Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-10-02

day movement toward park Fairgrounds
and recreation eenters for children is
n3ahln= Tor the moral. as well as the
( phTslcel and mental Improvement of the
young, but it viii be an entirely new
idea 70 most persons, and one difficult at
hfst blush 10 accept, that furnishing or
portguities for legitimate amusement FOR
the, adult population is one method Of
soul saving
I II is the experience of observing men.
whose interests carry them among all
classes III all parts of this country, that
| IA large cities like New York. where
much low-priced entertainment and rec
( reatlou are placed within easy reach of
| the population, the percentage of drunk
ehness IN public has decreased in the last
decade fully 40 per cent, but such is the
tact. and il is not hard to account fer il.
II there IS no entertainment for the even
lhgs and holidays placed within the
| lheans-price and accessibility-of the
great mass of city inhabitants. the men
WiH inevitably gravitate to the saloon,
which, as the late Bishop Potter very
truly stated. has become a recreation
anu social center for the poor man.
Ana once IN the saloon il is inevitable
that more or less heavy drinking will fol-
low. On the other hand, offer to these
saloon trequenters the moving picture
show, baseball game, Dreamland, Luna
PARK, or the attractions of other demo
cfatic seaside and city entertainments in
W1ieh New York is so prolific, and n
large proportion of them, as has been
proved by investigation, will forsake the
saloon. No class appreciates the killing
rivalry of cheap amusement enterprises
| better than the brewers, the volume of
| whose business is now seriously inter-
tered with, although not desgnedly by
! amusement purveyorS. Physicians long
ago admonished housewives that Dad
cooking greatly increased the ranks Of
saloon frequenters, and now enlightened
social workers are proving that lack of
| entertainment for leisure hours is a pro-
inc cause of over-indulgence in stimu-
| iants. The more intelligent managers Of
resorts. where large parties go for annu-
al celebrations of one kind and another,
are also beginning to realize how potent
force for preventing inebriety and dis
order is the introduction of forms of en-
tertalnment suited to the tastes of their
patrons, and some have by this expedi-
emf transformed occasions that in former
years We're scenes of great turbulence,
often requiring the Intervention of the
police, into quiet and enjoyable gather
lngs, with little demand upon the ba-
On the contrary, evidences of the de-
moralizing effects of a lack of amuse-
ment are observable in the villages.
towns and smaller cities throughout the
country
All are agreed that it is wholly unde-
slrable for 40 per cent of the population
OF any country to live in cities, as is the
case with us, and the pressing questions
are how to persuade congested city popu-
lat!ons to distribute themselves, and how
to induce the rural and small city dweller
TO keep out of the big cities? The Char
lty Organization society, which has in
vestlgated the subject, points out to
those enthusiasts who think that tee-
phones and other such modern conven-
fences will keep the farmers son and
daughter at home and reconcile the city
dweiler to going back TO nature. that
what the great mass of human beings
crave and will have, if at all possible, are
fellowship and fun. so that in any sue
cessful effort to stem the tide toward
city settlement, these needs must
be taken into account and provided for.
In short. schemes having for their OBJ
Ject scientific distribution of population
must include provision for miniature
Coney islands Atlantic CITY boardwalks.
and other forms of gathering for pur-
poses of social diversion. The gospel of
fun and fellowship is a novel one. but
none the less does it set for what IS
4 fundamentally necessary for the well be-
ing of the race.
-o..o-
Her View of It.
Il do WISH" exclaimed the inmate of
an old woman's home, that the philan-
thropic souls who wander this way
would come in to see us without that
woe-begone, dealthlike expression upon
their faces. What we need here is a lit
tie sunshine, laughter, some merriment
to make us forget our unfortunate posi-
lions in life, and not something to con
Stantly remind us that we are objects of
pity" There is considerable truth in
this statement, for persons are more or
less inclined to make philanthropic visits
and take with them that very appear
ance. Go full handed with broad smile,
for the smile can do so much in this
world, and we all know that hearty.
spontaneous laughter makes that blue
feeling fly before us. A woman recently
remarked: 1T was one day when hon
estly thought / would die with the blues.
| was so downcast that life to me was
worth one sad song and about 10 cents
worth of carbolic acid. / was never so
blue in all my life, when a friend of
mine came in whom | had not seen for
months and we sat down and had the
longest talk and the most laughter i'm
aginable. Three times that person re-
marked how we'll | looked, how happy
| seemed and it was all caused by the
jovial mood that broke the spell J"
Hanging ON the wall where it can be
observed is a sign, For Heavens Sake
Smile" 1t isn't very beautiful express
sion, but as soon as the eye catches it,
a smile fits across the face, sure eonugh.
There is a naughty postal card that
goes the rounds that has some instruc-
tons for the crouch to smile: it produces
the goods, naughty though it is. In one
Office in st. Louis is large sign:
'Smile Try to do better" Are We real
ly getting to the place where we must
be reminded to smile? Or are we. get
fling away from the cneerfulness of life
that prompts smiles? There must be
some cause for it, and we all feel like
the little old woman, even though not
where she is, and we earnestly hope the
) friends who come our way will come
with smiles and not the dirgelike express
sion of forlornness that outrages every
: good feeling in a persons.
~o.:.o~
! Marriage Means Escape from Ennui.
Marriage may be battlefield and not