WILSON'S SECRETARY OF STATE AND SCOPES "MONKEY TRIAL" DEFENDER

WILSON'S SEC. OF STATE & SCOPES TRIAL ATTORNEY "DUDLEY FIELD MALONE" (1882-1950). Served as William Jennings Bryan's Third Assistant Secretary when the Great Commoner was Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State. Subsequently, Malone was an international divorce lawyer. In 1925 he was one of the lawyers who defended John T. Scopes in the famous "Monkey Trial." Responding to Bryan's argument against admitting scientific testimony, Malone gave the greatest speech of the trial in defense of Academic Freedom. Three years after his famous speech in the Trial of the Century, Malone writes to the Editor of Theatre Magazine, Perriton Maxwell. Within a few years, Hollywood would see his debut as a dramatic actor, his most notable part: playing Winston Churchill in the film Mission to Moscow: "... Theatre Magazine is my favorite. It is the best magazine and most attractive in its discussion of the American theatre, and the men and women of the stage, I am glad that the Theatre Magazine is twenty-eight years young, for it expresses that vibrant imagination which is the chief characteristic of our young American theatre. The American theatre is unique in the world in that it makes splendid presentation of all the best that the theatre of the other nations produces. The demand for this comes from the American theatre-going public, which has a splendid cultural and artistic curiosity to see all the best that the nations can give. And yet, the American stage, including actors, actresses, playwrights and producers, makes up the most imaginative and versatile theatre in the world. There is no such variety of theme and plot such abundance of gifted young artist playwrights in any European theatre. My view of the future of the American stage is not at all dictated by patriotism, for culture and art know no boundary lines. But I do believe, from my study at home and abroad, that just as men like Thomas Hardy and H.G. Wells and Galsworthy believe that the hope of English literature is in our younger writers, so the future of the world theatre rests with the playwrights, players, producers and audiences of the United States..." Small tear at fold crease, light wear. Very Good. This letter is noteworthy because it was written by Dudley Field Malone, one of the most famous attorneys of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial", where he passionately defended academic freedom and the teaching of evolution against the forces of religious fundamentalism represented by William Jennings Bryan. By 1928, Malone had become a prominent public intellectual, and this letter captures his views on American culture, literature, and theater during the vibrant Jazz Age. His assertion that "culture and art know no boundary lines" reflects the cosmopolitan outlook that made him one of the most influential liberal voices of the interwar period. The document combines significant associations with the Scopes Trial, American theater history, and the cultural confidence of the 1920s.