CHILDREN AND FILMS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1453, 30 September 1915, Page 2

CHILDREN AND FILMS.

EDUCATION BOARD ON MORAL INFLUENCES.

Tire Catholic Federation communicated with the Wellington Education Board on Tuesday with respect to the censorship of kinema films. The board thoroughly approved the attitude taken up by the federation.

The Chairman (Mon, J. G. W. Aitken) observed that he was not intimately acquainted with the picture show. He had to confess that he was not a frequent visitor to picture shows in Wellington. He bad seen two, perhaps three, picture shows in Wellington, but on the occasions on which he was present he had seen pictures that were not attractive to him, and he could not understand them having any attraction for anybody else. From all one heard about the pictures, it seemed that some censorship should be exercised. The board was interested in the morals of the children as well as their education. Mr William Allan said he had seen several picture shows, and over some of them was a very thin veil of immorality. It would be beneficial for the chil- ' dren if the pictures were censored. Mr C. M. Cuke expressed his surprise at “the silly tomfoolery” of some of the pictures he had seen compared with other pictures of a most instructive character and of high educational value. He thought the people in

authority were short sighted in their selection of pictures, as there would be a great many more people go if they thought they would not have inflicted upon them the pictures of the objectionable character to which he had referred. The Board decided to communicate its views to the Ministers for Education and Internal Affairs.