THE CHILD MIND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12325, 23 May 1918, Page 4

THE CHILD MIND.

EFFECT OF PICTURES. A Bishop’s Opinion, “ AMiat incredible pains we ought to take that, children may hare n good start, in life,” said Bishop Julius, preaching to it large congregation of men in the Cathedral last night. This was the keynote of his sermon. Hu commented on 1-ho fact that New Zealand had an extraordinarily large number of institutions tor earing tor children, and said that the children who were deserted and neglected and illtreated were out of ail proportion to the wealth of tho country. Touching on the danger of inherited syphilis, Hishop Julius went on to speak of the moral danger, due partly to climatic conditions, the excessive freedom of young people, and the absence of homo lile. .1.1 o advocated greater civic ovo;sight of parks and places where immorality might he found. “J speak now with some care and hesitation.” Hishop Julius added, "for .1 want to say a word about the pictures. Wc have got an enormous number of theatres going on in the eiiy, and 1 am not going to run them down. They li avo to bo ran to pay, and they must have pictures to draw the people. I would never make them pay. 1 don't go once in twelve l months: but they must cater for people who want to go eight times a. weeic. Perhaps in a- tramcar I hear tho remark, ‘ f lave yon seen “ Divorce .Made Easy?” Alind you go to it.' J wonder whnt happens to girls who go to such things. There are a lot of very suggestive "pictures, and niany of them, if not bad, are just going round and round tho fringe of saggoftjvo and beastly things. ' w "The pictures are the most magnificent educating influence in the world, if they were‘rightly used.”- Hishop Julius continued. “The children drink it in by the eye, and although they seo a groat deal that they do not understand and cannot fathom, it is hound to springy up in the coming years, and wo are fools to let our children sec these things. I do not blame the picture people. They arc just supplying the. demand, hut it is wo who rfre'lettmg that demand go on instead of trying to stimulate the demand for somc-■-h’jng better. Yfiat is the eomiim generation to he if wo feed them on such trash as that? I wisli I 1 could only trust the City. Counci! to take tho ‘king in hand and run a few municipal shows. Ye do not want this private concern run for profit. I would hare a municipal theatre and municipal picture shows, and J would come down op. tho corporation if there was a thineshown that was not fit for a child to see.”