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Show WHY CHILDREN OUGHT TO SEE GOOD THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS Walter Prichard Eaton, tho theatrical theat-rical writer for Tho American Magazine, Maga-zine, contributes on article to the December number of that periodical entitled "Where Do the Children Com In 7" Following Is an extract: "Why havo we dono nothing of late years In the theater for ' our children? Why have wo left them nt homo, or let them ruin their eyes nnd stulify their Imaginations at motion mo-tion pictures, or debaso their taste at vaudeville? It Is thrice a pity. It Is Indeed a crime. "Ono reason and perhaps tho chlet reason Is, or course, that of late years our theatrical managers have for tho most part, been men quite Incapable In-capable ot understanding tlio needs of children and quito indifferent to them. You can neither wrlto, act, nor produce a play ror children, unless un-less you have sorno sympathy with children, nnd unless you recognlzo tho function ot tho theater toward them. Moreover", Broadway Is the laBt place in tho world where children are found or wanted; nnd Broadway In recent years has dictated to our drama. Broadway has been producing produc-ing for tho tired business man and tho visiting drummer. "Wo havo not cared for tho kiddles on our stngo. "And why should we? perhaps tho managers ask. "If one has to ask tho question thero Is no nnswer which ho enn understand. un-derstand. Wo should, of courso, just becauso they aro kiddles; becauso In thoso sensitive ripening years tho dramatic Instinct Is strongest In them nnd consequently tho most potent wenpon for developing tholr Imaginations; Imagina-tions; becauso tho theater, rightly conducted, glve-i them innocent wholo Bomo pleasure; because for th0 theater's thea-ter's own good, it dovelops In thorn n lovo ror dramatic art, good tasto, sensitiveness, sympathy, and makes them better theatergoers In tho years to como. "No ono familiar with children needs to b0 told of tholr instlnctivo dramatic sense, their lovo of "protending." "pro-tending." That Is naturo's way of developing tho imaglnaton. After-llfo After-llfo schools nnd disciplines tho Imagination, Imag-ination, but cannot crcato it No ono ramillar with educational processes proc-esses needs to bo told that this instlnctivo in-stlnctivo dramatic senso Is ono ot tho most effective educational weapons. weap-ons. And no ono should need to be told that tho developed imagination Is behind every step of progress tho human race has mndo. It Is not nlono in painting pictures nnd writing poems po-ems that the imagination does tho work. Kvcry invention, every discovery discov-ery of science, Is a product of tho Imagination Im-agination also. Karl Pearson, in his 'Grammar of Science,' places Faraday Fara-day and Darwin among the great Imaginative minds tit tho nineteenth century nnd rightly so. All scientl-,flc scientl-,flc discoveries nro based first on an hypothesis which Is tho direct creation crea-tion of tho Imagination. Then tho trained scientist BUbralts this hypothesis hypo-thesis to tho storn critical test of ascertained facts. But ho may. col lect facts till doomsday without mak-Ing mak-Ing a great discovery. Tho Imaglna-Hon Imaglna-Hon which could conceive tho hypo. HicbIb of Evolution 1b a superb lmng-Inntlon, lmng-Inntlon, nnd rnnka Dnrwln ns a genius. gen-ius. A thousand other men could havo spent tho succeeding generation verifying this hypothesis by facts, as well, perhaps, as ho. Thoy couldn't creato tho hypothesis. Thereforo any-thing any-thing which dovolops tho imagination makes for tho Improvement or tho human raco as well as for Individual happiness and a richer Individual Hf0 Grimm's fairy tales may have a di- , rect bearing on tho Invention ot tho a trolloy car and tho telephone, or the " discovery of antiseptics. Such things cannot bo proved, but thoy ar0 too obviously possibilities to Ignore or scorn. And In this early development of tho Imagination nothing can bo moro potent than tho theater?" |
