Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1916-01-24
CLASSES CARDS
AND DANCING AS
EVILS OF DAY

Scathing denunciations of dancing,
card playing and theater going were
made last night by Rev. Paris G.
Greenly, pastor of the Irvington
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which
he Is conducting a months revival
service. The largest throng that has
turned out to any of the meetings
heard the pastors statements. lie
told them that he did not doubt that
many of his hearers are guilty of all
three of these sins, and declared IL
they played cards for prizes they
were no better than the drunken
sots in the saloon" that II they
danced they did it for the pleasure
of hugglng some man or woman. and
that II they were theater attendants
they went for the excitement and
suggestiveness in the plays and not
for any moral uplift.
Girls wear too little clothing.
Dancing is suggestive. Men don't
dance Just for the sake of gliding
over the floor, but they dance to hug
women. And the women don't dance
lust to fox trot about the floor. They
like to be hugged by strange men.
Men and women should dance
alone. 1t is all right for man and
his wife to dance, but the old lobster
don't want to dance with his wife
RE WANTS u WIN ENAhS OhiiSA
mans wife. Rather than dance with
his own wife he would shovel snow.
"If God were to give you some sort
of a whack on the back of your head
and shake a shroud over you and then
send for an undertaken (naming sew
eral Irvington undertakers), to take
your measurements for a wooden
overcoat, maybe you would sniffle and
try to dodge. pleading that II he let
you off this time you would never
dance again"
Mr. Greenly said that he had never
danced in his life but had once paid
thirty-fve cents in Chicago just to
watch n dance.
Turning his guns on card playing
he continued:
''Tbere is no difference in playing
cards for prizes than in playing in
some stinkhole for money. Every
home where there is card playing is
a sewer which empties into the sa-
loon. -.
"The next time you pass stink
hole go In and pat the old soaks on
the back and invite them up to your
own drawing room. You belong 10
the same gang.
"There are many other games that
can be played My stronghold Is
checkers"
Turning his attention TO the theater
Mr., Greeniy remarked that he made
n special study of the stage while at
tending the University of Chicago. In
his estimation almost all plays are
immoral, whether advertised as teach
ing a great moral lesson or not.
II do not believe that Shakespeare
plays make a man more religious or
pure in his MORALS he said. Ile
people are responsible for the immoral
plays. No real clean play really could
lastA
while in Chicago I went to see
Mary Garden. I and my roommate
got a seat In the gallery, no other
seats being available. She came on
the stage in a spiderfy-trap as an
apology for dress. At her appear
ance the vulgar mob applauded as X
at q football game.
IT don't call Mary Garden star.
1t was not her singing that charmed
the audience. 1t was her acting. some
called 1t art.
Talk about Cleopatra of the golden
cup, why she has that old Egyptian
queen beaten a mile, and she would
make that young Herodian woman
for modesty. Any man or woman
who hears Mary Garden and calls
her an artist has a yellow streak. I
was disgusted with her"
Mr.. Greenly spoke in similar terms
of Pavlowa, the dancer. All he could
see was suggestiveness in her inter
probation of the classic dances.
He put his STAMP OF disapproval on
the following plays: THE Dawn of To-
morrow" 1.-THE Blindness of Virtue"
Bought and Paid For" Joseph and
His Brethren" "Get Rich Quick
Wallingford," and "Hindle Wakes"
In closing his sermon he appealed
to mothers and daughters to shun
the three evils mentioned and asked
them to come forward and in so do
ing register a vow to keep from their
communicating influence. More than
two score responded to the invita-
tim