The main objective of the Christopher move-

ment is to awaken in millions of individuals

a sense of personal responsibility in restoring

to the marketplace the spiritual truths upon

which this nation was founded and without

which it cannot survive . . . Those who would

exclude God from our lives, a handful at most,

have made it their business to get into the

vital fields of influence which determine the

destiny of all: education, govern-

ment, j labor-relations, and the creative

end of literature and entertainment . . . These

fields will never be any better than the people

in them. Little is accomplished by complain-

ing or criticizing. '7/ is better to light one

candle than to curse the darkness , If an-

other handful, fired with love of God and

country, work as hard in these same fields, a

trend for the better is bound to come! ... A

unique feature of the Christopher movement

is that we have no meetings, no memberships,

no dues. Each participates as much as he

can and will . . . Christopher News Notes

are now sent free of charge each month to

nearly one million individuals. Any adult may

have them by sending a post card to:

The Christophers

18 East A%th Street, New York City

Father James Keller, M.M., Director



RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT

The vast majority of people have a healthy

sense of decency. They are beginning to be

deeply concerned by the increasing bombard-

ment of smut, brutality and vulgarity being

showered on them.

God has implanted in every person a sense of

what is right and wrong. He has done this

through the Natural Law and the Ten Com-

mandments. Relying on that sense of decency,

an individual can make sound judgments on

his own and apply them without delay. Yery

often unless the individual acts immediately on

his own, it is too late to prevent public harm.

We leave it to others to provide the laws and

the organized guidance to meet this problem.

We confine ourselves to urging an individual

like yourself to speak up personally in behalf of

what is wholesome and enjoyable, and against

what you think is unhealthy.

don't forget they depend on you

You are in a strong position. All articles,

books, programs and movies are bidding for

your attention. They depend on you for sur-

vival. You are the judge. The more selective

and discriminating you are, the better product

you are likely to get. You are always free to

approve or to disapprove. You hold the purse-

strings. In short, the tone of most literature

and entertainment will be just about what you

—and others like you—demand.
Fortunately, the majority of people engaged in

television, movies, radio, newspapers, maga-

zines and book publishing have a sense of

personal responsibility to the public. Even if

they are not courageous enough at all times to

This pamphlet was sent as a substitute for March, 1954,

Christopher News Notes. Additional copies may be

had at actual cost of printing, handling and mailing
—

2c per copy or 50 copies for $1, postpaid.



put out products that conform with their con-

victions, at least they recognize that God’s

laws of morality don’t vary from season to

season.

One encouraging evidence of this recognition

of these unchanging laws was voiced recently

by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion

Picture Association, when he publicly af-

firmed that the industry’s morality code was

^Wooted in the Ten Commandments^* and

^^eternal and unchanging moral verities** He

made this statement in reply to one producer’s

demand for relaxing the rules, on the grounds

that they are out of date and are being

ignored by some producers.

one lady speaks up

Even more interesting to us (because it was

one person speaking up) was a vigorous reply

to this same producer that appeared January

1st in the letter columns of the 'New York

Herald Tribune, signed by Rosamond Dough-

erty of New Rochelle, N. Y. Opposing his

request to ease the film code on morals, she

wrote:

^^What would happen if every law formu-

lated for the good of society in general, and

has proved to satisfy its purpose for many

years, was changed just because some one

dared to defy it? Would it not be better

to fight for the principles that law is to

protect rather than weaken it so that its

effectiveness is lost,**

she made her point

Pressing her point in a positive, constructive

manner. Miss Dougherty then quotes the pro-

ducer as saying that ^^the world has moved on**

in the last twenty years, ^^but the code has

stood still.** She hits at the' root of much

modern day confusion and trouble when she

concludes with this:

4





^*The world has moved on all right
y
deeper

and deeper into a morass of immoralityy but

is that any reason why the motion picture

should drag itself down with it? ^The world

has moved ony but what was immoral

twenty-five years ago is just as immoral

today. Morality is based on the natural

law and that natural law is unchanging^

the problem to be fcceidl

Nathaniel L. Goldstein, attorney general for

the State of New York, declared recently that

the film censorship law was a vital weapon in

fighting juvenile delinquency. In a brief filed

with the Supreme Court, he maintained that a

French film banned by the censors was im-

moral from beginning to end and that its

attractive presentation only heightened its

danger. He cited an article that claimed a

primary cause of sexual stimulation is watch--

ing motion picture productions,^*

Even though many works and performances

are good, tens of millions of decent Americans

are becoming deeply concerned about the fla-

grant merchandising of rot and brutality over

the air waves, through movies, on the stage,

and in magazines and books, especially of the

pocket and comic variety.

some controls needed

Many feel helpless to stem the tide that

threatens to get much worse. They are jus-

tifiably afraid of the extremes of censorship

that can destroy liberty rather than preserve it

for the common good.

On the other hand they know that certain

legitimate controls are a necessity in the field

of morals in the same sense that pure food

laws and restricting of narcotics and drugs

must be conscientiously enforced to protect

humanity against those who would wreck the

health of the nation for a shoddy personal

gain.



Headlines tell part of the grim, decadent

trend taking place in our midst.
Murder,

rape, theft and drug addiction are becoming

so commonplace that the public sense of
shock

is getting dulled.

You may have read the revealing article last

November in the Ladies' Home Journal titled

^^What Parents Don't Know About Comic

Books,"

It claims that ''the keynote of crime-comic

books (is) violence and sadism" and they
in-

still in their readers a contempt for law and

point out "easy ways" of committing crime.

One paragraph from this article is particular-

ly disturbing:

"There is another feature of the ordinary

run of comic books which adtdts
do not

know about but which is familiar to many

children. Some crime books feature 'sex-

ism' to such an extent that they are passed

around like erotica. If you cover up part

of an illustration in some comic
books, what

is left reveals a grossly pornographic
scene

or a bit of anatomy not usually exposed,"

Pointing out that publishers of comic maga-

zines have made attempts to put their own

house in order, the article maintains
that

"self-regulation—to the extent that it was
really attempted

—^has completely failed, and

legal control is now necessary,"

There is plenty of evidence that the foul-

minded are now in the midst of a desperate

attempt to degrade the bodies and souls of not

the few but of everybody. If their many-

sided effort succeeds, if they are able to
dis-

tribute their filth on a big scale and get away

with it, then we may all be paying the penalty

for generations to come.



taining

and

educational

programs

to

more

than

80

million

jj^ersons.

Encourage

more

with

high

ideals

and

talent

to

take

up

careers

in

this

vital



hope for the future

But we are convinced that if a few million

members of the 42 million families in America

will individually take it upon themselves to

show as much initiative and daring in fighting

for truth, goodness and beauty in literature

and entertainment, as the advocates of crime,

violence and immorality display in pushing

their wares, they can easily outplay and out-

smart them.
'

Producers and distributors of rot put on a

brave front, but they are cowards at heart and

quail in the face of an aroused public opin-

ion.

While much is being accomplished by regula-

tions of the law, and by the valiant efforts of

various organizations, we feel that there are

enormous and almost untouched possibilities

in getting individuals by the million to think

and act quickly on their own in insisting on

decency when in their best judgment its

standards have been violated.

they prove whot con be done

We present here a few examples of what one
person can do when he takes it upon himself

to speak up for sound values:

1. One columnist is soft-pedaling comments

on divorce because some 5000 letters a week

asked that more be said about good mar-

riages in Hollywood and less about those

who were flouting their matrimonial vows.

i i i

2. One man in Brooklyn wrote a’ letter to the

sponsors of a leading radio show, claiming

that offensive remarks were made so fre-

quently on the program that he concluded

that it was part of a plan. He mentioned

9



that he could not in conscience continue

to buy their product and thus help to sup-

port such a program. He said he also felt

bound to tell all his friends of his position

if the program continued to defy standards

of normal decency. He received a quick

reply that the management had looked into

the matter, saw there was an abuse and

insisted that all 3 5 persons on the program

sign a statement that the offense would not

be repeated.

i i i

3. A minor employee working on a television

program pointed out that one section of a

presentation to be aired that night was in

poor taste. She suggested a good substitu-

tion. The producer was annoyed at first,

but finally accepted it. As a result, several

million persons got a better program

—

be-

came one person spoke up.

i i i

4. A businessman in New Jersey is still try-

ing by prayer and work to persuade a friend

of his to get away from the violence and

sex that characterize the 20 million pocket

size copies of his books now in circulation.

He has not yet succeeded in getting this

author to change his theme, but some prog-

ress has been made. The writer admitted

that he ^^would love to write about the

better things in life.” But then he added

that it wouldn’t make him any money and

that the people of today wanted trash, and

that’s what he would give them.

Efforts like that of this businessman are far

from wasted, even though they seem to

have no immediate result. Each construc-

tive word or letter has an accumulative

effect.

10



5. A lady in California wrote to the editor

of a leading newspaper there pointing out

the harm that must be resulting from a

series of articles featuring the shady side of

Hollywood. Her letter so convinced the

editor that he discontinued the series. He

wrote her that in his opinion we would

have better newspapers, movies, television

shows and everything else if more people

took the trouble as she did to speak up in a

friendly, helpful way.

i i i

6. One of the best examples of spontaneous

and speedy action on the part of thousands

of individuals occurred not long ago when

something happened on a well-known net-

work television show that many in the

audience thought was offensive. Within a

matter of a few days the sponsor had re-

ceived more than 3000 telegrams and 7000

letters of protest. On top of that, stores

all over the country reported to the manu-

facturer that there had been a sudden fall-

ing off of sales as a result of the offensive

program. The company lost no time in cor-

recting the trouble.

One of the most significant factors in this

immediate and wide-spread expression of

dissatisfaction was that it came from the

grass roots. And it was one individual over

and over again registering his opinion in a

way that had telling effects.

It was one of the best indications that we

have seen of the sense of decency that the

majority of Americans seem to have. It is

assurance, too, that there is a tremendous

potential of good waiting to be put into

motion by one individual after another,

each in his own way.

n



7. We wrote in previous News Notes of the
positive approach taken by a housewife in

Cambridge who was appalled to hear her

five-year-old son talking about the grisly

details of a sensational murder which he had

heard about through a TV show. She de-
cided to make her voice heard in an attempt

to help other parents.

Instead of merely berating the producer of

the program, she wrote out ten construc-

tive suggestions that she felt would be ap-

propriate for a family audience. The pro-

gram incorporated all of them in ten suc-

cessive weeks, then phoned her that the

rating of the program had gone up all over

the country. The producer said he felt

that she deserved the credit.

One housewife changed and improved a

popular television program and affected the

lives of millions by taking the trouble to

speak up in a dignified, helpful manner.

She could easily have ignored the influence

this program was having on her son, and

countless others, and passed up the oppor-

tunity to something about it,^^ But she

saw her obligation, and with the love of

God and her fellowman in her heart, she

made her voice heard for good.

i i f

8. A secretary wrote a forceful letter to a
large manufacturing concern, protesting

the growing impropriety of their adver-

tisements.

She said that like most other people, she had

become so conditioned to ‘cheesecake’ in ev-

ery medium of communication, that she had

built up an unrecognized indifference to it.

But as each successive advertisement by this

company became subtly more suggestive,

she said that it suddenly occurred to her

12





that however they are disguised, advertise-

ments overemphasizing sex as their central

appeal are basically wrong.

In her frank letter to the company, she

said: . The public has allowed itself to

drift along with all the minor infractions,

while the advertiser, assuming that all is

*jake* takes even greater liberties. Indeed

the real fault lies with people like me, be-

cause I am the public, and I do nothing

about it. But I am starting right now to

do something, lest I be a silent partner to

the erosion that is causing the moral fibre

of America to rot and decay.”

i i i

9. Here is a similar example. In this case

it is a businessman who takes a stand. His

wife tells in brief detail how he faced up

to something that disturbed him and what

he did about it. Here is what she wrote:

**My husband is a merchant. He carries

all the products he thinks are the best

quality in his store.

very well known men’s shirt is among

his best sellers—has been for years—and is
one main source of revenue.

‘‘Recently this shirt company placed full-

page ads in a national magazine, using a

series of scantily clad girls and other sex

pictures to catch public notice. ‘Public ap-

peal’ their salesman called it. They visited

all their better accounts explaining that

their store would be listed in the maga-

zine as one selling their product for a

certain amount of money.

“My wonderful husband in true Chris-

topher spirit said that if their shirt could

not sell on its own merits, which he

thought were many, he was one buyer

they could drop from their list. He sent a

14



letter to the head of the firm and a copy

to their salesman. It is having amazing

results.”

those already in creative fields can do much

You would be surprised and delighted to

know how many persons now working in the

literary or entertainment fields are disgusted

with the present trend of lowered moral stand-

ards. A few of them are beginning to make

their voices heard. Encourage more like them

to do the same. Those already in these fields

are in a position of particular advantage in

helping to keep their own house in order.

A few instances showing how such persons

can do much on their own initiative may

interest you:

1 . One man exerting much influence for good

in the T.V. field wrote us: '7 regard tele-

vision as the greatest communication force

that has ever been developed. But . . . ifs

only an instrument. The important thing

is what you do with this instrument. The

scientific achievement doesnH mean a thing

unless our programs, our shows, contribute

something to our knowledge, our under-

standing, our wisdom, our entertainment,

and our lives,”

i i i

2. Two experts have just brought out a book

listing twelve false premises in Dr. Alfred

Kinsey’s theories in regard to the moral

behavior of American women. This new

book, ''Kinsey^s Myth of Female Sexuality

—the Medical Facts,” was written by Dr.
Edmund Bergler, a practicing psychiatrist

with 26 years of clinical experience, and Dr.

William S. Kroger, an associate professor

of gynecology at Chicago Medical School.

15



2,000 magazines are published each month in the

million a month. The material they print exerts a

These doctors challenge Kinsey’s fact and

claim that his subjects for the most part

were neurotics and untruthful.

We can readily see how a study of this sub-

ject can be of great value and usefulness, if

properly conducted. But, as these doctors

pointed out, the Kinsey Report is built on

false facts, and even those in turn are mis-

interpreted. It also goes off the track when

it attempts to undermine the morality in^

culcated by the Old and New Testament

which has shaped our civilization and cul-

ture, and which distinguishes man from the

**sub-human animals.”

i i i

3. In an article in **This Week” magazine.

Dr. Pitirim A. Sorokin, professor of soci-

ology at Harvard, warned that certain lax-

ity about moral standards which has been

growing in the United States could be a sign

of our eventual downfall, as it was in all

16



n;;

wm0

other great civilizations. And he states,

cannot afford to stand idly by while

the conclusions of some well-meaning but

misguided investigators are cited to justify

the destruction of the moral system which

has created and sustained our own free

democracy/^

i i i

4. Newspaper columnist Frank Conniff, com-

menting on the exaggerated publicity given

a couple, each previously divorced four

times and trying another marital venture,

said: ''What we have been witnessing the

last few days is the trash basket coming

into its own and taking over the spotlight

for a brief time just to alert the rest of
the

populace to the noxious reality of its par-

ticular type of decadence,^’

i i i

5. News Director, Ray Thompson, of Station

KROC-TV in Rochester, Minn., made this

d States. The top 130 have a circulation of 200

found influence on the American consciousness.



frank statement over the air last Decem-

ber 18th: "Throughout the day, radio
'

stations will broadcast and newspapers will ^

print detail after detail of the last minutes H

of Carl Hall and Mrs. Bonnie Heady. Un- !

doubtedly, there are many who will want to

hear or read about these details . . . This re-

porter believes, however, that such re-

porting does not serve the best interests of

the public. Let it suffice, then, for us to

report simply that Hall and Heady died in

the Missouri gas chamber shortly after
j

midnight for the kidnap-slaying of little *

Bobby Greenlease.”
;

there is something you can do

Merely taking an attitude about this danger-

ous problem accomplishes little. Criticizing,

scolding, or the passing of resolutions of con-

demnation of evil is of little value unless

backed up by positive and vigorous action in

the right direction.

Millions of individual ^^doers’^ are urgently

needed to act as Christophers or Christbearers

in bringing into the midst of the market-place

the purifying ideas that alone can renew the

face of the earth.

Wq leave it to you to discover ways and means
of your own. This is in line with the con-

sistent policy of the Christophers to leave it

to each individual to translate into action, as

he or she sees fit, the occasional recommenda-

tions that we submit to them.

Here are a few tips that you may find helpful:

1. Avoid two extremes—of being too prudish
on one hand-—or on the other of being so

"broadminded** that you stand for no

principles.

i i i

2. Distinguish between the wheat and the

chaff in the literary and entertainment

18



fields. In seeing abuses, take care not to

overlook the good that is being done. Give

credit where credit is due.

i i i

3. Write letters of congratulations to those

writers, producers, directors, sponsors, and

editors who make it a practice to provide

good reading matter, good programs or

movies. Assure them of your prayers for

God's blessing on their efforts to fulfill their

responsibility to the public.

i i i

4. When you find it necessary to write letters

of disapproval, try to do it in a friendly,

helpful way—be able to disagree without
being disagreeable. Letters of this type

show that you have a sincere desire to be

constructive, not merely find fault. Letters

that are raspy too often are promptly

thrown into the wastebasket. One editor

wrote to us: '*Out of the quantity of mail

this magazine receives, the nicely toned let-

ters are the ones that really jump out and

please everyone, even though they take ex-

ception to something we have printed.”

i i i

5. Patronize theaters that follow a
policy of

showing only movies that are both respec-

table and entertaining. Let the theater man-

ager know of your likes and dislikes.

i i i

6. Tell your friends of books,
magazines,

movies, and radio and TV programs that

are of high quality. Warn them likewise

of those that do not deserve the patronage

of decent-minded people.

i i i

7. See that existing laws for the
observance

of moral standards are put into effect before

asking for more laws.

19



8. Take care to keep your sense of values

sharp and keen. There is much danger in

a slow, steady lowering of standards of de-

cency because of frequency of the violations.

One movie columnist points out that recent

movies ^^have situations and dialogue that

never would have passed the censor five

years ago*^

i i i

9. Exercise your freedom of selection—and
be selective! For instance, you are free to

go into a store and buy a book. Yoii are

likewise free not to buy it. The same free-

dom that you exercise when you attend a

movie, you can also put to practice by re-

maining away. Then too, as every tele-

vision sponsor knows, you are completely

free to turn off your set as you are to turn

it on.

i i i

10. Protect your God-given freedom to read,

view, or listen to what you like and to re-

ject anything of which you disapprove.

Those who would pollute young and old

alike create the impression that they have a

right to impose anything they like upon

you and that you have no right of dissent.

Never forget your democratic right to ac-

cept or reject as you see fit.

i i i

11. Remember that the task of keeping liter-

ature and entertainment in a normal,

healthy state is a never-ending job. It is

much the same as maintaining the health of

your body. To be in good condition physi-

cally, it is necessary to follow a strict daily

routine of restoring and building up your

strength and eliminating poisons with reg-

ularity.

20



10,000 books published each year have

a circulation of approximately 75 million

copies. Every reader is affected by the

standards of the author.



12. Keep telling your friends not to be thrown

off guard by the technical approach of

those who claim that it is too difficult to

define what is ^^obscene^^ or ^Hndecent,^^

They know what offends decency as well

as everybody elsekloes.

i i i

13. Think through to the ultimate damage

that one debasing book, movie, article or

air program can have. When you read of a

rape case, for instance, or of the 19-year-old

drug addict in Chicago who killed four men

and staged 150 robberies, ask yourself how

one gets started in such sordid business. It

is more than the weakness of human nature.

An 8 -year-old boy of a fine family joking-

ly said to his 9-year-old sister about the

lady next door: ^^Let^s shoot her and get the

insuranceV^ That thought had been put

into his subconscious from sources unno-

ticed and forgotten, perhaps a movie or a

TV play. What effect may it have on him

in a weak moment 30 years from now?

Ask yourself if by doing nothing to raise

the standards of reading matter, movies and

programs on the air, are you giving ap-

proval by silence? Are you an unwilling

accomplice to the crimes and debauchery

that are mounting steadily, because you do

little or nothing to prevent them? Re-

member what Christ said: ^^He that is not

with Me is against Me.^^ (Matthew 12:30).

r f i

14. Watch that you are not deceived by those

who defend a dangerous production by

saying: ^^But it was so well doneV^ The

more artistically or cleverly presented, the

more harmful any such work can be . . .

Remember what Will Rogers once said:

'^What we need today are cleaner minds

and dirtier fingernails/^

22



1 5 . Recognize in all channels of communica-

tion a great power for good or evil. The

more you and others with your sense of

values see that they are devoted to the best

interests of humanity, as God intended they

should be, the less possibility there is for

them to be instruments of evil.

i i i

16. Be prepared to work on a long range

basis. Don’t expect results too soon. But

remember that God will bless your every

effort even if you don’t succeed. Your

stand for decency can have a surprising and

far-reaching effect in time. It is already

giving backbone to many persons in the

fields of communication who would take a

more courageous stand themselves if they

knew they had the moral support of mil-

lions.

i . i i

17. Ask your newspapers to print more stories

that deal with normal people rather than the

abnormal. If they run lengthy stories of

crime with all their gory detail or photos

that have no place in the family circle, clip

them out and send them back with a

friendly, constructive letter of dissent. One

letter of this type is far from wasted.

i i i

18. As often as you can, act on your own

initiative to register your disapproval. You

know enough about the difference between

right and wrong to be a fair judge. The

more self-reliant you become, the sooner

you will develop a keen sense of personal

responsibility in this matter . . . Then, too,

act as quickly as you can. Even a slight de-

lay takes the edge off the effectiveness of

what you do or say.



19. Be honest and reasonable in all that you

do, especially if you take exception to any

movie, article, book, program or song.

Tell others how you feel, but take care not

to force your ideas on them.

i i i

20. Avoid giving publicity to offensive works.

This gives them free word-of-mouth ad-

vertising. That is the very thing the im-

moral press agent wishes you to do. It

often results in stimulating a curious inter-

est in many people who might have had

none before.

y i i

21. Remind others that if they are selective,

and single out only the best books, articles,

movies, and programs, they will be sur-

prised to find how many good ones there

are. In fact, they will find they have no

time for any others. If enough persons can

be persuaded to concentrate on entertain-

ment and literature that is both top quality

and appealing, there will be little business

for the shoddy type.

y y y

22. Reserve a place in your daily prayers that

these great and powerful channels of com-

munication will be used for good to all and

harm to none.

y y y

23. Above all, pray and work that the many

potentially good persons already in these

spheres of influence will change from nega-

tive to positive. It takes but a little en-

couragement as evidenced by a letter we re-

ceived from a nationally known fiction

writer. She wrote; About three years ago

1 read my first copy of the Christopher

News Notes, I asked myself how I could

24



The 1,786 daily newspapers and the 8,000

weeklies have a combined circulation of 140

million copies. Encourage them to write more

of th^ normal life — less of the abnormal and

seamy side of life.



use my own channel of communication to
further Christian aims; and at first I found

no satisfactory answer. It seemed both pre~

tentious and absiird to write light magazine

fiction which would awaken in anyone a

Christ-like sense of purpose”

But the more she reflected, the more she

was forced to the conclusion that so many

short stories today are far from morally

good. As she put it, ^^They can be, and

often are, cynical, bitter, hopeless and de-

structive, even though written with lit-

erary skill
”

Then it dawned on her that real joy and a

Christiai^ outlook are synonymous, that, as

she remarked, ^^No one is merrier than a

man or woman with a high purpose”

Thinking along these lines she decided to

try a different approach for her series of

short stories. ^^Without in any way chang-

ing or lessening the lightheartedness of plot,

situation or dialogue,” she said, ^7 began to

change the tone and direction of my series

. . . Neither my agent nor my editors ap-
peared to notice any diference, but my fan
mail began to increase,

^^Then I wrote a story in which the mes-

sage was, in effect, the acceptance of the

will of God, For this story, the magazine

raised my price and my fan mail grew more

interesting,”

She concluded by saying, '7 have to thank

the Christophers for a far more satisfying

and re^varding professional life than 1 had

imagined possible,”

i

This last recommendation is perhaps the

most important of all: pray and work that

the millions of good American parents will

point out to their children the tremendous



force for good that each one can exert,

especially in the creative end of writing,

directing or producing.

gatt.r
- ' thG

The challenge is a big one these days—and
getting ever bigger by the hour. Think of all

the ideas—good, bad and indifferent—that
pour out day after day through:

.V 1,786 dailies with 54 million circulation;

b 8,000 weeklies with 86 million circula-

tion;

c. 2,000 general magazines (the first 130

have 200 million circulation) ;

d. 10,000 books published each year
with

a printing of approximately 75 million

copies

;

e. 259 million copies of pocket size books

distributed through 1,100 wholesalers

and 100 thousand news stands, drug

stores and similar outlets;

f. hundreds of movies seen by 5 5 million

persons weekly.

g. hundreds of thousands of
programs trans-

mitted over 27 million television and 110

million radio sets.

proof that it. can be done

It is taking a defeatist—and dangerous

—

attitude to brand these vital fields of com-

munication as bad, because they make mis-

takes. Each and all of them can exert a tre-

mendous influence for good, if enough per-

sons like you make it their business to im-

prove them, rather than merely disapprove.

Keep in mind at all times the hopeful formula

of St. Paul: not overcome by evil, but

overcome evil by goodJ^ (Romans 12:21).

Many tests that we have made give abundant

assurance of high possibilities for the future.

In making Christopher Awards, from time to

27



time, for instance, our aim has been to show

that in each field—newspapers, magazines,
books, radio, television and movies—creative
works can be turned out that are substantially

excellent as well as good "box office.*’

In giving Christopher awards during the last

quarter of 1953 we found so many good tele-

vision programs that we cited four presenta-

tions instead of the usual three. They were:

1) U. S. Steel Hour’s "P.O.W.”, seen on

ABC, 2) Medallion Theatre’s "A Day In

Town,” over CBS, sponsored by the Chrysler

Corporation, 3) The Johns Hopkins’ Science

Review’s "The Christmas Star,” carried as a

public service by the Dumont network, 4)
Studio One’s "Master Of The Rose” over CBS,

sponsored by Westinghouse.

A glance at the various motion pictures to
which Christopher Awards have been made

is proof that the industry can turn out pro-

ductions that despite certain imperfections

are suitable for the entire family and are of

such wide interest to the public that they

have been top money makers.

Among these Christopher Award movies

have been the following: 1) "Father of the

Bride,” 2) "Cheaper by the Dozen,” 3) "Quo

Vadis,” 4) "Ivanhoe,” 5) "Our Lady of

Fatima,” 6) "Hans Christian Anderson,”

7) "The Robe,” 8) "Little Boy Lost,” 9)

"Knights of the Round Table,” 10) "Living

Desert.”

a challenge to you

No matter who you are or what your position

in life may be, there is something constructive

that you can do, under God, to raise the level

of the many channels of literature and enter-

tainment. You must decide for yourself what

you will do—how you will do it. That is your
personal responsibility.

28



259 million copies of pocket

books are distributed every

year through 1,110 v/hole-

salers and 100 thousand

news stands, drug stores,

and similar outlets. They are

doing much to shape the

thought of America.



Above all, pray arid work that more with \

high ideals, as well as talent, will go into these
-

important fields that fashion the thought and

living of countless millions. A career in the

creative end of any one of these spheres en-

tails much hard work and sacrifice if one

meets his responsibility with real devotion

and dedication. But the rewards are deep and

lasting.

an opportunity very home

The homes of America can bring about a trend

for the better, once parents and children alike

realize the great power for good that God

has put in their hands. From the family

circle should be coming great writers, direc-

tors and producers imbued with a high sense

of purpose. If they do not come from the

good homes, from where will they come?

If we fail to carry out into the market

place the divine sense and sanity so essential

for decency and blend them into every phase

of literature and entertainment, we may one

d^y have to answer at the judgment seat of

God for abandoning our fellowmen to those

who are on the alert to debase and brutalize

them for time and eternity!

an everlastifig rev?'prd

On the other hand if you take it upon your-

self to do what you can to elevate and enrich

the lives of all, you will, according to the

promise of Christ, be numbered among the

blessed for all eternity. ''Blessed are the
clean

of heart, for they shall see
Godr (Matthew

5 : 8 ).

Yes, if you reduce your faith to practice,

if you show a missionary zeal to purify the

hearts of men, one day you will be with your

Maker in complete joy and peace in a life that

will never end.

30



Tens of millions of

comic books are

sold month after

month. This field

offers tremendous

possibilities for cre-

ative people with

good ideas.



sr-

4:^ 2.