St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-12-14
ST. cJuhnsbmp Gatedunian.
The Theatre.


The Theatre.
1t is not often that a newspaper arti
Gle so efiectually hits its mark as has
that on The Perils of the Playhouse,
by DIR. +. l.. Cuyler. in the Indepen-
dent for Nov. /. If the volleys of
black guardiSm from the low -lived, and
attempts at more serious reply from
papers claiming to be reputable, are a
fair Indication, the doctors keen
weapon smote large number of peo-
pie between the joints of the harness.
Addressing youthful readers as to
patrOnizing the theatre, he writes
The first peril is to purity of charac-
ter. Your eyes and ears are windows
and doors to the heart. What enters
never goes out. Photographs taken on
the memory are not easily etfaced or
burned up; they stick there, and often
become tempters and tOrmenters for IA
lifetime. I'D give my right hand,
SAID a Christian to me once, ''if | could
rub out the abOminahle things that
put into my mind when | was a fast
Young man" He could not do it E;
neither viii YOU Ice able to etface the
lasciviOus images or the impure words
which the stage may photograph on
your very soul. We do not affirm that
every popular play is immoral, or that
every theatre goer is on the scent for
sensual cNcitemcnts. But the stage is
to he estimated Us IA totality; and the
whole trend of the average American
stage is hostile to heart-purity. The
exceptions do not alter the rule. Nor
have honest attempts to bring the stage
mp to Il high standard of moral purity
been successful. The experiment once
made in Boston of 50 managing a
theatre rs To exclude every indelcacy
from the stage and every VIGOROUSLY
improper person from the audience
ended in pecuniary failure. The Puri-
tanic play -huusc soon went INTO bank
ruptcN. The chief object of the man
agcr is to make money and If he can
spice his evenings entertainment with
:. plot that turns on Il seduction or Il
scene of sexual passion. or with Il
Salacious exposure of physical beauty,
the temptation il too strong to he very
often resisted.
You must take the average stage as
il il. and not as YOU would like to have
il. IL is an institution, which If you
patronizc, You become morally respOn-
siblc for, as much rs if You patrOnize a
public library or Il public drinking
saloon. As an institution it habitually
unscNcs woman 10y parading her before
a mixed audience in mans attire. Too
often it EXPOSES her III such pitiable
scantincss of any attire at all, that If
Won SAW VOur own sister i'll such Il
plight you would turn away your eyes
in horror. Yet you propose to pay
your money Through the box office to
somebody clSc'S sisters and daughters
to violate womanly dclicacy for your
entertainment ''If the daughter OF
lIerodias" dances to please you, then
YOU are responsible for the dance, both
in its influence on the dancer and on
Your own moral SENSE. There is no
rvading before God of your account
ability for the theatre, if you habitually
support it. What its influence upon
the average performer is appears from
most abundant testimony. One of the
most celebrated actresses of this time
informed friend of mine that she
comfy enters Il theatre to enact her
part, and has very little association
with her own profession" \ convert
ed actor once said to me, while passing
Il play house in which he had often
performed; "Behjnd those curtains
lies Sodom." Although sorely pressed
to return to his old business, he said
that he would Starve sooner than 90
on the stage again. Mrs. Frances
kemble Butler the last living repre-
sentative of the most famous histrOiniC
family of modern times has, in heI
old age, condemned the stage en-
phatically. As an institution, the
American theatre tolerates sensual inn
purity III its performers, and presents
scenes of impurity to it's patrons. II
You become one of its patrons, you 50