, 1923-04-01

CnurchtS or suggested a CtHSuISAlp
OF sermons.
II struck nobody as lud!erous or
contemplate to blame n ~2o.year-old
art FOR evils that Il rourished dur
ing ten thousand years Of recorded
w!ckadness.
The public was in a l~ynehing mood
and would not be denied.
\ whole AIT was being tarred and
feathered and tortured In every cruel
and fantastic Bankers with.
drew money from companies with pic
lures half finished. Audiences fell
away in the picture houses every
where. The motion picture Goliath,
already weakened with the malnutri-
tion OF hard times, staggered under
a shower of stones from the sings Of
myriad Davids.
While they lasted those were dra-
matte days for the bright children Of
the moving pictures. They felt Ike
summer Landscape and suddenly as.
sailed by farmers with pltchforks and
abuse.
The newcomer. Remember Sheldon,
was especially aghast. The delect'
able mountain she had cssayed to
climb was abruptly fenced off as a
peak OF he'll.
CHAPTER XXNvL
Doctor Sheldon had constantly be
sought from his pulpit forgiveness for
his fiock's woeful sins OF omission and
commission. He had cried to heaven
that his people were miserable sin.
ners necessarily ~backs,iding into
every w-ickedness. Yet it was some
how different when a mot!on.picture
player growIed. as Claymore did now,
We'll. we are rotten-rottcner than
any outsider knows-and we're only
getting what was coming to us"
Claymore was always the %apolosist.
What he loved he distrusted. His
wife had left him on that account
He had felt compelled 10 correct her
faults and lovingly chastlse her. He
had been a director IN the theater
and had gone about shamefaced on
recount of the misbehavior Of so
many OF its people, the alleged low
standards Of the successes. the lack
OF appreciation for Shakespeare, the
absence of u true sense OF art in all
Americans. the mysterious genius for
art in all foreigners.
As goon as he had been decoycd
into the motion .picture field tie the.
a.sr borrowed eachantrdsrt from dis
lance. It was as noble as an nm
t!qIity. And now all his wailings
were against the trash the motion
picture trade turned out and its base
cc,nmercsalism compared with the
lofty accomplishments Of the theater.
1 e was "a priest at an altar, hat he
always praised the elder gods. So
now lie srowled,
1.-THE motion pictures have been
riding for a fall. It's ALI due TO a sud
den rush of money I o the head. Cow
boys we're yanked Off the ranch and
sent loco with the effort TO spend
a thousand dollars n week. Brain.
less village girls and artists models
were plunged into enormous publicity
and daz2ied with fortunes for max
'ng a few faces every day at n cam
era.
They acted like drunken grand
dukes before every jewelers. window
They gave parties thai We're moth.
ing but riots. Tho vampire WIS de.
ve'oped as a special attraction. The
press agents magnif.cd the wicked
ness OF their cllents. Divorces were
considered good advertising.
There are sots and dope fiends
among us, and immortality enough to
sink a ship"
Tom Hobby was of another charac.
ter. What he loved he adored. fought
for. would not criticize or permit to
be criticized.
"Hold on 4 minute. Claymore." he
broke in. "Is there any part OF the
country where booze parties are un.
known? The dope tends aren't all in
Hollywood. Every other town has
about tho same quota. East and West
and North and South. in Europe
Asia. Afr!ca-Ii's the same.
81 tell you the average morality i'
| just as high In Hollywood or Culver
City as anywhere else IN the world
We're a bunch OF hard workers and
the women work as hard as the men
They're respected and given every
opportunity for wealth and fame
and freedom. Tho public has been fec
up on a lot OF crazy stories. A few
producers have kept up the idea.
"A lot OF bad women + at large
in the movies. but most OF EN- wer'
bad before they came in and they'C
have been a lot worse II they ha[
stayed at hone. The moving plctur'
did moro to keep girls and boys OF
the streets than all the prayer meet
lngs ever held. They drove the 50
loon out OF business moro than m,
other power. The screen is tho big
gest educational and moral force evei
discovered and It hasn't got u faul
that is all its own. I tell you ST.
a cowardly shame to throw dirt OF
It. I hold my head Just a little high
err than ever and I'm shouting Just
little louder than before that I'm &,
movie man"
Mem looked on Tom Hobby witt
now eyes. She had never thought o
him as a fiery patriot in his art. Iii
hot zeal wa vastly becoming 10 him
and cast into the shade the reyerinl
affection she had gained for Clay
mdre. the inspirer and oncourager o
her personal skill. Her art wns big
ger han herself and she was thrille.
with almost reverence for Hobby.
To the surprise Of everyone. tn
most ardent defender OF tho movie
was the least expeotable Of all Il
such n sallery-Mrs. Steddon, III