The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-02-01
MOVING PICTURES AND
MORALS.

EOuf SCHOOL girls Oh LenQef
years, the children of well-to-do
parents, were arraigned before
Judge Lindsey, Of Denver, some
time ago charged with the theft
of money and jewelry from fash
ionable homes in that city. They
told the Judge that they got their
idea of robbing houses from NOV
ing picture shows. Before SEN
fencing them to the House of the
Good Shepherd Judge Lindsey
said: "This is the worst case of
immortality among children I have
ever had come to me. I am sur
prised and all the more so since
the girls parents are fairly we'll
TODD people, and they tell me they
go to Sunday school every Sun
day. 1t is another case Of the
depraving influence which NOV
ing pictures or any suggestive
action of such a nature can have
upon the childish mind. :"
This is not by any means the
first case on record in which
juvenile depravity has been
traced directly to the influence
of moving picture shows It can
hardly be expected that the fire.
quenting of places where vice in
it's most alluring forms is paraded
before the impressionable mind of
youth would not have an injurious
effect upon them. Children are
naturally initiative, and there is
a great tendency for them to
actualize the scenes depicted be-
fore them. Parents are too often
inclined to overlook this view of
the matter when they grant their
children permission to attend
moving picture shows where there
is a probability that some, at
least, Of the films displayed will
represent actions and scenes with
which their children should not
be familiarized.
Of course, there is nothing in
moving pictures in themselves
which is necessarily Of a degrad-
ing or criminal nature. They may
be made the medium of valuable
instruction and high moral ideas ;
but, as displayed in too many
cities, they exercise anything but
wholesome influence on the plas-
tic minds of the young. In not
few cases these shows are the
breeding-places of crime and i'm
morality. They cater to the baser
passions and instincts of human
nature by depicting scenes with
which children should not be
familiarized and of which they
would know nothing were it not
for these so-called places of
amusement. The fault lies not so
much with the picture show as
with the public who seem not to
realize the necessity for remedy
ing the abuses which have crept
into the business. These places
and the moving pictures displayed
in them should be under compe-
tent supervision and censorship.
The darkened room and the en-
vironment in many Of these places
add to the dangers traceable to
the vivid impressions received
from pictures which fall below the
standard Of public morality that
should be maintained and safe
guarded in every community. In
every city and town there ought
to be board of reputable citizens
whose duty it would be to pass
upon all films and to see that
those which are not of an elevat-
ing and educational nature be
barred from all places of public
amusement.
In this connection the following
paragraphs from a recent issue
Of America" will be read with
interest:
Moving picture shows are now
so widespread that some 10000
600 people, it is estimated, attend
them daily in the cities, towns
and villages Of this country. IT
would seem. then, that laws
should he enacted and enforced
to protect the life, health and
morals of the multitudes, women
and children for the most part.
that frequent these film halls.
Yet complaints are being con-
stantly made in the press that
little has been done to remedy
existing evils. In New York City,
indeed. the aldermen recently
voted in favor Of an ordinance
that does away with small, un-
safe, and ill-ventilated moving
picture theatres, and that also
provides for the censoring of
films, but owing to The cOnnec-
tions Of politics with the ques-
ton fears are felt that the regu-
lations, as they stand, will hardly
become a law, or at any rate, an
effective one.