egular drama or of the motion-picture type,
offers a perplexing problem, principally because, in the first place,
American people have been too busy conquering a new soil and making a
living to give careful thought to the social side of aesthetics and
recreation, and, secondly, because the ministry of social recreation has
fallen almost entirely under the dominance of the same trend; it has
been thoroughly commercialized. We cannot cut the puzzling knot by
simply prohibiting all forms of public theatrical entertainment. For one
reason, these forms shade off imperceptibly from the church service to
the extremes of the vaudeville. But the simple fact is that we no longer
indiscriminately class all theaters as baneful and immoral; we are
coming to see their potentialities for good. If the young will go, as
they will--and ought--to the theater, and if the theater can lift their
ideals, parents would do well to guide their children in this matter and
to enlist the aid of the theater.

It is worth while to come to a sympathetic understanding of the place of
the drama and the opera, to see what they have meant in the education of
the race and what is the significance, to us, of the fact of the strong
dramatic instinct in childhood. Naturally the subject can only be
mentioned here and the suggestion be offered that parents take time to
cultivate an appreciation of good orchestral and concert music and of
the drama.

The social life will find outlet in other directions. Young people need
our aid to find social groups which will inspire and develop them,
especially groups that are serviceful.

Sec. 7. THE CALL TO SERVICE

This is the period when ideals begin to give direction to the hitherto
undirected activity of childhood and youth. Young people are idealists.
They see no height too giddy, no task too hard, no dream too roseate,
and no hope unattainable. If the times are out of joint they believe
they were "born to set them right." Whatever is wrong or imperfect they
would take a hand in setting it right. We know we felt that way, but we
are loath to believe our children also cherish their high hopes. And so
the tendency of the adult is to treat with cynicism the dreams of youth.
Often we sedulously endeavor to pervert him to our blase view of the
world; we would have him believe it is a fated heap of cinders instead
of an almost new thing to be formed and made perfect. In the home those
ideals must be nourished and guide