Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-02-09
Sunday cart" Supplements.

enceS for good and accomplish more
than can be measured for the benefit of
humanity, SO also, as natural
corolIary. they have an opportunity to
do great amount of harm in the
world A few publications, a very
few, purposely make use of this oppor-
tunity, while many more do harm unin-
tcntionally,. or perhaps even with the
best intentions. The so-called "art
supplements' and funny sheets
which many metropolitan newspapers
send out as a part of their great Sun
dav editions may seem harmless and
even to serve a good purpose, but it is
a serious question if their influence on
the whole is not bad rather than good.
Tt is not the sensationalism with which
they often handle the news and present
their featured articles which we now
have in mind so much as the bewilder-
ing atrocities which they serve up in
the name of "art' and the grotesque
kind of humor with which they seek
tc entertain their readers, particularly
the young.
Things which make the world laugh
are to be welcomed, for there is need
of more laughter in most lives. and no
body would deprive the children of any
wholesome form of amusement. But
it is unfortunately true that most of
,these colored supplements are anything
but wholesome in their effect. Their
humor is not only of most distorted
and exaggerated nature but it is often
actually vulgar and debasins, eXerting
an influence that is nothing less than
vicious and malign. Under the title OF
Art Dissertation these colOred sup
plements are vigorously handled by
Lindsay Swift in Printing Art for
February and we quote below an eX-
tract from his article. There is much
food for thought in what he says.
1T is impossible to describe the vul-
garity and insanity of their drawing
and coloring, and it cannot be that the
editors, who must be men of some abll-
ity. however devoid of scruplcs, APP
prove of their own miSchIeVouS WORK.
Even the newest of the rich display
some personal taste i'll their belongings
and adornments, and even editors may
have artistic conScienceS. Their an
swer to criticism against their methods
invariably is: The public Will ana
therefore must have what 1t wants.
an, not so sure about that. The pub
lie visits beautiful museums and IL
5raries and seems to enjoy them; II
goes to churches where good music
may be heard: it will support a decent
play and condemn a nasty one. But
il can be debauched and can have its
dawning sensbilities for art or any
thing else that is worth while blighted;
ana there is no dcbauchery or blight.
outside the domain of obvious inn
morality, more dcadening to the public
than this continually thrusting every
thing that is sordid, vulgar and bc!it-
ting before it's uncultured but curious
eyes.
"rhc pencil of our humorist is most
nalign In its delineationS OF children.
Their young faces, with prolonged up
per lips. upturned noses and otherwise
,risshapen features give them the ap-
pcaranCc Of abortcd monsters fit only
for the specimen bottles of medical
museum. The speech put into their
sorry mouths is all of a piece with the
dra wing some curious arSot supposed
to be peculiar to the streets of New
York. but unintelligiblc even to the In
tcligence Cf the faciln Chimmie Fad
den. 1t would not be so bad if these
wrctched pcrvcrsions of so innocent
and hclpful a relish to life as the comic
reached only persons of mature life.
Even readers whose time is so value
lesS that they can afford to waste more
than glance at n Sunday paper must
realize how worthless pictures Of this
sort really are. 1t is the children who
suffer. for they absorb uncOnSclouSiy
the unsavory quality of such efforts to
amuse. and are thus the involuntary
victims of voluntary and responsive
corruDtionists At time when this
country is seriously trying to lmplant
n knowledge of and stimulate taste
for better things. artistic and aesthetic,
through exhibitions in museums. Ii
brarics. and even in Sunday-schools. 1T
is not "A little disheartening to realize
that every step in this direction gets
weekly setback through these cOlored
atrocities."