The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-10-03

Story telling is an art. but like many
other arts it is often. put to a bad
use There Is good in a good story,
one which has for its purpose the CIV
ing of pleasure or enjoyment, or one
that is used for the purpose of i'm
parting information which would seem
dry and unimportant If given in any
other way Children like stories. They
hear them from the time they are able
to understand the meaning of words
and the stories heard In childhood are
often remembered until the child has
grown up and reached mature age
Such stories as so impress the child's
mind should be carefully selected, be-
cause in bad stories there is an ines
Unable amount of badness just as in
good stories there is a great good
ness.
Like other requirements, however.
story telling is often put to poor use.
How many persons there are who de-
light in retelling stories which they
have heard and which should never
have been uttered. 1t almost seems to
be the proper thing among a certain
class of folks to be able to tell stories
which are devoid of all that is good and
which are replete with all that is
harmful and debasing. Yet many in
dividuals regard such stories lightly
and rather applaud the teller. But in
their hearts many of those, who APP
parently are pleased to associate with
the person who is fond of telling stor-
les which should not be tolerated in
polite society," can have no honest adj
miration for a person who will deliber-
ately tell stories which can have no
other result than lessening the moral
strength of the hearers, especially il
they be of immature age. Such a story
teller is generally looked upon as clev-
er fellow. His friends tell how smart
he is in committing to memory these
stories, which are in themselves unfit
l for the mind of any person who makes
' the pretense of being a respectable
| member of society. The applause which
such a story teller hears may be sweet
to his ears, but If he has any respect
for himself or his family he must re-
proach himself for the debauching use
| he makes of his talents or intellect.
| Man was not given a memory to store
up degrading stories. He was not given
a tongue to repeat such stories to ears
which were given for the purpose of
hearing all that is good and noble and
uplifting. But there are many men,
| and, unfortunately, women, too, for
that matter, who delight in telling stor-
| les which are improper.
| No child is taught such stories in a
! Christian home, but. on the contrary,
! the parents shield their young from all
debasing influences, protect them from
all that will contaminate or degrade. 1t
is a sad reflection upon the companion
! ship one keeps to know that these in
| decorous stories have their inception
| in the minds of ones associates. But
/ such is the case, and on many occasions
the person who could evolve the best
story would be regarded as the Smart
est in the gathering. This should not
be the case. Persons should avoid occa-
| sions such as those which give an op-
portunity for the indicate story teller
to do his damaging work. No self
respecting person should wish to as
sociate with those whose minds are
constantly and continually taken ur
| with the baser things of life. If peo-
pie who really deplore such practices
as are now prevalent among certain
classes will avoid those classes there
will be less story telling Of the impro-
per sort, and instead of applause, the
story teller will be treated with thai
scorn and contempt to which all his
baseness entities him. Society should
have none of him. He should be con-
sidered as unfit for people to associate
with, and IL this treatment is accorded
him there will soon be an awakening
| in his own heart. He will see that
he is ignored and despised by respecta-
BILE people, and that he is being Stunned
by those who would escape his poison
Gus influences, for it follows that the
minds of those who listen to such stor-
les must soon be poisoned, and turned
from the good and pure to the bad and
debasing.