DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 May 1927, Page 14

DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

GLOOMY OUTLOOK (Copyright, 1927.) \ LAN DALE, the well-known theatrical critic, "said a mouthful" the other v day when he wrote: “I wonder why everything that is worthy is drear and drab and desolate and doleful and discouraging, and everything unworthy, cheerio! and amiable and amusing and entertaining, and, worse still, laughable. This wonder has come to all of us. The writer had three children who wanted to see Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Their grandmother, being a strict religionist, did not want them to attend. They were overheard discussing the matter and speculating as to why grandmother opposed their going. The boy said that it was because the riders were in danger of breaking their necks. One of the girls insisted that the reason was that the women wore short skirts. The other girl, however, insisted that the only reason was that it was fun, for, she said, “Whatever is fun is wrong and whatever is unpleasant is good for you.” Life is not a humbug nor a tragedy. There is plenty of nobleness and good humour in the world, and literature that expresses this can be just as good as literature that expresses the contrary opinion. There is much to be said in favour of the happy ending. People go to the theatre or read a novel to escape from the actualities and to amuse themselves. There is enough disappointment and disillusionment in real life without reproducing them upon the stage. The least that literary fellows can do is to cheer us up a bit.