Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 53, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1916 — Our Mania fer Amusement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Our Mania fer Amusement

That our modem mania fer entertainment is fast underminin’ th’ spiritual an’ commercial life o’ th’ nation beyond a doubt is th’ opinion o’ Rev. Wiley Tanger, who, last night, addressed th* graduatin' class o’ Dal Plum’s barber college. After deplorin’ th’ passin’ o’ th’ ole family circle an' th’ underskirt Dr. Tanger said in part as follows: —-: ■ - .. ; -. “Followin’ close upon th’ heels o’ our craze t’ be amused, has come a brazen an’ almost brutal Indifference toward work. T’day a job is regarded as merely a steppin’ stone t’ a vacation —t’ swell clothes an* a good time. Sunday is marked by th’ hurryin’ an’ scurryin’ o’ those on pleasure bent. Decoration day has lost ' its Identity an’ Saturday night is an orgy. Th’ player planner with its ragtime rolls has backed th’ library ont’ th’ back porch, an’ a stack o’ phonograph records has th’ place o’ honor oh>th’ cen-

ter table once held by th’ family Bible. Th’ the-aters run th’ year around an’ music an’ vaudeville are served with our chops. After ever* little task comes a longin’ fer diversion. Women can’t shop without a film between ever’ purchase. Our very churches have kitchens an’ stereopticon lanterns. A movin’ picture the-ater thrives where three grocers failed before. Th’ thirst fer pleasure has long since infested th’ broad profitable farms 6* th’ countryside, an’ th’ tanned an’ brawny sons o’ th’ wealthy farmer perch dejectedly on th’ barbed fences an’ sigh fer th’ conjested city with its smells an’ tribulations, while his pect o’ endin’ ther days sq fer removed from th* centers o* danger an’ merriment. In th’ busy factory arf dingy sweat shop men an’ women count the minutes till knockin’ off time when* they are t ! hurry home an’ doll up. an

join th’ merrymakers on th rialto. “A feller used t’ sort o’ give up an* settle down at forty, after a few love affairs an’ a couple of excursions, but t’day a feller is young as long as he kin git shaved an’ dress th’ part. Even th’ mothers o’ t’day indulge in our fantastic excesses as long as they kin git a switch, t’ match an’ are able t* button ther backs. About all that remains o’ th’ old order o’ things is th* American breakfast, an* it has been modified until its hardly worth gittin* up fer. Oh, fer th* ole-time mother who regarded duty as a mere episode, an’ oh, fer th’ ole-time father who changed th* appearance o* th’ whole neighborhood ever* time he wore * collar. “‘What Shall We Do t’ Be Saved?* Is no longer th* thought uppermost in our souls. Th’ question o’ t’day is, ■What Shall We Do TNIGHTT ’* ? Ajany o’ our representative citizens.

deeply regret Dr. Tanger’s remarks, j an’ regard his address as bein’ dis- 1 couragin’t’ capital. President McGee | o’ th’ Excelsior-Comfort Factory chai- ] lenges th’ truth o’ many o’ Dr. Tang- 1 er's assertions, growin’ particularly 1 heated as he denied that any one oHj his three employees hurried home I after work t’ dress up. He also went 1 so fer as t’ say that t’ his certain | knowledge over one-half o’ his em- 1 ployees had never seen a film mwftj less a case. However, th’ sentiment I agin Dr. Tanger cooled an’ softened ! considerably toward evenin’ when fid! wuz learned he has dyspepsia. 1 (Copyright; Adams Newspaper S-ervieedM

“Th’ Thirst fer Pleasure Has Long Since Infested th’ Broad, Profitable Farms o’th Countryside, an’ th’ Tanned an’ Brawny Sons o’ th’ Wealthy Farmer Perch Dejectedly on th’ Barbed Fences an’ Sigh fer th’ Con jested City With Its Smells an’ Tribulations, While His Daughters Droop an' Fade at th’ Prospect o’ Endin’ Ther Days So fer Removed From th’ Centers of Danger an’ Merriment."