Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-08
''BnLY'S0 TORPEDOES
HIT AT THEATRES
$4,000 Persons Hear Sunday
Preach on "Amusements."
Thousands Turned Away.
By a stac Correspondent


PATERSON. NJ j., May s,-Thestrica
rnanaeers really should worry. whs
"Bllly" Sunday forgot or neglected to saS
about theatres in Philadelphia he saved
up for this city, which is known to New
York managers as the morgue OF might
have-been Broadway successes.
Every verbal torpedo in "Billy's" col.
lection hit the theatre last night.
"rhe modern drama said he, SCOTS
at marriage and at religion. Its plots are
malicious and perncious. The theatres
today are worse than in the days OF
paganlsm. When the gentlemen Of the
press pronounce a play lewd immoral or
Indecent. the people flock to the box
office.
"rhere are no sermons in the guttersh
lines of modern dramas. People are not
elevated mentally or morally by the pro-
ductions OF these highly civilized days.
The young men and young women Of our
best families giggle at rottenness. Four
hfths OF the modern plays are vicious and
demorallzing.
'aTheir subjects are subjects that belong
70 the lecture room. Although actors and
actresses as a class are not given to
linoentiousness, many players contamnate
everything they touch. Anna Held said
Il
than a show girl. Where sabbath pro-
auctions are allowed you won't find many
MANAGERS passing zip the box Office
chances.
"The sober-minded public does not look
to the theatre for instruction or eleva-
tion. Only those interested in the spec
tacular are attracted to the so-called sue
cessful plays. Take a leg show from the
stage, and you'd see pretty quick whore
the managers would get off. take pleas
ure in telling you people. that what you're
getting on the boards Is your own fu-
neral. You get what you want. That's
the reason the theatre has gravitated
downwards and downwards since the
days of its origin in the Church, where
It was planned II should be the hand
maiden of religion"
He called the theatrical business Cor
rupt morally and financially" and de-
clared that the average playwright was
"pAndering to the fithiness of the age"
"Some of tho biggest whisky-soaked
and black-legged gamblers in your cities"
he said, "are your much-respected society
women. Nine-tenths of all gamblers who
are Interested in the ssO.0OO,O0o that
changes hands every day In this country
in gambling were taught TO play cards
in tho homes of your protesting
Christians.
"Nfr. Cicero. who died AZ years before
Christ was born, said that nobody danced
who was not drunk or crazy. II old
Cicero lived today he'd call this q bug
house age. For my part, I can't see the
sense In galloping one to four miles for
a hug. Three-fourths of the women
who fall fall through the dance.
'"The positions as summed up in dancing
are scriptural grounds for divorce. I'll
leave that to any minister.
zone saloon doesn't do half as much
harm as a dancing school. You women
who countenance the dance. with your
dansants and charity balls, may say
were not our sisters keeper Indeed.
you're not. You're her murderesses."
Twenty-four thousand persons heard
BILLY preach the Amusement" sermon
twice yesterday and 593 hit the trail. Thou
sands were unable to force their way into
the tabernacle. The collections amounted
to s1l56, making total for the campaign
of s2s,lss II was "Billy's" most success
ful day here. "-