The Mankato free press., 1916-04-14

it wishes to stand for the best things
and to be influence for good in the
! community, l wonder how it can admit
such advertisements. If some pains were
used to quote the experience of cities
which have gone dry and have found
! it great benefit in every way, it would
have great influence in building up SEN
| timent in favor of abolishing the liquor
business here. l wonder that the Wom-
ems clubs have not brought their in
fuence to bear in bringing about this
change for they have generally taken the
lead in such directions. We in Mankato
have benefited by their activities and
only hope they will take a still broader
/ interest in bringing about better condi-
| tionS.
| | do not claim to have brought to your
attention any new ideas L have not
/ been in as good position as some to
! know conditions or to suggest remedies.
| but 1 sincerely hope the discussion will
| help to develop some practical plan by
which Mankato can be made what 1t
ought to be, more desirable place in
which to live and educate our boys and
! girls, and to which we can invite students
] with the confident assurance that they
| will be surrounded with helpful influences
and everything possible will be done for
| their welfare.
Will Elevate the Movies.
What can be done to elevate the
movies and make them more con-
ductive to the moral welfare of the
young people is a question that will
! be taken up by special committee
, of the Social Science club. This COM
mittee will be appointed by the pres
ident of the club, F. j. Sperry,
superintendent Of schools, and will
consist of three. The movement was
started at the meeting of the club
la, IN, hrD n!
DR.. j. w. Andrews.
The suggestion was the result Of
the paper read by George NJ. Palmer
and the discussion that followed it.
The club also passed motion by
Mr.. Palmer, declaring that in the
opinion of the club the city school
; board is justified in employing a
! visiting nurse and a director of
Fairgrounds, even if it does IN
crease the already increased tax
rate OF the school district.
The discussion was led in a paper
by Rev. T. R. Paden. Mr. Paden
was absent, and his paper was read
lby DR.. J. A. Hancock. Rev. Paden
said in part:
"Mr Palmer turns in his usual
fair way to the newspapers as the
great moulders Of public sentiment.
An editor with a good backbone will
Iput backbone into a whole commu-
nifty. | do not know that we could put
Jour finger on an institution that is
farther in its reach for good or evil
than the newspaper. Here again the
man behind the paper, owner, pub
. icI, ali Ion nIf M
lproduce either a say or uplift in the
moral sentiment of the community
iOur newspaper men have been iden-
titled with the welfare of the city
for long time and deserve to be
,honored for what they have done for
our city. At the same time editors
have need of much more courage
than other men and all who desire a
better Mankato ought to pray de-
syoutly and charitably either for their
conversion or for their promotion to
some more lucrative and less re-
.spOnsible field of labor.
! Theatre Among influences.
| when you consider the vast
/ throngs that crowd our theatres night
after night, we must place the the
atre among the most powerful moral
influences in the city. This influence
as q matter of fact is overwhelmingly
bad. First it breeds unnaturalnesS
and Righteousness of feeling and a
certain insincerity, the painfulness
lof which is all the greater because it
lis often unconscious. My own con-
eictions on this point are not mat
ter of tradition but of personal obser-
walton. 1t is well nigh impossible
to penetrate regular theatre goel
with sense of reality. They lister
to truth that is born in the deepest
experience of soul as if it were ar
entertaining fiction. This. applies ir
a measure also to excessive novel
reading 1t arouses emotions with
out an opportunity for their exercise
, If good, and only too much oppor-