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Show SMOKE IN THEATER? YES, NOJEfllPS Question Is Raised in London Places of Amusement in Significant Way. BIG "FIGHT" BEGUN Conflict Bears Signs of Struggle Strug-gle Between English and American Interests. By PTTTLTP EVERETT. Special (Table to The Tribune. LONDON, April 25. To smoko or not to smoko in tho theaters is tho raging controversy of tho moment. Tt is an old, old question that London theatrical theatri-cal managers have discussed and argued about for years, but. times have chnnged. Now elemonts havo arisen to alter tho general aspect and diminishing diminish-ing receipts at the theaters havo caused tho proprietors to look around for some means of popularizing the theater. In tho music hall and tho moving picture) pic-ture) show, smoking is, of course, permitted, per-mitted, but in tho "legitimate" west End theater it has never been allowed. Now George Edwardes, tho groatost of the musical comedy producers, proposes to permit smoking in the Gaiety theater, thea-ter, a house in which Frank Jay Gould holds a big financial interest. Why Mr. Edwardes should choose the Gaiety Gaie-ty as the medium of this experiment is not quite obvious, but there may be more in the move than meets the eye that is, if gossip counts for anj'thing. Battle of Giants. A few years ago Mr. Edwardes and Mr. Gould wero at loggerheads over tho management of the theater, and there was somo talk of Mr. Gonld"5 acquiring a controlling financial interest in the house and running it according to his owa ideas. That did not eventuate, but it is significant that since that day Mr. Edwardes has gradually reduced tho "star" casto of the Gaiety theater. It would almost seem to be a duel between be-tween the English and Amorican interests, inter-ests, with tho balance of power in favor fa-vor of the man on the spot. For many years Teddy Patne, the greatest musical comedy comedian of tho generation, has been a Gaiety institution, insti-tution, but ho has boeti transferred to tho Adelphi. togother with -Miss Phyllis Dare and other "stars'' of promiso, if of lesser note. ' Mis3 Gertie Miller, tho "picture post-card quocn," and a great favorite with the musical comedy public, pub-lic, has gone to Daly's theater, and there is an altogether unfamiliar flavor about the Gaioty caste. In the show now running, "After tho Girl," Low Heara and Clifford Crawford, woll known on the American stage, aro playing play-ing tho leading parts and tho "leading lady" is an ox-chorus girl from the Adelphi, who received metoorio promotion promo-tion for the purposos of the latost production, pro-duction, though sho has not yet achieved any great measure of popularity. Hcarn I and Crawford make tho show, but many aro wondering what it all means. Problem Unsolved. Wh' Bhould the Gaioty, the most famous fa-mous of all the West End theaters, bo singled out by Edwardes as tho modium for his daring experiment, especially as tho 'bill has Deon shorn of all the old Gaioty favorites. Has Mr. (Edwardes bocomo indifferent to the fortuuea of the theater which .brought him fame and fortune? Maybe Mr. Gould is also curious on thoso points. Speculation is once more rife regarding regard-ing the destination of the two Chilean dreadnoughts now building in this country. coun-try. For tho present it seems that the states which appear inolinod to incrcaso their naval forces by becoming bidders in the open market for dreadnoughts, have turned their attention from the two Argentine ships now ready in the American yards, and are looking to the British ship yards. Besides Greece aud Turkey there arc other powers in the market. Tt has been reported that one of them is Italy. This testifies to tho acuteucss of tho naval rivalry in Europe. |