"THE GIRL FROM RECTOR'S."

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 891, 10 August 1910, Page 8

"THE GIRL FROM RECTOR'S."

A FURTHER BUDGET OF LETTERS. '""'•.', YAKIOUS OPINIONS. A FINAL WORD FROM DR. GIBB AND MR. NORTH. [To the Editor.] Sir,—This is the last word we write,for your columns. concerning Mr'; Ward and "Tlie Girl from Hector's." The next step will'be'ih diie coursu to represent to the authorities, in the name of the outraged feelings,of those who care for righteous-, ness -in this community, the' necessity of putting down with the strong hand such abominations as the play in question; and the. whole class of plays to which it belongs;- ,'...■ ".:■.. Tiio red herring which Mr. Ward tried to drag across the scent by his abounding generosity ..-.to the children's ward is in full evidence in your, columns this morning. By. a sudden inspiration, coming like a bolt from-the blue, he has discovered that .'our protest against this filthy play was due to a desire to get a "boost" on in our churches. Empty pews and empty collection plates required filling, i Hence our indignation; That will be read; with amusement'.by those who know tho ■'congregations that fill our churches, and the largo -. sum.:of; money donated' every year not only to religion, hue to charity. But why say these, things? Why, save to.' throw into clearer relief Mr. Ward's manipulation of the red herring? . Mr. Ward is shocked lyith-our lunguage. Deep down in hiji hhart he loves tho Church, and is pained, that it'should bo disgraced with,its "boost-loving" representatives. Does Mr.; Ward. expect the public to ■ take seriously this criticism, coming from the man who is responsible for putting on tho stage of Wellington a play in which harlotry is glorified-, and chastity held up. to unclean merriment? Let Belial be in full evidence on the stage, ■that is all innocent fun, out call Belial by his right name, and , denounce such exhibitions as a. menace to the moral wellbeing, of the : people,' and oh, ministers' ot religion- should dare to use such shocking language. But Mr. Ward is not serious. He is only onco, moremanipulating the red herring.

But a truce, to this. .Wβ liavo affirmed that tliis play glorifies harlotry. Wo have affirmed that detestablo as it still is, it was shorn of several of its most repulsive features between Auckland and Welingtqn. We have branded E«ctor's as a bouso of shame. What, rebuttal has Mr. AVard given to these and other similar charges? None. He has not so much as tried to refute them, savo by shrugs of the shoulders, expressions of bis grief over our deplorable language, and such like banalities. '...-.:■; . " .". '..-''■' .■'lt is useless slaying tho thrioa slain,; yet perchance the following letter received by,oue of, us yesterday may bo of some service. It is from Dr. Bartholomew, of.Feilding, and explains' itself:— '"Dr..Tames Gibb, ''--.'.'.' , "St. John's, M r eUington.. ■;.-. "Dear Doctor,—With reference to the newspaper.controversy relative to ■ 'Tlio'Girl from Hector's', I should like to say right-here that your contentions are correct. ■ ' '."The'above play'as originally staged is a." disgusting prwlncdon. Whilst serving in the capacity of house', surgeon .at .St. Joseph's Hospital,, of Salt- . -.Francisco, I attended ' the first performance' at the Princess Theatre. ; Next day leaders .appeared in the'best , newspapers of-' the city strongly con- . deinning the play. The result was that the Princess was afterwards poorly patronised—very few. ladies being in. .attendance at subsequent,productions. Finally, the management put-on an- ■ other play—one of George 11. Cohen's, , ■• if, I recollect. rightly. 1 .■ "1 rcmeinbei several of the nurses .

at one of tho ! city hospitals refusing to accompany a theatre party (to tho Princess) which was being arranged by certain hospital Interns. , "Now, when the popular sentiment of a city like San Francisco is againstsuch a production as the 'Girl from Rector's, , it is time for. New Zealand- ' 1 ers to act. No doubt this play has been greatly modified. The original ■ as staged in San Francisco last year was immoral., • . . _ "You may use this letter in any way 1 you deem fit. ~.. ' ,'... i ' "Yours sincerely/"JOHN Y. BARTHOLOMEW, M.D." • Comment is superfluous.—We are yours, 6 C " '. JAMES GIBB. .. : ■ ■ ■ ■' '. J. J." NORTH. , [To. the Editor.] •.. Sir,—Would you allow mo a few. lines to ask Mr. Hugh Ward one question? I do not ask for a whole column, neither have I nny wonderful dreams to tell. He says-. "How much finer, how much nobler, are- they, who, from their -pulpits, direct the gaze' of their people to- the ileecy clouds and the blue vault of heaven rather than the sewer." .Now, Mr. Ward, just "too the line." Does tho- "Girl From Rector's" do this? Suppose you put stage .instead of pulpit in tho above, and;then act upon it.—l am, etc., ■■' AN UPHOLDER OF DR. GIBB. i PLAYERS AND PURITANS.,- . ■-. ... : rXo' the Editor.-! .- Sir,—Underlying the minds of most men of the world—of most men and women, I mean, composing that great class that take's honest pleasure in the theatre—there is a gentle contempt for clerical interference., . l'or.that reason, in this dispute concerning -Messrs. Gibb and North and Mr. Hugh- J.. Ward, the supporters of common sense and tolerance have rather stood , out of-the-controversy, while the supporters of clerical intolerance :and prejudice. (to put it mildly) have been, whipped 'to the. duty of supporting these feeble knees..., .'> This, I think, is a pity; :bccause an. apparent preponderance of opinion in favour of the two ministers may. easily lead sonic thoughtless persons to misjudge the actual position. The position, to me, is very simple. .There is no reason ■ for any general .',distrust ' of ministers of disssnt. Of all ministers in Wellington only two proved sufficiently bigoted, sufficiently careless, or sufficiently antagonistic to tho gospel of love they profess to preach, to' f]ing into an unprovoked attack on an actor they did not know and a comedy they hud never seen. When the comedy was staged, and when the press and public unanimously declared that tho bitter attacks madouptonitby theso two ministers were without reasonable .excuse or yiu-rant, the ministers showed no sham?, no regret, nothing approaching a true renso of their position. Indeed, a week later they mounted tte-ir pulpits and repeated the statements that the actual experience of thousands of reputable Wellington people had proved to be inaccurate. Morethan that, one of them, speaking to a congregation of tho curious, largely composed of womea and youpg girl& presum-

ably innocent, permitted himself to refer to .things not discussed in any mixed society, in language such as would not bo tolwated in privalo circles. Hero you have no eviebnes of any meric and quiet spirit; you have, instead of that, raucous discord, disloyalty waxing clamorous, sounding brass and clanging cymbal. I want now to say one word or two that in common decency should bo said with reference to certain definite- misstatements made by these two ministers. 1. They have stated-that for years past Miss. Olga A'ethorsolc has played und glorified harlots' park, and thus excited unwholesome curiosity and fed tlic lewd spirit of various communities. It would be difficult to conceive .i grosser slander of a.very honest ami compelling artist. It is true that Miss Nttlvsrsolc did appear in one play of striking candour and significance—a dramatisation of .Wphonso Daudct's "Sapho." But that .play, substantially the work of ono of the greatest of our modern masters of literature, had in it no incitement or lewdness. It was, in point of fact, a startling argument against the very vices that these two clerical gentlemen .so ineffectively condemn, bi any case, the spectacle of Messrs. Gibb and North denouncing Daudet is surely very pitiable. Purblind bigots may call Doudet's "Sapho" what thes's gentlemen do if they will—l will net. In any case, Miss Ncthersolc lias not made it a practice to play the parts alleged. Sα much, then, i'or clerical misrepresentation No. 1.

2. Tlkso_ ministers have stated that Maxim's, in Paris, is a notorious assigna-tions-house. Such a statement is utterly wrong. Maxim's is a celebrated restaurant, regularly resorted to by great numbers' of famous, honourable, and virtuous peopk. It is, I admit, perfectly possible that assignations "may be made at, Maxim's. Assignations are made in every' great restaurant and place of public resort; I have even heard of them being made in churches..

3. ,Tho reverend gentlemen hare stated that Hector's, in New York City, is a disreputable resort. Tho statement is agnin quite without reasonable foundation. Hector's is a magnificently appointed restaurant. The wit and intelJcct and beauty of America meet there. It may be that bad'characters occasionally creep in;, but they creep in everywhere, do what they will. That is by the way. The point now this: Can it be assumed that such misleading statements are any less blameworthy because they are used for partisan purposes by gentlemen professionally retained to proclaim Christ's-Gospel? Thcro remains always the question of the sex elenrent. Ido not pretend for a moment that "The Girl from Rector's" is fiuically chaste in all its suggestions, .absolutely "proper" in all its situations, as (shall we «ay?) ."The. Dairyman's Daughter" is chaste and proper. But I would point out to you that no man of calm judgment not ineffably a hypocrite pretends that tho theatre should preserve unadultcrate tho atmosphere of tho shrine. Every form of dramatic art is concerned with the presentment of some aspect or other of the passions and weaknesses of humanity. Even, a farce, if it purported to bo a fun-picturo of a frivolous set in a gay metropolis, would-be an absolutely futilo. and unconvincing farce, if, all its characters thought like- hermits and talked like Presbyterians.

.Tho fact of the matter is that all these restless sects and tlreir' officiating secretaries are unwholesomely afraid..of sex. Science may plead and «xncrienco may, teach; but the sects are deaf to tho pl'eas, ami will be taught nothing. They pretend to -extol physical cbasity until it, stands for tho whole sum of human virtue. . A man may dod»e and fenco, he may bo unamiablo in his home and unfriendly to his -neighbour, he. may grudge the very guinea he grotesquely offers to God as compensation for his pitiable hypocrisy, and meanness in • tho great concerns of life; but Ire remains unassailed in his church membership so long us no fault of flesh can .be proved against him. The slimo of this hypocrisy lies over all Christendom. But Christina churches seem to fail quite desperately whenever they attempt, to copo with tho evil they denounce. The erriiift • woman, from tho very tragedy of her' position, must, be, ami always has been, a tremendous figure in dramatic art. AVo have them .reaching backward from our day to Cnmille; and from there right back to tho harlot who played .(not ignobly) a great partin'tlio Tragedy of the World. But things have changed'since Jesus of Nazareth set tho pure seed .from which—through an infiuite series of ignominious culturessuch strange rank growths have sprung. Jesus warf-no puritan; but still the puritans would hari'.y poor souls-to' the devil in His Nams. Puritanism has foulcil the blood and steeled the hearts of millions of men born honest. What I find most shocking in. the ■ whole attifiulo of Dr. Gibb is the gusto with which he has poured forth his abuse of this player and his play. If this is Christian love, save us'from-it! ''

I am not here to strain after a hypocritical politeness.' I do not believe that Messrs. .Giblj and North did their duty, while all ■ the other ministers of religion in Wellington failed to do it. I do not believe that any minister' of religion, in denouncing without personal knowledge or warrant a\ play that had . bsen . witnessed by multitudes of people in Australia and certain cities of Now Zealand .without any sort of protest from the Church could reasonably claim to be actuated by any. hi?h sense of duty at all.— I am, etc., ' ' . ■ A MAN. HOW FAR SHOULD WE GO. IN OUR THEATRES?. [To the Editor.] Sir,—Without entering into a discussion, of the' question as to whether the "Girl from Hector's" can he placed in the category of "questionable plays," permit me' to point out that in New York, from which city this play is said to have originated, a crusado against plays of a questionable character is now in full swing. -Mayor Gaynor and Polico Commissioner Baker havo refused a license for a. theatre where a. "questionable play" was being performed. Their action lias forced the question of the 'morality of I many of the present-day plays to the front. Maurice Campbell, a writer of plays, who has been arraigned for writing a. play condemned for indecency by several critics, says: "I am sincerely in favour of stopping all 'questionable plays.' I do not think the American, mind is, capable yet of enjoying them without contamination." The question naturally arises here: Is the New Zealand mind "capalilc of enjoying them without contamination"? I think not. and hence I also think it behoves, the Church and the press (which ought, to stand for moral upJiftinent) to consider the question I havo raised very carefully and let the people who look to them for light on subjects of this character havo the benefit of their matured judgments.—l am, etc., MIHI CUEA FTJTUB-I. Petone, August 8. • : [We TegTet that ft number of letters on the above question havo had to bo held over. They will appear as opportunity offers.]