Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1895-07-16
VIRTUES OUTCRY.
Uncompromising Arraignment of
High Art and Talent VS.. Sin.
sam Jones Deals with the Immoral Te,a-
dencies of Society, the Stare and
the Nude In Painting and
Statue.
ICoPYRIGHT. 1851

In attacking society's evening dress,
the dress of the stage and the nude
pictures that flood the world, 1t has
often been thrown in my face that my
opposition to these things grows out of
a lack of culture. / think with the
masses, deal with the masses and work
for the masses, and have long since
learned that the hope of this coun-
try and the force of this country
should be centered in the masses of the
people. There is a vast difference in
the effect of certain things ON select in
dividuals and the masses.
There are very few true artists in the
United States. l grant you that here
and there there may be found an indi-
vidual who is an artist by nature and
an artist by culture, whose mind and
soul are lost in his profession, who by
nature and education sees only the
beautiful in form and feature, but he
does not represent the average. Such
an artist with brush and easel and can
vas may sit before a beautiful woman
posed in state of nudity, as his model,
and as his brush reproduces the match
less figure upon the canvas he is lost in
the graceful curves and muscles of the
limbs, charmed by the beauty and
symmetry of figure, and no impure or
unholy thought enter hls mind. He is
absorbed and lost in his art, and from
his lofty position he wonders that any
man can look upon his picture or upon
the original and have any other than
the loftiest emotions.
The "School of High Art" proceed
upon the hypothesis that the world reads
high art as they read it, that the world
sees it as they see it, that the world en-
joys it as they enjoy it; but every fellow
of good common sense who lives with
the masses, thinks with the masses and
works with the masses knows this to be
utterly false. High art" as it is
called, SO far as it presents to the world
the exposed human body in marble or
upon the canvas or upon the stage or
in social circles, outside of the small
circle of artists, has a corrupting and
vitiating effect upon the morals of the
people.
This may be a doubtful statement
when applied to the patrons of the mar
BILE and canvas, but when applied to
the social circles and the stage the re-
suits upon the masses of the people in
past ages and in the present have dem
onstrated the truth of the proposition
beyond doubt. That element called
''high society,"" who wear their neck
less and sleeveless dresses and expose
their person to the gaze of the volup-
tuous may be written up in the daily
papers as presenting a scene in high
art, but believe the devil smiles over
the fact that while it may be high art
it is low morals.
believe that the most voluptuous
and constituencies and unreliable gang
this side of the pit is what the world
calls "high society" They make high
art the excuse for low morals, and
every few weeks we pick up a daily pa
per announcing the discovery of some
diabolical crime in high society. The
crack of a pistol, the bloody body, the
scream of loved ones ring out through
the columns of our daily papers an
nouncing to the world the exposure Of
the devilnent i'll high life.
The society man, be he single or mar
ried, who enters the whirl of society's
dance and card party, and theater and
club life, who fires up on fine wine and
under the thrill of music shall gather
the half nude form of a woman in his
arms upon the ballroom floor, feed his
voluptuous eye on naked arm and neck
and bust, and not commit some dia-
bolical crime, it will not be because every
element of his nature is not fred for
the deed, but because he is afraid of
the pistol or shotgun in the hands OF
the other fellow.
When the bulletin boards display
their advertisements of the coming at
fractions at the theater, when the nude
forms of women in compromising atti-
tudes displayed on these bill boards
shock the modest and thoughtful, and
when he who would guard the morals
of the world dare open his mouth, they
shout back: "This is high art" When
woman with no more moral character
than the scarlet woman shall be adver-
tised in some great opera or brilliant
play and the minister shall dare criti-
else It and shall warn his people against
contact with the characterless woman
whether upon the back street or upon
the stage the cry comes back: "She is
an artist''-"We don't look upon her in
any other light but as an artist" Say
what You please, apologize as you
please, but / know humanity and
know that every woman who is impure
IN her life, who parades herself upon
the stage in the voluptuous attire be-
fore the gaze of young men OF the coun-
.ry, is ministering to the vilest passions
of man and feeding the lower elements
Of our nature and adding fuel to the
great fire of moral impurity that is
burning up this old world.
Art is no apology for sin. Talent Is
no apology for sin; wealth and position
are no apologies for sin. Sin like lep-
ROSY will be communicated from king
or peasant, artist or rustic. There Is Q
kind of license given to the rich and
talented, which God does not give, and
which His servants ought not to grant.
High society organize their progressive
euchre parties, occupy the parlors OF
the rich, gamble for cut glass vases and
gold and silver trinkets, and the judge
tins his hat to them; but when . poor
negro shall shake his dice and throw
them down on an old pine table Tor
silver quarter, the sheriff takes him IN
and the Judge to save the morals OF the
- = ..-a, l;,,, t<, the chain gang.