Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-19
PREACHER FLAYS
PLAY FROM STAGE
Auditorium Rings with Denuncia-
tion of Show That Is to Be
Presented There
DR.. BR0UGHER BANS QUEEN
Temple Baptist Church Minister
Wants Tab Kept on Moulin
Rouge Audience

Scene, Temple Baptist church; time,
Sunday night. The Rev. DR.. ]. Whit
comb Brougher in his regular sermon
attacked the play, THE Queen of the
Moulin Rouge" and called on the police
to suppress it.
Scene Temple Auditorium; time,
Monday night. "The Queen of the
Moulin Rouge" is scheduled to open its
much advertised Los Angeles engage
ment.
Thus, from the very spot where the
play is to be presented--a pulpit Sun
days, a stage weekdays-the theatrical
production was denounced to a congre-
cation that crowded the seats that
twenty-four hours later will be occu-
pied by the theatergoers, and twenty
four hours after the minister's SER
mon the silken clad queen and her
court of pleasure lovers will kick their
legs in the exact spot where the
preacher waved his arms in deuncia-
tion of them.
DR.. Brougher put forth a new
method of elevating the stage. He ad-
vocated the appointment Of a commit
tee of prominent citizens by the city
attorneys office to be stationed in the
lobby of the theater and jot down the
names of those who attend the play
that has drawn the fire of most of the
MINISTER'S, lHG CITY OillClciiSt IllC NcAi'-
ems clubs, the VIC. 7. U. and the
purity leagues. The minister would.
have these names published in the
newspapers, he said, in the belief that
many will go to taste the forbidden
fruit who would not so if they were
to be found out.
FNJoTN 1T BY LAW, HE SAYS
The minister incorporated some other
ideas in his sermon, as follows:
"A play has been advertised to be
presented in the Auditorium theater
this coming week that is a disgrace to
Christian civilization. / make this
statement calmly and soberly. Either
the play is absolutely out of harmony
with ordinary decency or else the ad-
vertising is an absolute lie The COM
pany that would distribute and post
upon the streets advertising matter 50
suggestive of immortality should be en-
Joined by law from enacting a nuisance
against public dececy and morals.
have been wondering if the authorities
could not proceed against this COM
pany under the same law that makes
it possible to prohibit the exhibition
and the sale of immoral postcards.
IF the advertising is so obnoxious to
people of decent feeling and refined
taste, then the play must be even more
so. If it is not what it is advertised
to be, then the company ought to be
arrested for obtaining money under
false pretenses.
"It is not merely the church people
who are protesting against the presen
tation of life in the underworld of
Paris to an audience of our citizens,
but there is not a decent man or
woman in this city who does not pro-
test against it, If the play had
great moral lesson to teach there
might be found some people who would
81, II,o4 uy1li1a n T1-it-
ness a mass of obscenity in order to
teach a lesson. Personally, 1 do not
believe it is necessary to crawl through
the sewers of Paris in order to learn
HAT 1t would be 4 good thing to avoid
them.
SCORES THOSE WHO GO TO PLAY
Il have two things to say: First,
A play of such immoral tendencies
reveals the immoral character of the
men who produced it. What sort of a
mind and imagination must men have
in order TO write such an indecent
thing?
I'm the second place, ! want to say
with all the positiVeness of my being,
in view of the advertising presented,
and in view of what the dramatic crit
les have said about this play, that men
or women who would go to see it by
that very act advertise their own in
decency and love of that which is
degrading. l understand that City At
torney Eddie has appointed q commit
tee to go Monday night and see the
play and decide whether it is indecent
enough to be stopped by law. I want
TO suggest to him that he appoint an
other committee composed of men
well acquainted with the people of this
city, to stand in the Auditorium lobby
tomorrow night and take the names of
those who go in, then publish the list
in the newspapers the next morning,
and let US see the names Of the repu-
table, refined, hgh-minded cultured
people who were seen Gocking into the
Auditorium to witness the play. I will
be greatly surprised in the people of
Los ngeles If any cultured, refined,
purity-loving, educated man or woman
is seen going TO that play, outside of
the committee appointed by Mr.. Eddie.
I would suggest that they wear badges,
so that their purpose in going will not
be misconstrued."
Defends CHURCH IN THEATER
At the morning service speaking on
1.-THE Church in the Theater," Or.
Brougher said:
"This church is in this theater
building TO do a special work in the
heart of this great city. People can
worship here in this Auditorium even
if it is a theater Those who do not
go to plays presented on this stage
never think about It's not being a
church. People will come To the ser
vices in this temple that never darken
the door of the ordinary church build
ing. / believe that God sent this church
right here to do a work that il could
never have done in any other place. /
am not afraid of any criticism that
people may pass on our holding SER
vices in a theater I am only afraid
of what Jesus Christ win say on the
Judgment day If we fail to take advan-
tage of the great opportunities we have
here to preach the gospel to the multi
tudes."