389
THE KING’ S BUSINESS
It is inutterably sad to see the way in which men high in .political affairs are sacrificing the clear dictates_of patriotism to the .exigencies of petty partisan politics. The attacks made upon our. President at this time by
Partisan Politics and Patriotism.
Some Republican papers are shameless and shameful. The highest interests, of our country, and the respect with which our country is held by foreign nations - are greatly jeopardized by attacks of this kind, which beyond a question are made in the interests of the narrowest and meanest partisan politics. The attack which was recently made upon the President by one whom we have been disposed to regard as among the most high minded of modern statesmen, filled us with humiliation and sadness. The attack showed great ability but was full of the most evident inconsistencies and unfairness, and even went so far as to bitterly condemn the President and Secretary of State for not doing a thing which was exactly similar to a thing which he himself refused to do when he was Secretary of Stat£. Why will men of great abilities and held in general esteem stoop to the arts and tricks and unprincipled partisanship of the lowest ward politicians? Cannot people who really love their country, even at such a time of danger and crisis as we are now passing through, put aside their parti sanship and put the highest interests and welfare of the country above the suc cess of a political campaign, and above their own personal ambition to obtain office? There is probably no institution that is doing more in Menace of our day to corrupt the morals, both of old and young, the Movies. . than the Movies. A very large proportion of the Movie plays exploit vice in its worst forms. They are attended by young men and women at the most critical period of their life. They arouse the vilest thoughts and passions. Their appeal is increasingly to that which is lowest and basest. They are proving the ruin of thousands of young men and' women throughout the land, and are having a thoroughly demoralizing effect even upon men and women of mature years. O f course,.there are moving picture exhibitions o f an entirely different character, but thé demand of the majority of those who attend the movies is for that which is vile, and the mov ing picture companies are in the business for money, and they, know what pays. Even when pictures of a higher class are presented oftentimes something of the viler sort is worked in, and it is almost impossible to tell what one is going to see. Many o f the worst plays have been those which professedly have been in the interest o f warning the young of the-results of certain forms of sin. This profession is usually utter hypocrisy. In at least one of our cities a movie play, to which the ministers .were invited beforehand for their endorsement, and which some of them were foolish enough to endorse because it showed, in a wajr, the awful results of certain forms of sin, ran continuous performances for men and women up to and after midnight, with the evident purpose of lur ing the young of both sexes who were foolish enough to be on the streets, at that late hour. While some of the results, of sin were shown, the sin was of such a character that the presentation did more to awaken vile passions until they were irresistible, than it did to deter anybody from the gratification of the passions by the fear of evil results that might follow. In the City of Los Angeles the manufacturers of movie films combined to resent an attempt to restrain them in exhibiting immoral pictures. Their argument was that they were bringing millions of money to the city, and therefore they ought to. be allowed
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