the northern end of River
side drive as far south' as old Greenwich
village, and , on the, fast side from the
Bronx to .the Howery. The evangelistic
committee Ifurnlshes music, and speaker.
Other speakers and singers are provided
by the organizations. This co-operation is
resulting in the definite training of young
people for personal evangelistic work. The
open-air service, under these conditions not
only carried the gospel message to unex
pected hearers, but Is providing Itself a
practical' training school for laymen. Young
men who have never before spoken In any
Meeting are now "oceasfuU conducting
28. 1910.
! yJ r sju j
teji HPSIC BALI.
services with the help of the evangelistic
committee.
Sketch of Young? Priest.
- Kev. Irvine Goddard of Owensboro, Ky.,
who has accepted the rectorship of - the
Episcopal church at Gloversvllle, N. Y.. is
one of the most Interesting voung minister
In the Episcopal denomination. Mr. Ood-
dard was boru.. In in Liverpool , and
came to the l.'niled States when he was IS
years old and entered Phillips Academy at
Andnvcr, Mass.,' going from there t Yatre menbershlp hns grown ffom B1.01S t
University and then to the general tlieo- (SG.rOU. There Sre 3:1 Hunday schools, with
lojleal training at the University of tha
Hcutb, Sewanee, Tcnn., from which Insti
tution came also Dr. Hanring. Trinh
rector. Ordained deacon In KKE. Mr, ttoil-.
ditrd was ordained priest. bv Bishop Gttllor
of Tennessee, and sjoii became rector of
Holy Cross, Mt. Pleasant, Tenn. . Me went
frt.ni this charge to become asslHtant at
Christ Church Cathedral In IuNville, Ky.,'
was also aslFtant secretary of the dloc.se
of Kentucky. This young mlninter has been
at Owenaboro ai rector of Trinity tor
three year, end enters on his new work
September. . He Is singularly gifted with
sympathetic Interest In hi fellow -men,
v hic'i readily wlr.s confidence and frlendi
ship for him. During the summer Mr. God-,
dard assisted with the summer work at St.'
Ancs chspol. .
Hacharlstie ('ferese.
Catholics all over (lie United States a,nd
Canada are making extensive preparations
for the tucharlstlu congres's, which will
open September 6. at Montreal. It Is the
Intention of the clergy and laity of both
countries to surround the occasion with
the environment belonging to Its high pur
pose, and to make this, first ettchari-tic
congiess In America, unequaled In the ec
clesiastical history if the new world.
The primary object of the congress is
the pub'le profession of Cat hollc . belief In
the real presence 1 i the bled Sacrament.
This will be the twer.ty-first International
eucharlstie congress, which was organised
thirty yes is ajo. One hundred and twenty
three archbishops and bishops and several
hundred clergymen will be In atterdance.
A committee of well known railroad men
hits already arranged a program whereby
Ordinal Vsnnutelll, the papal delegates,
and his travelling companions will be able
In a brief time to visit a large part of
Vie country, following the congress. . The
trip will include Baltimore, where they
will be the guest of Cardinal Olbbons,
and Washington, where tno cardinal legate
, ; ' 1 TBS, EHU2J
will be entertained' at the catholic unlver
slty, and during his stay be received by
President Taft. " '
Growth of a Church.
The first of the English nonconforming
hurchea to Issue Its official handbook for
(the ourrent-year-Is that of the Presby-
terians. Its synod was formed In 1876, and
lu - tha Intervening thirty-four years the
number of churches and mission in Eng
land lis increased from '271 to 36b. wlilld
0.?W scholars and J,02 teachers, In addi
tion to 116 mission schools with 25,80)
scholar and 2.107 teocherr. The total sum
raised last year for all purposes wad I1.3S0,-
3V
.... Bnatlsts Get Together,
Plaps which for six years jsst have been
i:pder consideration looking, to immediate
cp-opere tlnn, and .ultimate otganlc union be
tween 1 Baptist and Free Baptists, were
ftnrl.ly approved and adopted at the recent
r?"iieral conference of the Fie Baptists at
ItvOccan Payk, Me., says the Interior. "The
a I committee on conference with other Chris-
Mian people reported that r. per cent of the
conferences state organization and 84 per
cent. of the denomination' Individual mem
bership hail voted in favor of the union
proposalson hearing which the conference
Itself, by four-flftra majority, voted to In
dorse the plans,: and so arrived at their
final adoption. - The term of (lie proposi
tion. The terms, of the proposition thus
adopted are very . broad, authorizing even
the transfer of all property and good will
of the Fre Baptist General Conference
to the Northern Baptist Convention. But
it Is understood that so much merger will
be attempted now. The wl.ole subject was
left dor the present to the discretion of a
committee of five conservative leidern
whose businei Is to make harte slowly.
The only Immediate change contemplated is
the consolidation of missionary work."
1 Teac-hlaa- of Rrllgloa.
"Hhnuld or should not a state eniveraity
attempt to teach religion?" ak the Chris
tian ' Advocate. "To attempt to teach re
ligion as such would require a professor of
unusual . poise and elf-cont'ol and broad
outlook. 'If this condition did not exist lie
could not teach religion without (mowing
denominational bias. But It Is a matter of
fact that in some state universities religion
1 often taugbt with either a strong or In
sidious negative. If, for instance, the pro
fessor of. economies or the professor of
sociology should teach what la called
TTARGPET SCHEEER
economic determinism, the question would
arise whether that kind of Instruction la
not opposing any religious faith whatever.
There must be freedom -In scholarship, but
can anyone prove that It would be an In
fraction of freedom to insist thatj profes
sors should have a faith In God as a
supreme being?; 'Is not a teacher with this),
faith bettr for a state than one of equal
scholarship without It?" "
RECREATION AND EDUCATION
Novel and Beneficial Work' Anoif
New York Untrained House
keepers. '
Mlra Winifred Glbbs an1 Ml?s Helen
E. Smith are moving from recreation
pier to pier, in New York City, ln'ctruct
Ing cIukscs of mothers in. domestia
economy. Most of ' their students sit in
open-mouthed wonder over small ' econ
omies and home made makeshifts, of which
they would never have dreamed If left to
themselves. "To think of making Ice cream
with a tin pall and 'a' wooden spoon!'
admiringly remarked one of them..
pesklng of Ice cream without a freezer
and a flreless cooker. Miss Smith said:
"All you need to freeze your Ice cream
Is an ordinary enamel pall with a cover.
Put in the material to he frozen, set tha
pull In a pan of chopped Ico and roclc
salt, ar.d twist the pall around by tha
handle. The cream will begin to frees
around the edges, then you should taJte m
fcpoon and stir the mass so that It will
freeze evenly. Tills will require about
twenty minutes and Is cheaper a well a
more wholesome than Ice cream that you
buy.
"You can make a fireb-ss cooker at horn
at a very small cont. To start with take
a big pall, a garble con and a large box
or an old trunk. Thou make a long, nar-
ou bag and fill it with sawdust until II
Is about four inches thick. This is to
pucj the inlslde of your pail or box. Inside
this padded pall place the small pail la
which tho cooking Is to bo done. Tha
pad should Just fit In around the cooking
pail so that no air spaces ure left. Mak
a cuxhlon for the bottom and another for
the top.
".Start your food cooking, let it begin tO)
bull, then put it In the cooker, put on tha
top pied, cover with lid of the cooker and,
leave It fur houis. Sucli a cooker save
time, tro.ible and fuel. You can put your
slew for dinner in the cooker in the morn
Irg and go away. When you get home in
the afternoon it is all done and ready to
serve hot."
Theiie teachers, who are sent out by
the Hoclety for Improving Condition of tho
Poor, have entered upon their task with,
an enthusiasm tiial grows as the work
develops. So many of these mothers ar
so helpless, so many of them ignorunt of
the simplest thins. They waste, because
they know no better. Their knowledge of
cooking is of the most limited form; If chil
dren are In their care, it Is even less.
What could be expected? Many of thesa
young mothers went from a grammar
school to the store or shop, from titer
to the kitchen of their own little home.
Where have the"y had a chance for tha ac
quirement of household know led, t