Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-05-22

There are two armies encampsd by the
pool OF Gibeon. The time hangs heavily
on their hands. One army proposes a
game of sword fencing. Noting could
be more healthful and innocen'. The
other army accepts the challenge Twelve
men against twelve men, the spot opens
But something went adversely. Perhaps
one of the swordsmen got an unlucsy clip
or in. some way had his ire aroused and
that which opened in sportfulness ended
in violence, each one taking his contest
ant by the hair and with the sword
thrusting him in the side. so that that
which opened in innocent fun c1ded in
the massacre of all the twei:ty-four
sportsmen. Was there ever l&tter IL
lustration of what was true thel and is
true now-that that which is Innocent
may be made destructive?
What of worldly mature is more i'm
portant and strengthening and innocent
than amusement, and yet what has count
ed more victims? l have no sympathy
with straitjacket religion. This is Il
very bright world to me. and | propose
to do all | can to make it bright for 9TH
ers. ! believe the church of God made
great mistake in trying to suppress the
sportfulness of youth and drive out from
men their love of amusement. If God
ever implanted anything in us, ne i'm
planted this desire But instead Of pro-
viding for this demand of our nature the
church of God has for the main part
ignored it. Paul the apostle commends
those who use the world without abusing
1t, and in the natural world God has
done everything to please and amuse us.
And | am glad to know that in all our
cities there are plenty of places where we
may find elevated moral entertainment.
But all honest men and good women will
agree with me in the statement that one
of the worst things in these cities is
corrupt amusement. Multitudes have
gone down under the blasting in1xence
never to rise. If we may judge of what
is going on in many of the places q
amusement by the pictures on board
fences and in many of the show win
dOws, there is not much lower depth
of profigacy to reach. At Naples, Italy,
they keep such pictures locked up from
indiscriminate inspection. Those pictures
were exhumed from Pompeii and are not
fit for public gaze. II the eifrontery of
bad places of amusement in hanging out
improper advertisements Of what they
are doing night by night grows worse in
Iue saue pTOpOTtluu, III uIlT years Hoitie
of our modern cities will beat Pompeii.
Find Out for Yourselves.
| project certain principles by which
you may judge in regard to any amuse-
ment or recreation, finding out for your
self whether it is right or wrong.
| remark, in the first place, that you
can judge of the moral character of any
amusement by its healthful result or by
its baleful reaction. There are people
who seem made up of hard facts. They
are a combination of multiplication tables
and statistics. If you show them an ex-
quSite picture they will begin to discuss
the pigments involved in the coloring.
If you show them a beautiful rose they
will submit it to a botanical anall sis,
which is only the post-mortem examipa-
ton of a flower. They have no rebouIld
in their nature. They never do any
thing more than smile. There are no
great tides of feeling surging up from
the depths of their soul in billow after
bilow of reverberating laughter. They
seem as if nature had built them by con-
tract and made bungling job out of it.
But, blessed be God, there are people in
the world who have bright faces and
whose life is a song. an anthem, a paean
of victory. Even their troubles are like
the vines that crawl up the side of a
great tower on the top of which the sun
light sits and the soft airs of summer
hold perpetual carnival. They are the,
people you like to have come t. your
house; they are people l like to have
come to my house. If you but touch the
hem of their garments you are healed.
Now, it is these exhilarant and sympa-
thetic and warm-hearted people that are
most tempted to pernicious amusements.
In proportion as a ship is swift it wants
strong helmsman. in proportion as a
horse is gay it wants Il stout driver and
these people of eXuberant nature will do
well TO look at the reaction of all their
amusements. If an amusement sends you
home at night nervous. so that you can
not sleep. and you wise up in tae morn
ing not because YOU are slept out, hut
because your duty dragS Won from your
slumhers, you have been where you ought
not to have been. There are amuse-
ments that send man next day TO his
work with his eyes bloodShot, yawning,
stupid. nauseated, ana they are wrong
kinds Of amusement. They are enter
tainments that give a man disgust with
the drudgery of life. with tools because
tfey are not swords. with working aprons
because they are not robes. with cattle
because they are not Infatuated bulls of
the arena If any amusement sends you
some longing for a life of romance and
thrilling adventure. love that takes poi
son and shoots itself, moonlight adven-
lures and hairbreadth escapes, you may
GNuend upon ii that YOU are the sacrificed
victim OF unsanctiiied pleasure. Our rec
reations are intended to build MS up. and
If they pull us de- n as to cur moral or
as to our physical strength you may come
to the conclusion that they are obnoxious.
There is nothing more depraving than
attendance upon amusements that are
full Of tnnueudo and low suggestion. The
young man enters. At first he sits far
back. with his hat on and his coat collar
UP. fearful that somebody there may
know hi,l. Several nights pass on. He
takes off his nat earlier and puts his coat
collar down. The blush that first came
into his chez, when anything indecent
was enacted comes no more 10 his cheek.
Farewell young man, You have proba-
bly, started on the long road which ends
in eonsummate destruction. The stars
Of hope viii 90 out one by one, until you
will be left in utter darkness. Hear you
not the rush Of the naelstrom, in whose
outer circle your boat now dances, max
ing merry with the whirl;nE waters! But
you are being drawn in. and the gentle
motion VIII become terrific agitation. You
cry for help In vain. You pull at the
oar 10 put you back. but the struggle viii
NOT aVaif Won will he toszaA and dashed