Omaha daily bee., 1888-04-16
FROM THE PULPITS.
Tha Theatrical Dress Circle Deemed
Too Undress For Methodists.
THE SOCIAL PURITY MEETINGS.
Talbot Still in Denver The Police
Find a Few Sunday Offend
ers-Crushed by the
Cars-Personals.
should Methodists Attend Theatres2

" 49, " ~ ~ aA'
morning. The text which served as the
basis of the subject was st. Paul's iniunc-
ton. abstain from all appearances Of
evil.n Said the speaker: Every amuse-
ment which invites the suspicion of chris
tians most invites the attention of this bible
text. The theatre invites the attention of
the christian world on account of the in
creased and possibly increasing attendance
Of profcssed christians upon this form of
amusement. Those who plead for the theatre
plead for it upon the ground OF wishing to
see developed an ideal theatre, --one from
which all Objectionable features shall be
eliminated. This plea admits the fact that
such an one is not that of the present, and
further, you can't have an ideal theatre.
Why! Following this demand, all Your
plays must be ideal plays. They must eX-
hibit the purcst thoughts, speech and action.
They must not have the faint or suspicion
of sin. You must have ideal performers
persons who arc leaders i'll social and moral
movements. You must have ideal audiences
such as these plays and players would at
tract. Those who go now would not then at
tend, for there is nothing attractive to the
thcdtcr. goer IN this sort of a play or perform
anCc. You must have ideal Costumcs-such
as are seen in the parlors of home. IS it is
now, instead of such dresses and such cos
tunes, there is frequently no costume at all.
Instead of too much there is too little. There
is about as much resemblance between the
real and the ideal theatre as there is between
a Council Bluffs politician and Abraham
Lincoln and that you will all grant, is very
small indeed.
| am opposed to the theater for several rca-
sons. First, because the leading secular pa
pCrS of the country are against it. The Chi
cago Inter Ocean, Times, Tribune, New
York Herald and other leading papers of the
cast and west speak boldly against its I'M
morality. They say it is not an institution
where good morals are taught: that there is
no close relation botween the theater and
morals. OF course, these papers, and all
others, are paid large sums to advertise
shows of this nature, but they do not give
them their sanction. The testimony gained
here is indeed valuable from the fact that
these papers do N champion religion, but
view ali matters of morals from Il purely
moral standpoint. Neither do they cham
pion sin, for whatever they give in their
columns that appertains in this connection,
they give purely as items of news. This is all
the value there is in it for them
outside of the money they get from their ad-
v~ertising columns. The secular papers are
supposed to stand for and represent the NOR
ais of the country, and they give unqualified
testimony against the theatre. Now let me
ask YOU, if the best morals of the worlds
people condemn it, is it Il proper place for a
godly man or WOmanE
| am opposed to it, because if the placards
and bills which decorate the bill. boards are
a fair representation Of the plays themselves
they must be damnable indeed. The morals
of the country are being corrupted by these
foul and licentious pictures: The anthorl-
tacs VI tIe ialRc CaIlSs nav IahSn VIZ lhaIIer
In Chicago they have ordered the com
panics who have the matter in charge to
make their bin boards better and cleaner.
AnS 'n.hs M M, i3 ~ iIsnIu wv piUpei ~ W
is not proper to be seen in the theater. In the
light of these facts what a spectacle is pre-
scented when men and women who, by
oS LneiI 1--WE III plcuEeu W saw lneh' ale
io outu oe n.hihi ~ ooa , "m on1id arc Pre-,
sGhIru cNnioiCions WILL Wouiu oilHS Ino
auS % "a ~ ~ ~ t tha " purhS u ~
anywhere except III eae Ineater. AlSucn
pays anu oAnipltlouS ~ untS nu'ule are cEn
IL ShcL' .Cnucuev' i w ~ e.S that ~ pays
ana an actors nte nn.nioral; IhaS onere are are
are noC Cnosc Mho PrGSemU NV rePrtscnU uno
oos0 J dtfTn'anso Ta v ~ nooth o naoIo 10 a
s I'D y o,bers oF that class and tho nIavs
thCS ptesr cafor aia ar uIo E7et a. n mm'c en- ! , nF > ! p tho
IcuIa.iy ieier' anu SeU 30 per SenIo " 49, .no
pays tnaC are Pt4uuceu oS uhG pay wil'er
"HH on9oCou utou ~ aC1sS az nIpud1
az inns point INC sPS"Nel ptoouccu an eAe
ne[pC IRON Il VI nainl"gus oP iip y
various Sn mu / Pi"A1 nov noiutIR ono
poaruS VI SeW VI anu ns4ohtSH ne Coh,
IinuGd' StPpoSc ms NieVnout1 81 E nutc 81
shoIlu scieeC III y euesG PlaSsmthe e9t "a
tle loLLIue hdenipeIs Oh Ihe snurGn pay we
cnuL"CIJis "mu Ine VIZ po W. ~ W - t ~
pay i, Mnno muuiu SGu say "nSi ma aunnGG
cuuIru MuS naru up ioi htcai = IloN"tS unI
. -. "a -
alteI"aiu nave a revival Sanu IheS "oulu
nee4 one alVc[Matu P[etty so2n, 700;
Wouiu YOU WIhC Inose VINO hau
taken PaiU III lhc play 70 eoHe 10
YOU ana ihTtIe you 10 peglt ID
relisious me. MY lllohGs' Sou cahuoV Io
potn; hou cannot sCTEG Nou anu 20 10 Ine
ucHL , pay .lousG; WIN YOU luch!iS SoutI
sen WIN thlhg % per cent OF Whlch Is eVil
anu ohly o per cGHI possesseu u InaG wnlGn
can ny any poss!oilIl5 40 YOU the leasI goGut
i ne IhenVG[ susIalus apouI INC sahiG lclaUlVn
10 an cVl5 me MI NarloloIu uQes 10 uIe sliial!-
poN, uiu Whth you nav VIC sllaIgoH you
tnen thihh tlaU you are a. [lEne, anu VLSnh
goo II YOU maven got ile haeasies ZOO You
cunhot lOl!oN Uhe PIacticc % tne pay housG
Without Iaklns l!Io your system! mora
lIlasina; Don 40 IL. 1oas sue Is lhe sue
OF neaIth' ana IL Is hCt III tne tnGater.
IheatGr gong lSh.t healJhIul 10 CHRISTIAN
me. am not saying anything
ABOUT What a 15aptlSt, Congregatlohal
ISL or Eplsc0pallah may OF may NOT
40, put inns 1 40 say: IL Is not CON
duclVe 10 METHODIST rellGlOh' ana l am
stfohgly OF the opinion that Wnat Is not goou
Tor a NletRodlst IS equally harmful 10 a
CHRISTIAN Oh any olher name. Leu me ASK
you, WhCh you were al lhe theater the lasl
tinle ana looked upon that woman whose
clothlhg was hardly surlcleht Tor purposes OF
decehcy, ulu you ieel u thrill OF rellslouS
ecstasy as you ulu curing tne last revival