CHAPLIN AS MORALIST!

Shannon News, 5 January 1926, Page 4

CHAPLIN AS MORALIST!

A PICTURE FBOAt THE FUIiPIT. OF GOU> AND ITS EVILS. Charlie Chaplin figuring largely in an address from a Christchurch pulpit! The great comedian has filled many roles, but until Sunday he had never occupied that of moralist, at least as far as Christchurch was concerned. His new film "The Gold Rush", provided the basis of a sermon which the Rev. J. K. Archer (Mayor of Christchurch) delivered in the Colombo Street Baptist Church last evening. Mr Archer condemned the fondness of the world for gold, and often drew laughter from his congregation in the process. The text was from Isaiah: "Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold they shall not delight in it." "'I suppose many of you have seen this picture, 'The Gold Rush.' I may even call it 'this famous picture.' What arrested my attention first was the j title." He said that it was a very suggestive title, bringing" people face to face with a great problem in life. There was a great deal of humour, but he was not particularly interested in that for the purpose of his subjectthough he had enjoyed the humour as much as anyone. The picture was a comedy, but comedy and tragedy were often akin in human experience and one often passed quickly to tragedy from comedy. Underlying "The Gold Rush" were certain elements of tragedy. Charlie's Character. Charlie Chaplin, no doubt, produced the picture to make *honey—he capitalised his ability to make people laugh. He used laughter as a means of making money. "As I watched that picture, I wondered if he had any serious purpose in making it," said Mr Archer. "I wondered if it had any serious purpose. I don't know much about the character of Charlie Chaplin. We get statements in the papers now and then which don't tend to raise him in our estimation. But, at all events, the picture i does suggest some lessons for j thoughtful men and women." , The lesson was the extraordinary I fascination money had over the hu- j man mind. The picture was no ex- j aggeration. It showed the efforta men would put forth and what hardships they would undergo to get money. It was true that one reason why gold, in particular, was fascinating was that it was beautiful. Throughout the whole world there was probably no one thing so acceptable gold. It was used as exchange more , freely than any other object. But the main reason for the desire for money was that money was power. One could do anything with money, and very little could be done without it. Money covered a multitude of sins. People talked about British justice. But very often, if a poor man committed an offence, it was-a crime; when a rich mam did the same thing, it was a misdemeanour, a much less harsh word. Money still covered a multitude of sins. Crawlers and Humbugs.

One incident was very suggestive in the picture. It was the way the people treated Chaplin and his friend after they had acquired their money. "On the ship as they return," said the preacher, "everyone crawled to them. Everyone does crawl to fellows who have got money. Everyone .regarded them as great men. That is why people are so anxious to make money, to be. crawled to. And money makes us all crawlers. We all like to be crawled to. We want to be regarded as big people, even though we might be no bigger than spiders or ants. We all desirfc to have money."

• Some people said that they could do a lot of good with,money; they did not want money for swank motorcars or swank fur-coats or anything of that sort. That sort of talk was sheer nonsense. Those people were absolute hypocrites and humbugs. "The biggest humbug of all humbugs" said Mr Archer, amid laughter, "is the humbug who doesn't know he's a humbug. We've got to admit it; we's just as keen as others to get money and just for the same purpose. A Christeliurch Joke. "It is pitiable, this seeking for money. Chaplin's picture showing men going through all sorts of hardships is no exaggeration." Things had taken place in New Zealand, in the gold rush, which were as like Chaplin's picture as one pea was to another. People in Christeliurch did exactly the same thing when they walked across the Southern Alps to the West Coast. And," said Mr Arch er, "one old joker turned the gold fever to good account. He sunk the first artesian well in Christchurch, and just for a joke, salted it with copper filings. Then he, whispered it in Christchurch that there was so much gold that it was running out with the water. Very soon, nearly all the town was excitedly gathered round that well and in no time the whole of Christchurch was pegged out in mining claims. And this was Christchurch mind you, not Bedlam, or Sunnyside. It shows how keen they were after gold; and I guarantee that if you'd been there you would have been just as keen. The Hellish Thing.

The picture brought out the element of chance in a gold-digger's life. There was the sub-title: "Man proposes but the storm disposes"." Charlie and his cobber," explained Mr Archer, "found gold purely by accident. That's the hellish thing about goldmining, that the men find it When people expect to get rfen tsv """ngr, they are gamblers. The only proper way to get rich is to work for things. With all respect to my friend, the Rev. J. J. North, the gamblers who are the greatest eojwce of danger to the community, are not the men who put their pound on the totalisator, but the gamblers in land, on waicn

we want to put our houses, or to feed our sheep and cattfc. To go first for the tote gambler is to strain at a; gnat and swallow a camel. Not 5 per cent of goldminers get rich by gold-mimng. Coming to Towa. It is reported that this pieture will shortly he screened in .Palmerston North.