The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-06
DRIVE THEM OFT.

DRIVE THEM OUT.
Within a period of ten years, cert: My
within the past fifteen years, the public
taste as well as the public morals would
have revolted against such pictorial ex
hibitions as are today universal through
out the entire country for purposes not
only of theatrical but of trade advertise
ing
The bill board nuisance is one against
which the decent people of America
ought to enter their protest, and make
that protest effective. 1t is an express
sion of the depraved expedients to which
men will resort in their efforts to make
money, and it is as offensive and as dan
gerous to society as many of the media
in that direction which refined people are
not disposed to refer to even in private
conversation.
The evil of which the Rev Mr.. Hambly
complains is a serious one. 1t is of
gradual growth. The people have been
educated down to the degraded standards
of moral sense and of artistic taste which
it represents. Many of the theatrical,
and some of the trade advertisements
which disfgure our city bill boards would
not have been looked upon by any per-
son with any sense of personal modesty
comparatively few years ago; and they
would, moreover, be suppressed by pub
lie authority had any one the temerity to
give them publicity
There is nothing to be accomplished by
newspaper writing in this direction
There is sentiment latent among the
mass of the people which will insist upon
the destruction of such devices of black
guardism as the eyes Of respectable peo-
pie are offended by in every direction On
the public streets day after day. All that
is needed is an initiative. It is not the
peoples fault that these things are toi
Grated. 1t is the fault in the first in
stance, of the constituencies men who
use them in order to infiame the public
fancy and pique the public curiosity.
1t is falsehood and a wrong tc assume
that the low instincts to which such pic
lures appeal are dominant among the
mass Of the people They are not. It is
only the ignorant, coarse and naturally
depraved to whom they appeal. But
their steady and universal appearance
will operate eventually to undermine the
moral sense of the people, so that in
stead of the few having liberation to ex-
tend to them or enjoyment to derive from
them they will be accepted as unadvoid-
able incidents to the production of
theatrical exhibitions or to the sale of
the commodities which they are designed
to advertise
A, public crusade ought to be inaugur-
ated against such bestiality. It will have
the sustainment of every parent who I'M
derstands his duty in promoting the
moral purity of his children. It will be
pushed forward by every clergyman of
every denomination. It can be made to
arouse the enthusiasm of the members
oe eV cry church organization designed to
promote la0dable public ends. 1t must.
too, receive the warm support of every
public journal which is averse to con-
tributing to the prurient influences of.
He
The Clio b e thanks Mr. Hambly, and
hopes sincerely that he and those who
think as he does will take the necessary
affirmative steps to enforce the law Id
call into being a deeper sense tnaa now
prevails of the moral wrong which is IN
Volved in the disgraceful exhibitions
which are made in the name of adve"tis-
ing. A beginning must be made some
where, and right here in St Paul is the
place, and the rowdy theatrical bill
boards are the occasion for such begin
ming.