Show Ii Ii I BAiL HOESE 4 1 Whatever may be said against I Balmi Morse and his Passion Play I the mans energy and perseverence are commendable For years re I has faced the powerful opposition 1 of the combined press pulpit andy and-y public opinion overcoming obstacles r obsta-cles that would have crushed ordinary ordi-nary man and fighting bravely against fate The fellow wrote his I is r z play and then with a degree of determination i I 1 de-termination such as few persons i possess went to work to produce i I it The first presentation was a I f i failure financially and artistically I t 1 completely wrecking the little fortune J j f for-tune that the author posessed 1 It i embarrassing some of his friends j f i who had assisted him with means I I i i and bringing kim into something 1 J 1 of illrepute The average author i I is not made of such stem stuff as I 1 that which is found in the orgaaiza I tion of Morse Ordinarily the writer I 4 1 r would have felt himself crushedand I I blamed an unappreciative and vulgar I d vul-gar public for his misery he would J I t1 have passed behind the scenes into I 1 f LJ t I retiremeat waited for the future E to do him and his work justice I Morse however seems not to understand un-derstand the meaning of discouragement I discourage-ment His first failure only stimulated 1 J j f 1 stimu-lated him to greater effort Going 1 i from San Francisco to New York I l J J he went to work and fitted a theatre r I I I most magnificently and appropriately j I < appropri-ately for the presentation of his Ij f I fl 1 1 play The descriptions ill the newspapers d ij J news-papers of the house prove that no tf 1 expense has been sparedand nothing h t t Ii iI I left undone The costumes and all i hV the paraphernalia are of the best A J vast sum of money has been expended 1 expen-ded All this has been done no I i in a spirit of defiance to the popular popu-lar feeling but rather as a vindication f I vindi-cation of the man and his work 1 He professes the highest regard fort j e the public sentiment but claims I I that that sentiment is misdirected I Ii for lack of correct information as r 1 I to his purpose It strikes us that I f the man is worthy better treatment I I i than has been accorded him IL I 1 r 1 M At any rate he ought not t t > N IW i to be condemned unheard I h Ii The verdict of the people b of more f > value in such a case than the judg I J t f 1 r > I t r I ment of the court and the law ought not to interfere to prevent an opportunity for a verdict by the people If tke play is bad If it is demoralizing or the tendency is to vulgarize Christianity the public will not be slow to discover the facts and pronounce a more severe and effective condemnation than any judge could declare |