Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-02-11
Nyandot County Republican,

(See Moral EVIL of Fashions on first page.)
turned many of our churches into
fashionable promenades, where
more people 60 to be seen, and ex-
hibit their costly wardrobes, than 60
to hear the gospel and possess
themselves Of more of Christ's pure
spirit, and perfect themselves in the
Christian graces. Fashion has
closed many of our churches
against the poor, to whom Christ
once preached free gospel, many
of whom, could they hear the gos-
pel-for how can the believe unless
they hear Knight one day become
stars and jewels in the crown of
Jesus, who are now cropping their
way in the filth Of sin, for which the
churches, not fashion will be held
responsible to God. In fact, fash
ions are the broadest way to hell,
if we except saloons and drunken
ness. Nothing else has SO turned
lthe heads and hearts of women
from Christ and God, and So OBJ
scured the sun of righteousness, and
driven the holy spirit fIom our
churches and the world, and are
such stumbling blocks in the way to
heaven as fashion. For there can
be but little or no religion in the
hearts of those whose heads are
filed with fashions, which are the
subject of their thoughts and con-
yersation, and the image they wor-
ship; nor in churches turned into
the show rooms of walking fashion,
plates.
Fashions are the Mammon to
such women, which they worship.
And as no one can worship God
and Mammon, no fashional le
woman can worship God acceptably,
although she puts on the appear
ance of piety, bends the knee and
utters the words of prayer, and goes
through the forms of worshiping
God, because her heart is not in
such FORMS Hence her worship is
a mockery and an abomination in
the sight of God, who requires us
to worship him with singleness of
heart, and in spirit and in truth.
A house or q person divided
against itself cannot stand, conse-
quently it is in vain that we hope
for, and labor to Cnristianize the
world or the people, and preach
against vices and crimes, and pray
for the reign of honesty, virtue and
Christianity, SO long as the present
vulgar, demoralizing fashions pre-
vail, and are published in our Ia-
pers and magazines. For 1t is i'm
possible for men and women, expo
sed to such strong temptations to
vice and crimes, long to remain
pure in thought, virtuous and reli-
gious.
Before women can rise in the
scale of being, and in the estimation
and respect of respectable men,
they must shake off. this deadly
weight, and change their desire for,
and love and worship of them, to
the desire to be true, good and vir-
tuous, and to the love of God and
humanity. Does not the good of
men and women, society, morals
and religion, church, and state, call
loudly on the people, the press and
the pulpit, to denounce the present
fashions, and womcn's love of them:
and to save them from the great
maelstrom of vice toward which
they are fast drifting? Is there
anything else which is SO danger
Gus to our homes, or any other re-
form that would do so much good,
and so elevate woman, even woman
suffrage not excepted. Here is an
ample field for the, women who are
now clamoring for woman suffrage,
as though that is all that is neces
sary.
And, but little less is the moral
evil of publishing the fashions in
newspapers and magazines? Has
lit come to this, that the secrets of
our homes and women's persons,
which should be held inviolable, and
such of her wearing apparel of
which no modest women could
once speak, in the presence Of men,
are now unblushingly given by wo-s
men to reporters Of newspapers, and
published to the world? Well may
men blush for such unblushing wo-
men, and weep for their loss of
modesty and purity Of thought and
heart. 1t is painful to think that
there is such a vulgar taste among
women, especially those who live on
the avenues, as to make them de-
light in thus being made conspicu-
Gus and ridiculous in the papers,
Oh, shame! where are thy bushes! !!
Oh, woman where is thy modesty?
Not only do these vulgar commu-
nications in the papers, and vile as
sociates corrupt good manners. and
the purest men and women, but the
thoughts such reading suggests, cor
rupt them. Once improperly or
immodesty in public, in New Eng
land was punished by laws, and we
have laws in this state for the pun
ishment of such exposures unless
they are required by the fashions.
We also have laws for the punish
ment of publishing anything immo-
raj and vulgar, that is calculated to
produce impure thoughts and cor
rupt the morals of the people, un-
less necessary to the full descrip-
ton of the fashions. And if public