St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-15
AMUsEME MIS-, GOOD AND BAD


The desire for entertainment during
hours of leisure is natural to the human
race. Both the mind and the body re-
quire relaxation. Constant physical
occupation eXhausts the vital forces and
produces premature decay and decrepi-
tude. CeaselesS mental strain results
in the exhaustion Of the fluids of the
brain, causing insanity or imbecility'
No body was ever framed that could
endure endless toll: no brain was ever
so vigorous as to be capable of ceaseleSs
activity. Even an inSensate machine,
composed of steel and iron, requires
rest. A locomotive must be Idle at in
tervals, or it will be useless long before
it has reached the allotted age of loco
motives; and steam engine kept con-
Stantly in motion soon loses its gear,
and, despite the most careful watching.
will be unreliable. Rest is as essential
i'll nature as activity. Even the soil re-
Quires it, or it will become unproductive
and barren.
The theory that all worldly amuse-
mentS are sinful, that once held sway
in the religious world, has long since
been abandoned, and the churches have
set about providing enter tainments for
their members that are thought to be
less harmful than those offered by the
unregenerate. There are church Soci-
ables, sacred concerts, festi vals and tab
leaUX--the latter as near an approach to
the theatrical perfor manceS as dare to
be Yentured upon for fear of mourning
censure for inconsistency. These serve
the purpose well-the entertainment of
the young and inexperienced. They are
the milk SO necessary for babes, but they
fail to satisfy the cravings OF the more
mature men and women. These require
more substantial food, and few of the
more advanced of the religious sects per-
nit moderate ind lgence i'll concert
going, an occasional opera, social
dance, or a theatrical perfor nance on
rare occasions. A majority Of the
| church members. however, are yet de-
| barred from these means of entertain
ment, and only indulge in them at the
| risk of dismiss al fro m their church fel-
| lowShip.
Even the most extreme of church
members are willing in these days to
admit that some dramatic performances
are free from evil influence, and would
| be willing to tolerate them were it not
that such liberation would be regarded
as a removal of all restraint-as permits
sion to attend all performances, what
ever their character. The difficulty is
a serious one. The scruples of consist.
ent Christians in this regard are not to
| no RI do ic
and eVer-preSont one. There are many
plays placed upon the stage that are
not proper to be witnessed by the
young-thdt are hurtful to people of any
age or condition of life. If the line
could be drawn so as to exclude dramas
of this character, the church might feal
nothing from the stage. But here
comes the difficulty. By what authority
shall the line of demarcation be drawni
What standard of purity or excellence
shall be adopted? Shall parents permit
their children to witness the spectacu
lar dramas that verge so closely upor
indecency: the melodramas that
abound in inuendo and double entendre
the tragedies that depict and idealiZe
the baser passions, or the emotional
productions in which prostitutes art
the heroineS and IibertineS the heroesi
Manifestly not only the church, but so
ciety at large, has much to fear from
such dramatic performances, for they
are inSidiouS subverters of the moral
susceDtibilities of the young and de
structlve of that purity which all value
above riches.
There is need of a dramatic censorship
in every community. The government
in some countries exercises that censor
ship-in France for morality's sake, IL
Russia for political ends. And We
France furnishes to this country the
most immoral and Objectionable Of
plays. There can be no censorship il
this country that would be fair to al
communities. That which would Offend
in one of our cities would be regarded
as free from objection in others.
1t would be no easy matter to formu-
late rules relating to public amuse
ments that would be fair to those whit
give them, and at the same time just tt
the community. The man who shall
succeed in drawing the line between
amusements that are hurtful and those