Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-02

Attendance, Estimated.
Previously reported ..... 1856
Tuesday afternoon .... 1900
Tuesday evening .......... 5000
Total estimate .4O5 900
engagements. l have been on the
stage nearly fifteen years, yet 1 have
always been associated with ladies
and gentlemen of honest and upright
principles. Many of them are devout
followers of different creeds and all
the scores of actresses I know I can
not now recall more than one or two
Of whose morality there was the
! slightest question.
Columns could be written on the
| subject of The Stage both its moral
and intellectual aspects. The fact that
| the stage has not only survived the
struggles and vicissitudes of its carrier
career Its prosecutions by narrow
minded bigots, its discouragements
and hard knocks, but has risen stead
! ilv above them to become what it is
| today-the greatest institution of
modern times, patroniZed by brilliant
and refined men and women and con-
| stantly progressing toward higher
standard, seems the best proof of the
| fitness of it's survival
| Mr.. Sunday, you. repeatedly say the
Bible is good enough for you. 1t is; it
| is good enough for any one What
ness against your neighbor? What
does it say about Judge not lest We be
| judged?' What does it say about
calling your brother fool? What does
it say about Though I speak with the
tongues of men and Of angels and
have not charity 1 am become as
| sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.? 2
Says Sunday is N. G.
you profess to be follower of the
gentle Christ, who said, Suffer little
children to come unto me and forbid
! them not yet you Danish the little
| tots from your services. You wheedle
$50 out of r Jimmie Durkin, liquor
dealer, and then with the coolest nerve
YOU openly say would not have the
saloon keepers dirty money Con
sistency, thou are indeed a jewell
Your every action gives the lie to
your protested Christianity.
Probably with our usual courtesy
and refinement you will call me a
| yellow dog as you called the others
vino ventured to criticise your meth
DDS. That is a very easy way of side
stepping an argument; but after all it
/ is not SO bad to be called a yellow
dog Surely the little yellow dog who
/ has the courage to bark at the heels
of humbug is entitled to more
respect than the coward who runs
away from the bark.
| You say you hate the theatre be-
cause God hates it, How do you know
He does? Point out to me one passage
in which Christ denounced the theatre,
which was in existence several hun
| dred years before His advent. and
will give 500 to any worthy, charita-
BILE organization in Spokane. Now. Mr..
Sunday. it's up to YOU
DR.. Browne Comeback.
| The Chronicle has received the fol-
lowing letter from Reverend DR.. Hen
ry Brown-a letter condemning Miss
Shirley for her answer to Sundays
| criticisms.
"To the Editor of the Chronicle
have just read wour recent issue in
which find an article from Miss Shir-
ley, an actress, criticising Mr.. Sunday
for his utterances against the theater.
1t is not necessary for me. or anyone
else, to defend Mr.. Sunday, as he is
abundantly able to take care of him
self, but | think l may be able to say
a few words that may throw little
light on the subject.
Miss Shirley denies Mr.. Sunday
assertion that the theater is con
demned by both the church and the
press
"She wants to know what he means
by the press and says: Do you
mean the Christian Advocate and the
War Cry, or that mighty power-the
American newspaper, in whose col
umns will daily be found a review OF
the current plays, with usually an in.
telligent criticism of the same? Or
do you refer to the neormous list of
monthly magazines that almost with
out exception have an interesting dra.
matte department as one of the lead
ing features?' And that is all she has
to say about the press. &.
Evidently Miss Shirley must have
received her instruction In logic from
the stage and not from the schools.
/ "She knows that not only the Chris
tan Advocate and the War Cry but a
multitude of religious papers repre-
senting the great religious bodies OF
the country are almost unit in the
denunciation Of the theater.
j If the sweet actress wishes to be
perfectly fair why didn't she say so
and not try to deceive the reader by
iAe"AiiA'i5 SiiiS wv 1OliSlOuS pdpClS as
if they were the only ones in all
America that condemn the theater?
Giving News no Sign of Favor.
Does she think that the fact thai
the secular press-the newspapers an6
the magazines of the country-give
theatrical news. and have dramatic de
: partments, proves conclusively thai
they favor the stage? Or that they
think that the theater is the conserva
tor of literary culture and spotless
morality? She evidently does, but
would remind her that the same pa
pers give lengthy reports of every
prize fight that is pulled off, and, BY
the Miss Shirley brand of logic, they
are all made to favor the prize ring
But we know ard Miss Shirley ought
to know, that the press is loud in its
denunciation of the prizehght.
Il hope Miss Shirley won't feel of
Tended by this reference to the prize
\ fighter, but if she does. would re