Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-05-05

DR.. Talmage Discusses Amuse,
ments.
THE THEATRE NEEDS REFORMING
Comparison Between the Recent and the
Older Plays---The New Not so Good
as the 0ld---lmOroYement
Needed on the Stage.

BRoOEIYS, May 4-Dr. Talmage preached
to-day in the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the
subject: Are the theatres in high moral
toneY The opening hymn was;
"Let our Lips and eyes express
The holy Gospel We profess"
DR.. Talmage read and expounded the
stirring passages which describe the wagons
going to fetch Jacob up to the palace Of
Pharaoh.
The text was Isaiah xxi ll-"Watchman,
what of the night?' Following is the ser
mon in full:
As near as can tell it is about halEpast
four in the morning. There are signs Of
dawn all around Thoagh -the eaverns are
! stiI dark the mountains are being trans
figured very slowly. The world is adSanc
ing. Since the armies Of civilization and
Christianity began to march they have
never fallen back. Here and there a regi-
| ment has PLAYED the coward, but in every army
are men unworthy the standards they carry.
| We are 20 look to-day into some Of the recre-
ations of the people You have already
learned that have no sympathy with eccle-
Siastical strait jackets or with that attempt
| 10 ignore all amuSementS and recreatiOns.
| 4 book came out some time ago discussing
| this subject and saving that if man re-
turned at nighttau from business and felt
weary and desired some recreation and he
should put on slippers and 80 into his garret
and walk around lively four or five times
| there would be no harm in that but further
than that frowniug upon all recreations and
! amuSem9utS.
think one Of the ghaStlie,t mistakes
ever made by Christian men is the attempt
| 20 put down the >pOrtfulneSs of youth and
| drive out the desire of amusement and rec
ryation from tho people. So have known
men that were opposed to ball PLAYING,
| hated puzzles. denounced chsradcs and de-
,piScd tablraux, and cried Away with all
| rarlOr amusementsr- and when Young peO-
! Die full of exuberance and vitality asked,
| wi at shall We do bv way of recreation
| they were answered, Prayer meetings. |
| have noticed however. that the people who
10 not know how 10 play do not know how
! To work. | have noticed that the mightest
men in the church of God in all ages have
| iuin,d in hilarilicS and rcCreatiOnS. William
| VIII eetorcc trundrd hoops with his chill
| drcn: Martin Luther helped to dress the
Christmas tree; Helen Chalmers told me
that her father (Thomas Chalmers) in the
| davS when he was most Oyerworked almost
every day played kite with his children on
| the commons.
| But are the entertainments and recrea-
tionS of the world keeping abreast with the
| GRAND march fthe ages? are the novels. Of
this day better than their predecessors? Is
! the dance of this day an improvement on
other decades? Are the Opera Houses rem
| drring higher style of music? DO Parlor
| games become more healthful? Have the
theatres of our time arrived at a higher
| moral tone? To this last question | this
morning give reply. Mark YOU | am not
this morning to discuss whether the theatre
Is right or wrong / am not making a whole
| sale attack on tragedianS comedian | am
NOT discussing whether Henry Irving and
Edwin Booth and Mccullough and Joseph
jefferson are great actors or honorable
| men. believe they are.
have three reasons for thinking that the
thinking that American theatres are not
| improving in moral tone.
The Newspapers Prove It.
| First. because of the universal testimony
of all the leading secular newspapers OF the
/ United States. There is not a newspaper
| Of power in this country which has not
| within the last few wears both in editorial
| and rcvortorial column, deprecated the
| STYLES of play most frequent in American
| theatres, Ii is against the interests of the
| pcw>uarcrs 10 severely criticize the play
| hnu>r, iccausc q vast amount of advertising
| ra,rnnagc comes from them. | am told
| ina, the papers receive more from that than
1 suy other When therefore. the secular
newspapers contrary to their financial inter
i .,rs ,lenounce the theatres for friyiiOuS and
unclean spectacular, their evidence is to me-
conclusive | roll up on the negative side
of this question all the respectable printing
presses of the continent.
\ second reason for thinking that the
theatres of America are not improving IN
moral tone find in the show windows and
on the bulletin boards from ocean to ocean.
| | suppose these are honest pictures and
transformations Ofwhat actually occurs night,
| bv night in such places. Are these the
| scenes 10 which fathers and mothers take
| their daughters and Young men their ati-
| anced2 Would YOU allow in your pariorS
| such brazcu iudecency as in many ot the
| theatres must be dramitized II show windows
| are not libel? If these pictures are genu-
| me their work is damnablc. Ii ought TO
take lust as much completeness of apparel
| TO he honorable in one place as to be honor
able in another. | declare if YOU fathers
and mothers who take YOUR children to see
| such SodomiC lack of robe atterward live to
see YOUR families ploughed up with hber-
tiuism and prOtigacy, YOU will get what YOU
deserve As though surplus of Sanctlty
had been gained by Lenten service through
out the United STATES, right after Easter
north, south east and west the streets OF
| America become picture galleries that rival
the museums of Pompeii which are kept
under lock and key. Where are the mayors
of the cities and the Judges of courts and the
police that such things are permitted
Judging from their dePraved advertisements
that blotCh mp our cities to-day, conclude
that many of the theatres are not on their
wav 70 millemnial excellence.
Degraded from Abroad.
Another reason for thinking that the
theatres of America are not improving in
moral tone is that the foreign importation
of bad morals during the past few years has
been so immensely popular. France sent
TO this country her queen Of the stage one
whose infamy was not shame but boast
A more popular actress or one more d!sSo
lutte never appeared in America. England
also sent to us delectable specimens OF IN
efFsble sweetness. commended by a prince
not as good as his mother. From some o
the notorious foreign imPortationS OF on
American stage conclude that II many o.
our theatres are advancing in high mosA
tone the advance is imperceptible, Another
reason for thinking that the American stast
is not improving is that the majority Of tbs
| plays in our time are degrading in their
tendency.
Put the printed plays of the last ten yesrs
! = -