The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-05-15

VtNdN0SCNSt q Htdft
soweth, that shall he also reap" GAL
atians 9th chapter, 7th verse.
In his sermon on "Amusements" at
the tabernacle Saturday night, Rev.
w. A. Sunday said:
The devil has a great many ways
of leading people away from God,
not alone by drunkenness or theft
or lying, but by innumerable ways,
and ! am not here to presume to tell
You what you shall do. | am going
n give you the proposition as l see
II, and You can do as you please
You do it anyway, SO I might as well
tell you before l get through.
I know of no more suitable text
for the subject / have in mind. By
the expression on your faces, you
don't expect much from me in the
way of Endorsement, and yet, if there
is no harm in this proposition. why
do | speak against the class or classes
that you champion and indorse
If the ingenious skill of the devil Is
to be defeated, there are but one oil
W. alternatives left open to the mar
who wants to assault it. First, he car
spend his strength and time talking
about a thousand minor usages, anc
tell you of the possible induIgences
Or, he a assault the thing fair anc
square, and tell you what it really is
and by so doing run the risk of incur
ring the enmity and displeasure anc
i'll will of the people.
I have wilfully and deliberately
chosen the latter course, and | have
no apologies to make either now OF
after | am through. But I will chal
lenge anybody who can successfully
contradict what l have to say. fol
what l have to say has been forged OF
the anvil of observation, communica
ton and investigation up and dowr
the land.
am not giving you my opinions o!
theories; | nave none. have a mes
sage that's burned it's way to my sou
and burned into my heart with con
Viction and ~bIood-red, but please re
member that with the cry of lost souls
singing in my ears, ! can't do anythin.
less Than cry out. II Gems to mt
that If I'D stop and refuse, the rocks
would cry out and protest.
Judged at the court of public opin
ion, | might be denounced by some
Juu6E ny tut COult VI lux W
sires, | would be denounced by al
mandize. Judged at the court of con
science and purity. I'd receive a uni
versal thank you" for it.
Condemns
Rotten Things.
Now, I do not condemn the theate
as an institution. l never have con
demned the theater as an institution
| did condemn the saloon as an inst
tuition. I say it has no right to exis
on earth.
never condemned good things.
only condemn what even the peopl,
who are respectable in the theatrfca
ranks condemn themselves. l con
denim rottenness in the church and OF
the stage. too. I condemn rottennes!
everywhere it is. 1t makes no diff
ference whether it's in the pew O.
pulpit or behind the footlight, tn,
parquet or boxes.
We associate certain amusement
the theater, cards and the dance
While some would condemn one thing
others would condemn something else
and vice versa. Yet the theaters ar
the most condemned. To most pee
pie. things that are forbidden, amuse
and there is a reason back of all this
People are not simply crazy and fra1
tic. there is a reason back of it.
The theater had its beginning in tn
church, and in the first place, it wa
intended for a handmaiden of relis
ion. But from the very beginning
was a source of worry and of harm
and little by little, they were force
to denounce it, and at last for thei
own protection, to repudiate it.
Spasmodic Efforts
To Reform.
Spasmodic efforts have been an
still are being made, and l presum
will be made to reform it. by thos
who want to see it a handmaiden
something that would be a benefit I
the people. But it seems to hav
ever gravitated downward, and til
so-called advanced school of dram
in our day, seems to have deluge
the United States with the obscen
drama that SCOTS at merit and d
monetiZed the truth.
The fight against impurity goes @
today just the same as it did a tho
sand years ago, and without religio
the most enlightened nation on til
ldC6 vi luIS 6dllu NOuIu dlOp IA
chaos and ruin. There is a class
every community that hate the sigl
of a church. There is a class in evel
community hat hate the sound of
church bell. They despise a preache
They despise towers that point to tt
only source of consolation and of hop
Now, there are shows going on t
day to which no right minded ma
would take a decent woman, and II
manager is not to blame. He w
tell you that if he puts 4 good sho
on the road, he will starve to deaf
The public must want these thing
my friends, or they wouldn't bait
around the doors to get in. So, ! thir
the public is as much to blame as II
manager. for if you didn't want 1t, v
wouldn't have it. Therefore, yo'
taste must be on a mighty low levt
You can't denounce the other fello'
you've got to take your medicine wi
him, so that's why am here tonist
1t isn't all on his side, don't forg
that! Take your part of it with him
When the press declares that
certain show is filthy and lewd, II
manager pats himself on the bac
because he knows that's about Il
best advertisement that he can 81
Teaches No
Lesson.
The theater is not educational.
doesn't teach a lesson. 1t doesI
preach a ermon Its mission is OF