The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-04-21

md women connected with the drama wht
are pure In heart and pure in speech ant
pure In life, 1t is because you have not had
very wide acquaintance.
Wholesale denu notation OF all dramatist!
! will never elevate the drama. Yondei
| stand q church and n theatre on opposite
sides Of the street. The church shouts over
| to the theatre, You are all scOundrelsn
| The theatre shouts back, you arc all hypo-
crites!" And they both falsify. Dropping
| all indiscrlminate ieremiads against dra.
matists md realizing that the drama is not
| necessarily connected with this institution
or with THAT, want to show you how the
| dramatic element in our natures may be
| harnessed to the chariot Of civilization ant
| Christianity.
Fifty ESSAYS about the sorrows of the
poor could lot affect ME as a little drama
| Of accident and suffering I saw one. slip
perry morning in the streets of phiiadel-
phia. Just ahead'of me was n lad. wretch
ed In apEarel, his limb amputated at the
knee; from the pallor Of the boys check,
the amputatiUn not long before. He had
\ package Of broken food under his arm
food he had begged, l suppose, at the
doors. AS lie passed on overthe slippery
pavement, cautiously and carefully,
steadied him until his crutch slipped and
he fell. helped him up rs we'll is could,
gathered up the fragments OF the package
rs we'll as l could, put them under one
arm and1tbercrutcr under the other arm,
but when l saw the blood run down his
pale cheek burst into tears. Fifty essays
about the sufferings OF the poor could not
touch one like that little drama OF accident
and suffering.
Oh, we want in all our different depart
ments of usefulness more of the dramatic
element and less OF the didacti,. The
tendency In this day Is to drone religion,
to whine religion, to cant religion, to moan
religion, to croak religion, to sepulcharize
religion, when We ought to present 1t In
animated ana spectacular manner.
What we want, ministers and laymen, IS
to get our sermons and our exhortations
and cur prayers out of the Old rut. The old
hackneyat religious. phrases that come
snoring down through the centuries will
nevor arrest the masses. What we want
to-day, you In your sphere, and l in my
sphere, Is to freshen up. People do not
want in-their sermons the sham flowers
bought at the millinery shop, but the
iaponicaS wet with tho morning dew, not
the heavy rbones OF extinct me ,atherum
Of past a.ges. but the living reindeer caught
last August ut the edge OF Schroon Lake.
We want to drive ont the dtowsy and the
prosaic and the tedious and tho humdrum
and introduce the brightness and the
yivacity and the holy sarcas N and Tive sane
tilted wit and tho ePisrammatio power and
tie Blood red earn estncss and the fire Of re-
Ngi6us EeaL and do not know Of any way
of doing it us well as through thsdramattc.
Bat now let us turn to the drama as an
van u<sm entrahd entertainment.
Rev. Dr.. Bellows, Of New York, many
years ago in a very brilliant but much criti.
cised sermon took the position that the
thcater might be renovated and made aux
Hilary to the church: Many Christian PEG.
pkssnre, jof ithe same opinion. Il do not
agree with tbem. have no idea that sue
cess IS in thTt direction What have said
hsrei ofoee 0nthis subject, pas far az l can
remeNber, is my sentiment now. But. to-
day 7 take d step in advance of my former
theofyts OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES 70 take full
possession 81 this world and control, its
its laws, its literature. its science
ana its am ftsemeAts. Shut out from the
realm OF 'ChrstlunitY anything and yo,h
Rive 1t up to sin and death. .
II Christianity IS mighty enough to
manage eyeryth ing but.the amusements Of
family. Is IL CAPABLE Of Keeping account
efsthe, tears OF the world and Incompetent
to make record Of its, smiles? Isjt good to
foifow.ffle funeral, bnt anmb at the worlds
AyftCan 1t control all the Other elements
o.. pur , natuse but the dramatic element?
Myl3sd 0f Christianity IS that caa and
fill eonfner;eysryeA3hg. ,.,s' j ~
,,KoW, Hhats We want -is:to hasten that
time. How will It. be .dnnes BY. the chpreh
going o vef tolthe thsatsr? It viii not 60.
ynhe thsatsr- coming to tlre church,? It.l
viii OF COME What We wants reformed
amusement association in every city and
town Of the. United States Once ans
nS1sacel and le1p}aiset and .ilInatrated,
The Christian and .phttanthropic capitalist |
will be PUBLIC spiritehmeqeye who
Will do,this work Tor the dru nntfc element |
81 our natu nkxa1t ns.Rtia.-aew institu-
lion to meet and Se1Dgnize and develop |
and defen1- tie dramatic element. Of our |
patdre.,' tneods- tore distinct from ey-
W. f1ntds sss.Af beelt 't'..;-' -
!. wtAt hsy ssEis fedosped amuseniant
ssSeetatioa having. Ia charge -this new in
'titution Q{thksRessaeulaita take possession !
If some han Or Academy. It might take 4 I