The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-06-13

taste and conduct Of the people must
be as free as you have kept your IN
stitut:on of the printed word-witf
channels open to the expression OF
any honest and reasoable idea within
the world of art, of public opinion, OF
everything within the field of educa-
tion. Just as we must embrace ana
carry or that American TRADITION OF
insistence upon freedom Of resistance
TO official or political censorship OF
the press, the pulpit, college teaching
o. Of public speech and public assem-
b!v. so must we obey, as you of the
press obey. the obligation not to
force upon the public we serve any
unnreaconably arbitrary standards OF
our own either in favor Of or against
particular varieties of opinion or
taste.
+ But while this must be our broad
and general policy. it is as true OF
the press and of the motion picture
as it is of craftsmanship that there
are, of course, certain common stan
dards so indisputable in their appeal
to the common sense of right, so uni
versally accepted as the highest STAN
dards of taste. art and morals, that
TO promote them is as enphatically
our duty as is that declaration OF IN
tention ''to promote the general well
fare" in the preamble of the Amerl-
can constitution.
Standards OF Taste and Morals
I remember very we'll the definite
advance in public standards of taste
and comfort that was achieved in this
country through means OF ordinary
photographs of better homes. This ed
ucation of the public, this indirect
implanting of standards Of taste and
morals and art in the public mind is
inherent in the motion pictures. We
can not avoid it if we would. Since
the nature of our business makes 1t
inevitable that we shall portray some
standards, the duty involved in our
relation to the public makes it IN
cumbent to hold up the best.
Ard above all, perhaps, is our duty
to the youth. We must have toward
that sacred thing, the mind of child,
toward that clean and virgin thing,
that unmarked state-we must have
toward that the. same sense OF re-
sponsibility, that same care about the
impressions made upon 1t, that TIE
best teacher OF the best Clergyman,
the most inspired teacher OF youth,
would have.
Things are taken a good deal for
granted, and l wonder # you JUS re-
alize, YOU men who have az neart ire
general welfare-I wonder # yol :c-
.alize just what the motion picture
means to the youth. During the time
when l had the acceptance of this
new work under consideration took
three little cowboy suits home to Sui
Ivan, enc for my boy, aged six: AMI
one each FOR his cousins, ages fiv> and
eight. They took these 1T" s."'s
into Ia bedroom to pat ti!.sm on aid
come out and show me. ! heard them
quarreling in the bedroom, and l
wondered what they coul5 be fussing
about under those circumstances.
went to the door and listened. They
were having a real quarrel as to which
one when they came out to show me
would be Bill Hart. Mark you, ages
five, six and eight. And finally my
boy, in a very vigorous voice said,
:rAll right, then; all right, then; I
will be Doug" Well, it was a lc6-
son. 1t used to be when we were
boys that possibly we quarreled lit
tie over who would be Abraham Lin
coin or George Washington, or if we
were real nifty we might have wanted
to be Buffalo Bill, but now it is who
will be Bill Hart or Douglas Fair
banks or Charlie Chaplin, and so
forth.
We say twenty million people day
see motion pictures. Very we'll; pos
sibly half, I do not knew, may be
children, and they go, too, with the
same open mind referred to. Don't
forget that the quick way to the brain
is through the eye There may be
fifty different languages spoken IN
th:t; country, but the picture of moth
er is the same in every language.
Obviously it is true that the inf1u-
opco of 4ba "a, o+:o, ,ic+,,ra on oDr