The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-03-26

'speciai cable from the international
News Service)
London, March 26.-Realizing that
the strong effort which is being made
by prominent English clergymen to
place all music halls and vaudeville
theatres in England under the control
OF the church, may eventually find an
echo in America. yesterday had an
interview with the father of the move
ment, the Rev. Thomas Phillips.
To large part of the democracy Of
London" he said. the music hall is
national church. In the country dis
trict in which l was brought up you
may hear from the young people
snatches of hymns and possibly bits
OF sermons: but from the lads and
lassies of London you hear echoes of
the music halls. The churches may
say that the music halls are of the dew
il, but all the same the people go to
them. and their influence is being ex-
ercised on the young life of the ma
ton at is most impressionable age.
So | cannot see how the church can
escape the duty of sanctifying an insti-
tuition which has such a tremendous
influence upon the life and thought
of the young people.
1T is of no use to cry! Do away
with the theaters and music halls. Like
many other things, they have deterior-
ated, but they cannot be destroyed: SO
let us honestly admit the fact. The
instinct for the drama is undoubtedly
divine. / remember Mr.. J. X. Jerome
telling us at Bloomsbury that there
were very few plays which young peo-
pie could go to see, and l notice that
the Times has said that London dane
ing has SO degenerated that it is not
fit for young people to witness.
81 have read great many of our
modern plays. and my objection is that
they take us into the company of
abandoned characters for two hours;
and the better they are played the more
real they are. do not see how loose
| characters, when they are represented
on the stage, are any worse
than it is to get into their
company on the London streets.
l do not see that it is more respecta-
BILE to witness prize fight on the stage
than it is to witness one at the Ma
tional Sporting club.
Il have been told that the music
halls have improved greatly, and l be-
lieve it is fact that some managers
are quite ready to take suggestions
from clergymen as to questionable per-
formances. But l would consider it
great gain if the Bishop of London,
who is christian without being mar
row, and human without being lax,
could have the control of all the items
that appear in the theaters and music
halls. I do not want indiscriminate-
ly to condemn them: know they exer-
| else far reaching influence; l only
want to see them helpful rather than
detrimental to the kingdom of God.
II am not in a position to say how
the music halls and the theaters are
to be captured" said Mr.. Phillips, in
conclusion; "all I am sure of is that
because they are so great a factor in
| national life, the churches cannot be
Indifferent to them.
Modern universities teach strange
sciences, but probably no stranger lee
ture has ever been given than that of
Professor VIM. M. Inge at Bedford
College the other day, when the learn
ed man talked to an audience of En-
glish girls on how not to fall in love
with the wrong man.
"The objection has repeatedly been
made" he said, that science often in
terferes with an individuals free
choice in falling in love and marrying
and to certain extent I sympathize
with that objection, but do think a
certificate OF sound health should be
one of the things insisted upon before
marriage. The insurance policy is
really more important than the mar
riage settlement. Some knowledge of
eugenics, would, in many cases, prevent
falling in love with the wrong people.
''Unconsciously, as it is, We are
lions. Generally. a mans attraction
for a woman is attributable to his fine
and strong physique; and in the same
way, the points of beauty in women are
those which belong to her womanhood
But some training in eugenics would
enable young man or woman to de-
| tect those signs of degeneracy which
| are obvious to the scientific eye"
The professor boldly advanced it as
the duty of every beautiful woman to
marry. She owed it to the race. On
the other hand, people should not be
too scrupulous, because physical
health is not everything, and many
families physically defective are yet
of great use to the community
Physical degeneration in this coun-
| try is going on at an alarming rate,
Prof Inge believes He went SO far
as to say that if the process continued
| at it's present rate, in three more gen.
erations the English stock which few
years ago, was one of the best in the
world, would be one of the poorest. In
all his travels he had never seen poor
er specimens of humanity than those
| in the English slums, and it had be-
come serious problem that the more
civilized the state. the more the pop
ulation was increased from the most