Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1914-03-13

finds herself in the street called straight
Or it may be that she finds herself in another street
entirely, depending somewhat upon the girl and
what upon the influence around her. and depending par
tculary upon such influences the song which has
just heard and which she is hummng she steps into
the night.
But IL is the home that is the final lair of the pop
ular song
The piano. the cabinet organ, the talking machine and
every other musical instrument call for the popular
1t needs only a short memory to recoect the time
when such call answered by songs like Kathleen
Mavourneen, Believe Me- In Days of Old
Now, however If your daughter is entertaining q
caller they longer sing such simple Listen and
you will hear them shouting: Put Your Arms Around
Me Honey, Cudde Up Closer, some similar erotic
syncopaton
Moreover it isn't necessarily your daughters STEADY"
young who Is singing these songs with her. It's
any young man.
In its purest sense song is model of expression used
when the spirit OF life is so stirred that it bursts from
the confines Of ordinary speech and rises into harmony
Speech was born Of the mind, but song is child Of
the spirit
Then what pity, when ought to be rejoicing and
uplifting souls in song, to find that the wells of
harmony being polluted with poison!
We search for reasons Why such songs sung?
the slightest and yet for the strongest of
Why does bride a veil? And why does
have lapes on his coat?
Because such things the style.
So, too, with suggestive ragtme songs. They're the
STYLE the latest popular If you don't know them
you're not up to date.
1t is mournful commentary upon public
that and daughters must be In touch with filth
In order to be up to date
But it isn't only mournfu commentary 1t is a
fact. And as a fact, it's a thing to be faced
Another angle of the question arises for further
sideraton We all familiar with the force of repet-
ton upon old and mature minds.
The great advertising campaigns of the country
based upon this force. Education itself depends upon it,
We become convinced Of the merits of certain bis
And for the becomes part OF thoughts
that two and two makes four
If reiteraton has this power upon strong minds
slider its effect upon young and mpressonabe under
standings The ive-dollar shopgir is working in the
basement of store In the music department piano is
banging away at some such lesson in morality
LOVE MY WIFE BUT o YOU KID.
Around the girl every hand is temptation. And
around the girl every hand is the tuneful reiteraon
that loose standard Of virtue is pleasant and amusing
thing. If she heard it only once she might very well
forget it. But after hearing it hundred times she be-
gins to take it for granted Is anybody rash enough to
maintain this Is not evil influence?
Or, here is lonely young husband whose wife is
away her first absence from home What does he get
to think about, morning, and night?
| MY WIFES GONE TO THE COUNTRY
MURRAY! MURRAY!
Truly the noble art of song writing has fallen into
state of debauchery
Suggestive songs and songs of double meaning can
and should be suppressed.
But their suppression can never be accomplished un-
less the decent people of the country start the
against them
Unfortunately however, the decent members of any
community generally the last realize the extent
to which evil condition spreads when ourshes
checked
Do you know for instance that, in any given week
of the last months of 1913 probably million young peo-
pie either sang, thought Of listened to Row, Row.
Row.
And they were good average young people, too
all Of uhnn had haan IN
lives and think pure thoughts
Imagine your your daughter either listening
to or raising their voices to words like these
And then he'd row, row, row.
Way up the river ne would row, row, row,
hug he'd give her and then,
She would tell him when,
He'd fool around and fool around and then they'd
kiss again,
And then he'd row, row, row,
little further he would row, oh, oh, OH oh;
Then he'd drop both his oars,
Take a few more encores,
And then he'd row, row, row.
What descent from Annie Laurie and the songs
our mothers sang!
We don't have to go far to the result of such
things They strike too deeply into the heart of do
nestle life 1t is notorious fact that, day by day
is growing tendency to regard marriage lightly.
1t is notorious fact that day by day. the divorce
evil is growing like poisonous mushroom
And it is also notorious fact incredible though it
that there today in these United States
teen million unmarried adults
To say that erotic songs alone responsible for
these facts would be unjust.
But to say that they not all to blame would be
indefensibe error false absurd and contrary
evidence.
In short there is every why the nasty popular
songs should be suppressed.
And there is not single reason in the world why
they should be tolerated any longer
-HH
THE RECORD is in receipt of the first number of