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264 PURPOSE AND PROPAGANDA PLAYS story interest and in the end the problem is the same, though dif- ferently stated. "Will" still presents a question of the propriety of the action, but it gives the question a more direct and personal interest. 11. It is highly important that the author should not attempt to deal with the presentation of problems with which he is not th#r- oughly acquainted. An awkward and uninformed handling of the question must inevitably betray its falseness even to those lesser informed. To the more intelligent it will be irritating and ridicu- lous. On the other hand, the attitude of the author should be strictly impersonal. If he writes of a subject too close to his heart he is apt to be biased in his arrangement and presentation of facts. The play will be too one-sided to hold the interest. 12. The mental attitude of the writer of problem plays should be that of the surgeon in the dissecting room rather than that of the surgeon in the clinic. He should be the analyist rather than the healer. The subject that lies close to the heart cannot be treated properly any more than the surgeon will trust himself to operate upon one of his immediate family. Problem plays are interesting only when they are judicial and are impartial presentations of the subject matter. The facts must be stated and the decision left to those who listen to the facts. This is the great and essential dif- ference between the problem and the propaganda play. i9.L:27) (10.IX:16) (ll.XI:8 XX:14). CHAPTER LIII PURPOSE AND PROPAGANDA PLAYS AS suggested in the last chapter, the propaganda play differs from the problem play in that it urges upon the spectator the acceptance of a solution rather than the study of a problem. It seems to invite discussion, but instead seeks to make converts to the theory propounded. Purpose plays differ from propaganda plays in that they merely point out conditions known to exist in such a man- ner as to emphasize the wrongfulness of the condition. 2. Take for example some of the plays put out by the Society for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. One may be a prop- aganda play, in that it seeks to spread the propaganda that the only correct treatment for consumption is rest, nourishment and fresh air. Some of its plays deal strongly with this aspect and have done un- told good. James Oppenheim's "Hope," for example, tells the story of a girl who knows herself to be the victim of the disease. Her father laughs at the idea. She leaves home to seek the proper treat-