I suppose that the American stage is responsible for much of this. I
do not go to the theatres, so I must take the evidence of the actors
and managers of theatres, such as Mr. John Gilbert, Mr. A.M. Palmer,
and Mr. Daniel E. Bandmann. They have recently told us that the crime
of undress is blasting the theatre, which by many is considered a
school of morals, and indeed superior to the Church, and a forerunner
of the millennium. Mr. Palmer says: "The bulk of the performances on
the stage are degrading and pernicious. The managers strive to come
just as near the line as possible without flagrantly breaking the law.
There never have been costumes worn on a stage of this city, either in
a theatre, hall, or 'dive,' so improper as those that clothe some of
the chorus in recent comic opera productions." He says in regard to
the female performers: "It is not a question whether they can sing,
but just how little they will consent to wear." Mr. Bandmann, who has
been twenty-nine years on the stage, and before almost all
nationalities, says: "I unhesitatingly state that the taste of the
present theatre-going people of America, as a body, is of a coarse and
vulgar nature. The Hindoo would turn with disgust at such
exhibitions, which are sought after and applauded on the stage of this
country. Our shop windows are full of and the walls covered with show
cards and posters which should be a disgrace to an enlightened country
and an insult to the eye of a cultured community." Mr. Gilbert says:
"Such exhibition is a disastrous one to the morals of the community.
Are these proper pictures to put out for the public to look at, to say
nothing of the propriety of females appearing in public dressed like
that? It is shameful!"
I must take the testimony of the friends of the theatre and the
confirmation which I see on the board fences and in the show windows
containing the pictures of the way actresses dress. I suppose that
those representations of play-house costume are true, for if they are
not true, then those highly moral and religious theatres are swindling
the public by inducing the people to the theatre by promises of
spectacular nudity which they do not fulfill. Now, all this
familiarizes the public with such improprieties of costume and
depresses the public conscience as to what is allowable and right.