The age-herald., 1900-03-19

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shocking to the sensibilities to read of murder as to witness one? Who of you would go along a certain street tomorrow morning knowing that by so doing you would witness a foul and atrocious murder? Yet you will witness it on the stage. You say that it is not real. but you know 1t must be as though it were real to produce the profound feeling desired, otherwise it will be hissed. To be rendered thus so as to excite feeling there must be resort to artificial device. The drama supplies this and herein lies it's danger The stage pro- poses to give us lessons in the dark side of human nature and people go, they say, to learn of human nature and witness it in it's most hideous forms. Thus we grow familiar with vice and cause it to lose it's power to shock us as it was want to do.
 "There is no doubt of lowering of the moral tone in this generation, for things that would have shocked our simple-heart- ed fathers and mothers we laugh at and enjoy. How far the stage is responsible for this condition of things I leave for you to judge. The danger of the stage is seen in the further fact of its psychological effect upon those who attend it. Consider the operation of two laws in life-the laws that govern our active and passive powers. We know that our active powers are strength ened by exercise and that our passive pow CTS are weakened. Take the case of the surgeon; I dare say there are some here to- day who can cut into human body as If It were wood or clay, who almost tainted when they began the of the knife. Practice has increased their skill, but de- creased their sensibilities. If there were no decrease of sensbilities no surgeon would attain to perfection. for we want one who won't vince when he cuts
 Motive Power to Action
 Some one has said that feelings. like metal, grow harder with each melting, and it is so Our feelings are intended to be motive powers to action. For every feeling there should be an expression in an act for pity, relief, for love, kind deed, or act of sacrifice. The feeling of pity with every awakening becomes less sensitive and therefore must be quickly manifested ia action or the time will come when it will be impossible to arouse it to action. The lessening of feeling can only be counter balanced by the increased power of action, or habit. Herein lies the philisophy of our safety and ruin. By allowing our sensibili-
 
 ate without being crystaized into noble &C., tion, life degenerates and deteriorates un- til almost before we know it we are in the grip of habits that hold us like wise.
 "Feeling is pleasurabe, but with les sening of it there must be resort to artl-> ficial means to excite it, hence the drama, the opiate. The exhibitions of the stage are unreal and the feeling excited by them have no opportunity for expression in ac- ton, and so while feeling is weakened no appropriate actions are performed. The theater finds it's support in the multitudes of the carnally minded. The men and the women who habitually attend them pander to the sensual, and with every exhibition their souls become greater vassals to their bodies.
 "I am opposed to the theater, because it is hurtful to men. I wouldn't care for it If 1t did not hurt people for whom Christ died. The Christian life is so exhalted and there Is so much to war against it that 1t requires constant effort and watchfulness. We should guard its sacred portals against every approach of evil as jealously as a true man his honor, or pure woman her