The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-31

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man upon the stage did not purify IT,
"Macaulay ays Nothing charmed a
depraved audience so much as to have
lines. grossly Indecent, repeated by a
/ beautiful girl And Sir Walter Scott
says: TIL theaters Of England and
Scotland were abandoned TO the VII
cious.'
I'm Paris. during the term OF the
| revolution. while the courts Of justice
were thrust out by the Jacobin tri-
Dunes and the churches were ~silenced,
there were M less than % theaters
crowded every night. influencing the
passions Of the p~opulace. II is a fact OF
history. that cannot be c~ontroverted.
that the theater has stood through all
the ages as a menace to morals and,
thus. to good government. Ii was this
conception of the theater that prompted
the American congress. soon after the
declaration OF Independence, to adopt
the following preamble and resolution
Whereas. True religion and good
morals are the only solid foundation
OF public liberty and happiness.
Resolved. That IL be and Is hereby
earnestly recommended to the several
states to take the most efectual means
for the announcement thereof n the
suppression of theatrical amusements.
horse racing. gaming and such other
diversions as are productive Of idle
ness ana dissipation.
I'm speaking in these strong terms in
reference to the theater and the above
characters. of course. ] realize the fact
that there are some character who
tower like great peaks above
their surroundings. and who deserve
honorary mention. But these exception
al cases do not invalidate this rule.
This, then. is the testimony of past
history relative to the theater. But the
sAaasar Il not nm institution nf the nasf
IL Is here to-day. a tremendous fact
of modern civilization.
According to a recent article In
Harper's Weekly, there are between
5000 and 5000 theaters in running order
in the United States n Canada,
while the number of persons employed,
directly and Indirectly, i'm them Is not
less than so. 900. The value of the the
aters In New York city alone Is esti-
mated at SO. 900. 900. with an annual ex-
penditure in the theaters of that city
alone of Sc. 500. 900. and the patrons OF
the theater can be numbered by the
millions.
What ) the consensus of opinion
regarding IL to-day? Listen. first. to
the testimony of theatrical men them
selves. Macready. a man known
throughout the world In theatrical cir
cles. wrote as he retired from the stage:
None OF my children. with my permis-
sion, under any pretense. shall ever en-
ter the theater.' Edwin Booth says:
I never permit my wife and daughter
to witness a play without first ascer-
tanning It's character
The secular press. surely. will not be
accused of being ~prejudiced against the
theater. but the influence of many
of the leading papers Is quite pro-
nounced. The Round Table. The Ma
ton. the Evening Post and the Tri-
bune have all borne such evidence
against the leading theaters of New
York city as ought to subject them to
eternal infamy.
"The leading religious bodies. the
Baptists. Methodists, Presbyterians
and the Congregationalists. have all
by public utterances. borne evidence
against II as an institution that Is de-
grading to morals and subversive to
Christian life.
Judge Bulstrode Of Middlesex coun-
~, England, declared in a charge to the
jury that one play house ruins more
ouls evey year than SO churches
saved
This charge against the theaters Is
not true simply OF the lower classes.
a recent writer in the London Contem-
porary Review, speaking of the New
York theaters. says: Those theaters
that were ~patronized by the roughs in
the Bowery were less immoral tina
those patronized by the residents of
Fifth avenue
A that Is true of the theater Is
equally true Of the opera. Indeed,
there is no difference between them. ex-
cept that the n is spoken n the
other sung. IL has the same dramatic
TORN, the same stage accessories. the
same debasing influences upon actors.
the same d~issipating n demoralizing
effect upon spiritual life.
Its origin was Italian. but Ii was
y adopted In Spain and France. IL
was designed to furnish amusement for
a people VIGOROUSLY lacking in purity
and decent morals, and the most volup-
tous worldly capitals of Europe are the
~strongholds of opera. 1t is true of the
opera as well as the theater that there
are some characters who are held In the
highest honor. Such prima donnas as
Jenny Lind and Parepa Rosa rise above
the corruption of their surroundings,
but these are the exceptions.
Now. all of this array of fact must
have its weight upon the candid mind
that is seeking for the facts relative
to the heater of to-day. As confirm
ing the truthfulness of this testimony.
therefore. l now bring the following
specific charges against the theater:
"(a) The theater corrupts the tastes
and inculcates false views of life and
false standards OF honor. IL is "A great
leveler. but IL levels down. and not up.
I'm the theater the virtuous and the
pure-minded are thrown into common
association with the vilest characters
of the community and the same fare rs
provided for all. The difference in the
cost OF the seats or the place where
they are located does not n~eutralize the
bad effects OF the immoral contagion
of gross speech and pernicious exhibit
ton. which make the theater a teacher
OF vice. The plots of the stage i'm a
great majority of cases consist of as
~sassinations. Illicit love. libertinism
and the like. all of which are gilded
with an unreality that end to inflame
and incite to kindred passions.
The evi! OF a vicious suggestion
say DIR. Hayden. does not depart
when the bell rings down the curtain.
on the contrary. II often then begins
To operate as the incentive TO a vicious
contamination The heater also leads