The trick is a department store trick. It is sheer advertising strategy. The “stars” of yesterday, who did not even survive yesterday, were either the per¬ sonal favorites of managers, or goods taken off the shelf and heaped into the window for the sake of giving the appearance of a new stock. In brief, whereas in normal times the public made the “star” by their acclaim, nowadays the Jewish managers determine by their advertisements who the star shall be. The “New York stamp,” which frequently means nothing at all, is the one imperial sign of favor, according to the Jewish theatrical hierarchy. It is just this “New York stamp” that the rest of the country protests against; and the “little theater” movement throughout the West and Central West is a significant protest.
A Mary Anderson or a Julia Marlowe would be impossible under the Jewish system. They were dis¬ ciples of art, who later became artists, and then were rightfully acclaimed as stars. But their development was a tedious process. Their fame was based on the rising approval of the people, year after year. These actresses put in season after season traveling the same circuit, learning little by little, rounding out their work. They did not have nor did they seek the “New York stamp”; they worked first for the approval of the people of “the provinces,” which is the contemp¬ tuous Jewish term for the rest of the United States.
There was, however, no Jewish dictatorship of the Theater when Mary Anderson and Julia Marlowe were building their art and careers; which throws a light on the reason for there being no Mary Andersons or Julia Marlowes coming up to the succession.