New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-18
THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.

| 1nh FU1Uh In LID WILDbhN hoo.
The world always has need of reformers.
There is no danger that the injunction
"be We perfect" will ever be literally full
filled, at least in this world, but, by the con-
slant preaching of it, by the application
of it to every question of practical NOR
ality, enforcing its requirements in season
and out of season, there is some hope of
its being partially obeyed. The existence
of "a just medium" presupposes that of
extremes. The pernicious habits of the
''fine-bottle man, which, for time, made
drunkenness respectable, led to the OPP
posite absurdity of the cold-water man,
whose impracticable theories in their turn
drove sensible persons back to the plat
form of the moderate use of wines, and
even, in certain cases, of spirituous
liquors. The severe and unjust laws
against women in some countries of
Europe and in some parts of this country,
depriving them of the control of their
own earnings, and even, when the hus-
band so desired, of their own children,
have occasioned the existing radical
movement in the interests of woman's
rights, which will have its run, and will
only cease when the grains of truth that
certainly are contained in the mountain
of rubbish on which its advocates stand,
have fructiied into just and equal laws
for woman everywhere. AS for the ex-
IRENE doctrine of giving her an active
share in politics (she has always exercised
a passive influence therein), that, too. will
come about in process of time if it is in
accordance with natural laws. If not, no
amount of bowling, or speech-making, or
book writing, or cheating registry clerks
and election commissioners; no success of
journalistic d" organs" no support of
talented men can ever bring it generally
to pass, or maintain it long in the few To-
calities where it may be attempted. Good
only will come of it in the long run.
Good only will come of every attempt at
social reform, no matter what the extrava-
gance OF It's supporters.
For instance, the reform league, now
establishing in the North under the aus
pices of Wendell Phillips, Mrs. Julia
Ward Howe and others, male and female.
of that ilk, will no doubt be regarded with
unbounded contempt by the soi-disant
respectable" and conservative" portion |
of the community all over the country. |
To such as regard existing institutions as
right because they are existing, and
old abuses as venerable because they are
old, the attack of Mr.. Phillips on large
corporations, and his denouncing them as
aristocratic in their nature and tyrannical
in their tendencies, will seem as wild and
tantastlcal as the assault of Don Quixote
on the windmill; but when We remember
that less than forty years ago the few
fanatics" as they were then called. who
ventured to raise their voices against the
2normities of slavery were hooted at,
nobbed, and pelted with stale eggs by
he vulgar, and denounced by the re-
spectacle as incendiaries, lifting their
orofane hands against an old established,
guaranteed and God
directed institution-when we remember
III this, and looking around US to-day see
he result of those so-called fanatical
,fforts, in the utter downfall of slavery
nd the elevation of its victims to posi-
ion of political equality with their former
'ppresSors, prudence should teach US, if
nodesty did not, to restrain our zeal for
he preservation of old institutions, and
ook carefully to see what foundation of
ruth and justice may underlie the SEEM
ng extravaganza of all ''new-fangled
heories" of reform.