The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-11
Frederick Haskin's Letter
tsseal Azvas1
NosU for Stage Censorship.
tsbecil CoxTespondsnce Of

he pick out conditions in society =,
In the department store, or any
other place where men and women
are thrown together and tell some
OF the rottenness that exists there =,
he asked. i shall take pleasure i.
picking out some of the horrihIs
crimes perpetrated by ministers ~
the gospel and make them public
at the next debate.
Many Criminal Churchmen.
I will show that more murders
have been committed by members
OF the church than by the scting
| profession, and there are mors
| church people in prison than there
are stage people, and I will baek
these statements with facts and
figures when l meet DR.. Straton
again on the platform"
Mr.. Brady then concluded his ad-
dress with the suggestion that. If
the church really believed so much
iniquity to exist among stage peo-
pie. it should help them rather
than Islander them" Lets fol-
low the example of the Catholic
Actors Guild and get a Presbyter-
ian and a Methodist and guilds of
other denominations and have A
combined actors guild" he pro-
posed.
This suggestion so pleased DR..
Straton that he promptly offered to
come to Mr.. Brady's theatre and
conduct religious services for the
benefit of the profession. Such ser
vices would not, however, he warn
ed, interrupt his campaign for stage
censorship being carried on at Al
bany
Meantime, other prominent
preachers. repealed by what they
term DIR. STATIONS Sensational
ism," are frankly espousing the
theatres cause. One of these re-
Gently pointed out, for instance,
um-and one that is not ignored
for putting moral propaganda
across" He called attention to the
fact that there were at present two
plays running in New York-"The
National Anthem" and Brieux's
Madame Pierre" containing prop-
uganda which savored more OF the
pulpit than of the theatre.
Another preacher invited Miss
Lillian Gish to address the congre-
night, and introduced her with the
following reassuring words:
Miss Gish Addresses Congregation.
Il am proud to have Lillian Gish
in my church tonight. l know her,
and l know David Wark Griffith,
her manager, and l am glad that l
know them. / am proud to count
William A. Brady among my
friends. l am tired of hearing the
theatre and the moving pictures
continually abused. They do a great
deal of good, and they should be
encouraged rather than vilifed. OF
course, some plays are bad and
should be blacklisted, but they are
in the minority. The movies put
the saloon out of business; so, in
stead of throwing stones at them.
let's commend the good things they
do"
Miss Gish then stepped forward
and testified as to her religious
training. MANY people pOwadays
seem to regard actors and actress
es with suspicion" she began. Il
convince you that We are not
strange people, just normal, every
day men and women like your
selves, but perhaps it will do if 1
simply tell you about myself and
my sister Dorothy. Whatever sue
cess my sister and l have had is
due to our mother, who has always
been our friend and adviser.
Our first public appearance on
the stage was when 1 was ) years
old and Dorothy was 3, in an en-
tertainment in a church Sunday
school, by the way. I was g and
Dorothy 4 when we began GUr pro
fessional careers in child parts.
Mother continually watched over
US and ministered to US throughout
our careers. She looked after our
religious training, and saw that We
always had a bible in our dressing
room, anZ that we read it. Mother
told us that God saw everything VIC
did and knew everything We
thought. We have never forgotten
her teaching"
Thus the whole subject OF stage
censorship has become. strangely
enough, inextricably bound up with
the personalities of the stage. A
Hollywood moving picture director
is murdered, resulting in a certain
amount OF scandal. and immediate
Iy DR.. Straton and his followers
leap to the conclusion that every
thing connected with the stage is
vile, and that its productions must
therefore be controlled. This con
clusion may seem a trife unrea-
sonabIe to the discerning, but eX-
perience has shown that the legis-
lators at Albany are swayed by
more potent means than mere logic.