The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-05-18
CONGREGATIONAL
CONFERtECE AT
An END TODAY
Final Session at Old First Church
This Morning
WOMEA'S ATTIRE CONDEMNED
Resolutions Also Affirm Belief That
Prohibition VIII Ultimately Solve
Liquor Evil, d.

Inc vermont congregational confer
ence, which opened its 12lst annual
meeting here Tuesday afternoon,
closed its sessions this morning With
the usual resolutions and visit by the
delegates to the historic places and
shrines at Old Bennington, the closing
service being held at the Old First
church with an address on Some
Roots of the Past" by Rev. Isaac
Jennings.
One OF the practical topics Of the
convention yesterday afternoon was
the address on The Church and Mo
tion Pictures presented by Rev. A.
W. Bailey of the Sunday school and
Publishing Society of Boston.
The speaker took the ground that
the motion picture is one OF the strong
est influences now at work upon the
life of the community, greater than the
church He claimed that picture
houses were doing more to put the sa-
Icon out of business than anything
Billy Sunday is doing and that they
are also putting cheap vaudeville
shows down and out He spoke of the
enormous salaries paid such as $780,
600 year to Charlie Chaplain to make
fool OF himself, and 100000 year
as salary to dainty Mary Pick1ord.
in contrast to the salary paid the presi
dent of the United States and other
noted men Ninety per cent of the
children Of the country attend the
movies, more or less, and while the
motion picture is but II years old its
scope and extent is constantly increas-
ing and it will soCn demand place
not only on week days. but Sundays,
The speaker thought the quality was
steadily improving. but pointed ont
some of the more serious objections to
the themes treated, such as the lower
| ing of the regard for the marriage re-
lation He urged discrimination in
patrOnizing the entertainments.
The Duty of the Church to the
State was the theme of the brief ad-
dress OF Hon. Horace Graham OF
Craftsbury. Upon being introduced by
the chairman Mr. Graham was re-
ceiyed with a round Of applause and
made brief address in which he com
pared the church to q bulwark Of the
state and pointed out the necessity of
| loyalty to death Notwithstanding diff
ficulty and hardship, saying that he
| who won a soul for God was greater
than he who conquered city.
Among the reports of committees
| presented at Wednesdays session
were the resolutions of the committee
on civic justice which urged upon the
churches and its people to hold them
selves from pleasures and distractions
on Sunday, to the extent of attendance
at least upon the morning service and
| Sunday school. Attention was called
to the growing Indifference to the dut-
| les and obligations OF citizenship and
attention was called to the necessity
Of impressing upon the youth of the
| denomination the important place
which civic duty should hold in the
life OF every person While the yer-
dict OF the last March elections is ac-
| cepted the adhearance to the belief
that rational and enforced prohibition
is the ultimate solution of the liquor
problem Is reafirmed. The use of un-
| fermented vine at communion services
is advised. The radical trend Of pre-
vailing fashions in womens dress is
deplored as are also the unclean in
modern fiction and the suggestive
hints in moving pictures
Wednesdays evening session drew
large audience and it is seldom that
a Bennington audience is treated to
two such brilliant and eloquent
speeches as those of Rev. Dr Herman
+. Swartz, National Home Missionary
SECRETARY and Rev d. Brewer Eddy of
the American Board for Foreign Mis-.
sions, With two such men in the
pulpit the large audience got vision
of worldwide service it will not soon
forget.
The theme Of Dr Swartz was THE
Ter.Centenary Program
The address of DR.. Eddy had for its
theme, "The Challenge Of World
Chaos to American Christianity. This
. was a mastery address dealing as Il
= did with frst.hand information OF IN
side facts ON the mission lelds espnoi
ally of China and Turkey and wai
replete with striking and pathetic in
, | ridpnta