Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-08
DECLARES HIS ARGUMENTS
lRREFUTABLE
ADDS FURTHER COMMENT TO HIS
SOCIAL INDICTMENT
Parlor Games the College Where
Gamblers Are MISUNDERSTANDING,
Public or Private, an Irre-
trievable Evil

and further discussed HA'
Christ approve" In part he said
"Now. as a final word for the pres
emf concerning the tainted theater, le'
me say that l have been too BUSY VIII
the happy cares of this great church to
attempt to reply in detail TO all the
communications, public and private
which have been addressed to me. ul
not recede from any position nave
taken or any statements l have MADE
When l say that the theater should bt
uuarantined as some contagious dlseast
| mean it. We quarantine disease tc
reduce it's virulence and malignancS
and to cure the patient. AS nave
said. / believe the theater should be
made an institution for wholesome
amusement and for profitable instruc'
ton. The quarantine should be for the
purpose of curing and not destroying
the afflicted institution.
1T has been charged that have MOI
proved my position. l have Furnished
irrefutable arguments, but L nave nc
miraculous power to furnish aDll1ty tC
my opponents to understand those ar
guments. The point of view, on the
part of some of the defenders of the
drama as it is corrupted today, seems
to be such as to preclude the possibility
of their admitting our contention.
have never said there were not a few
clean plays, but l have said that the
filth so befouls the good that the gen
eral effect of the theater today is
against good morals, good health, good
homes and good patriotism.
1.-THE ethics of the stage is demorai-
izing to the social order One of the
most notorious actresses, who has been
admired and lauded to the skies by
theater-goers and whose plays have
crowded the largest theaters with fash
ionable audiences, said recently when
brilliant actress abandoned the stage
for home life, DO men appreciate the
love of a little demonstrating as they
do that of a brilliant, brainy, profess
sional woman? Indeed they do not
Few men have any appreciation for the
home their wives struggle to provide
for them. They want change. They
don't want to be confined to the end
less monotony of home, with just one
woman in it. They love the sparkle of
the eyes, the CLEAN of wine, the fasci-
nation of the variety that comes and
goes. Children are a nuisance. Daily
routine is a bore. The girl who gives
up brilliant opportunity to venture in
the uncertain realms of home is taking
a risk
Enemy of Fireside
"If you would know what an insti-
tuition is you must consult the charac-
ters and opinions of those who stand
for its ideals. Here is an interpreta-
ton of a high-priestess of the stage
whom multitudes have delighted to
honor. Will my correspondents still
continue to ask me for specific proof
that the modern theater is a deadly
enemy of the fireside and the sacred
marriage vow?
1.-THE sharpest indictment of the mod
ern theater you may find in the Sue
cess Magazine for March, written by
Frederic Thompson. New York theat-
rical manager. His strong utterances
again prove every statement l have
made against the theater. He says:
Are not many of the best known play
wrights exploiting in their writings
facts which they would not even whis-
per in their own homes? Shall the
character of the dissolute dominate the
American stage?' My contention is
that the dissolute is dominating the
state already, and this writer does not
deny it. Continuing his remarks he
strengthens my position when he says
The complacency with which the
American theater-go public is ac'
cepting questionable plays is absolute
proof of the inroads that have beer
made by the loose drama
Further, he writes: The rank weed
of rottenness has grown tall enough tc
hide from a number of managers 6
vision of their coming decadence. anC
as a result we have several vaudeville
acts and at least one musical comedy
which depict the worst episode in the
book which less than a year ago ne
manager would touch. He quotes &
manager who said to him that He
could not produce popular priced thrill
ers successfully without having way
ward girls and slum life in the spot
light And finally he writes: "A play
produced in New York depicted in its
opening scene a raid on an establish.
ment which would not be mentioned
before decent women How would yoJ
feel some evening to have your six
year-old daughter open up a din
ner table dissertation on subjects tC
which you wouldn't think of alludine
before a decent woman And he
ought to have said also "a decent man,
East Corrupter of West
For the present l will leave thi,
subject of the tainted theater 1 be-
gan this discussion several weeks age
for the purpose of instructing my owl
congregation. By defenders of the
theater the discussion has reached Out
into this entire community. For the
present I will let it rest In another
season ] fear the sewage and carriOl
that have been found in eastern thea
ters this season will spread moral de-
Element and disease over the middle
west, and probably our sunset coas
will receive deadly reinforcement!
and the corruption of our local theater!
will be diabolically augmented Sc
long as the family, the temple, thu
flag, the schools and the characters O
our people are ass.iled bv the theater'
and my voice is preserved to me l dc
not expect to cease NV denunciation
of this and all other evils, God helping
me!
Last Sunday evening at this chan
Gel after my sermon a weeping mothe
said to me with sobs, My son is at
tending the Sunday theater tonight!
Herein lies my commission to fight thu
theater 1t defes a mothers heart anC
the holy Sabbath, and thereby strike
at the foundations of the home, thu
church and the government"
DR.. Locke in his sermon also de
nounced the pernicious book and games
of chance. He quoted converted
gambler: THE saloon men and gamb
lers chuckle and smile when they reaC
in the papers of the parlor games givel
by ladies. for they know that afte
awhile these same men will become
patrons of their business" | say thu
parlor game is the college where gamb
lers are made and educated. In thu
name of God stop this business in you
homes. Burn up your decks and Wasi
your hands.
Eliminate Dancing
AS to the dance DR.. Locke said
1.-The old-fashioned minuet and quad
rifle were no doubt harmless, but ex
cept for physical culture exercises who
ever hears of them now? The dance
whether private or public, is irretrieY-
ably evil; it can never be redeemed