and it is necessary to quote from Mr. Elbridge T. Gerry in order to
appreciate the motives by which the society was actuated in combating
with vigorous purpose the opposition which it met with: "The Press,
which is influenced to a considerable extent by the representations of
theatrical managers, often criticises severely any attempt to deprive
the public of what it is pleased to call its legitimate amusements, by
the suppression of such entertainments. And many pronounced patrons of
the dramatic art even maintain that such exhibitions are indispensable
to the proper development of a dramatic education, and that when the
necessities of the parents require it, charity should encourage the
children to procure this means of obtaining a livelihood. But let us
examine the other side of the question. When the curtain rises in the
theatre, a draught of warm air rushes from the audience on to the stage,
and often paralyzes for some moments the vocal chords of the actors.
When the curtain falls, the cold air comes down from the flies, and the
children, who have become over heated by their physical exertions,
shiver to the marrow before they are able to accustom themselves to this
sudden change of temperature. Every night these things are renewed.
During the day the children sleep as best they can. Their nervous system
is rapidly undermined; their digestion becomes impaired. It is rare that
one can point to instances of children arriving early at positions of
eminence in the dramatic art. It is true that there are a few who shine
as stars in the theatrical profession, and who entered upon their
dramatic career in early childhood; but these are rare exceptions."

It is not only on the stage that the morals of the children have been
protected; the keepers of low resorts have been prosecuted by the
society.

It has shut up the den of the too celebrated Owney Geoghegan, who long