The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-02-04
THE SUNDAY
| SHOWS

ItAE 6UNDhI
SHOWS
1t is the old question: Shall the
people be saved OF amused? What
is salvation? What is uplift? What
shall the public do to save itself from
itself? Any time that somebody
wants to see the public take on ex-
citement they can do it by raising
such a question. They raised it In
1928 when half a million people
living in Illinois and who work all
the week, wanted the worlds fair
management to arrange it SO they
could see the big show. Sunday was
their only day. They must see it
that day or miss the biggest thing
on earth. Thousands of them were
working girls trying to make an hon
est living, and with abundance Of
time to sit in their. rooms on Sun
day between religious services, and
no livery and coachman to take them
out for drives or other recreation in
the big city. To them, a Sunday at
the worlds fair made the weeks
work a joy, and to them Sunday de-
secration, if desecration it was, seem
ed to them the greatest uplift, or at
least that was what they wanted and
it was what the rest of the public
wanted, and it looked the same on
Sunday that it did on week days.
1t was said that if the fair was closed
Sundays. these people would arrange
to go on week days, and some of
them would. Some of them could,
and those that could not, could prob
ably sit down each Sunday and con-
slider whether to be sweet in their
or to resent the re-
straint, the sacrifice Of living within
gunshot of what the world was raw
ing about, and be deprived of seeing
and enjoying it because other diff
ferently situated viewed it all week
and did not care to see it on Sun
day. This and thousand other ar
guments pro and con were threshed
over thru the press, in the pulpit, in
the business meetings, in sewing
circles, in aid societies, among the
settlement workers and in the slums,
with the result that the big show was
open every Sunday, and a thousand
acres Of shows swarmed with happy
people.
One afternoon there was an awful
hollocust on the grounds, but it was
not Sunday. Nobody set up the claim
that it was Judgment upon them
for having the grounds open on We'd
nesday, and if it had been on Fri
day or Saturday we don't know
whether anything would have been
said about it or not. If it had hap
pened on Sunday, we believe it would
have made a profound impression on
millions of people, for people are
what shall we say-superstitious
open to conviction
and trying to get right with Divinity?
We all know they are and every in
dividual at times questions whether
he sees the hand of the Divine in
something affecting his affairs.
In 1898, Omaha had an exposi-
tion, and they had "The Pike" and
everything else open on Sundays.
The fair was tame, the Pike was rot
ten. A person of ordinary tastes and
convictions, seeing it one Sunday,
would not care to go again, would
be ashamed of having spent Sun
day there, thereby acknowledging to
himself that he wanted to go to bet
ter things on Sunday than on other
days, or at least was more particular
about it. If not particular for him
self, then perhaps particular for his
children, and there comes a finer
point of distinction. The Chicago
fair was a thing of character; the
Omaha fair was lacking in character
and left slight impression worth
That brings us back TO
Blackfoot and the present situation.
If the picture shows have something
worthy and uplifting, or If they pre-
sent somthing without character, the
public will judge it and by their pat
ronage send it where it belongs.
But that same argument was ap-
piled to saloons long ago, and it did
not stand the test. The saloon had
to be closed by legal enactment. So
long as society left the question to-
settle itself, the evil gained and in
creased its ravages, and the oppon-
ents of Sunday shows may rightfully
use that argument IL. vne present test,
II their convictions are so strong as
that. Most of the local population
can get enough picture shows during
the week, and the fact that the shows
are open does not make it compul-
sorry to attend.
STEVENS WAS
THE MAN