Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-07-29
ESTABLISHED 1910.


before san EFdnClSCO duuACASS a sCh
days since, referring to the sad case
of a very bad woman mrs Fair,
NOW uuder sentence of death), ut
tered these words: =" If all men pro-
fscfed all aOomefi, there I0Ould not be
anu Mrs. Fairs" Interpreted literally,
this means that if all men would frOwn
down scandal and, instead of rating
womanly chastity and virtue as they
know themselves to be, would uphold
and contend for not only a seeming
virtue in woman, but an absolute,
mate, Unborn virtue that to kill is TO
do a worse thing than murder
and to blast by breath of sus-
picion, is to commit a worse
crime than assassination, there would
not be any scandal, there would not
be any tainted regulations, perhaps
fewer of the unfortunate class who are
without regulations. II we contem-
plate for a moment the shameless life
10 which the fallen outcssts (fruits of
mans pertidy) are driven by an mex
orable law of society, we viii
come nesr to a comprehension
of the results that generally follow
upon the words Of malignant tongues,
of thoughtless heads and sometimes
callous hearts. OF late we have had too
many such words. Without meaning
or intending harm; without weighing
or dwelling upon the enOrmity of their
utterances, many persons have, in the
past few days, dealt glibly with the
regulations of chaste women, and
banded Jokes about those who sre
known to be as far removed as virtue
Is from crime or folly. Licensed
thereto by the recent indiscreet and
false statements of a newspaper, the
retailers of libel and dealers
in secondhand sean. mag. have
given loose reign to their
tongues aud the town is seized
with a passion for such stuff, many
even OF our hitherto eXemplars, lend
ing a tOO-wiiling ear and giving toe
ready credence to it. We have heard
of the last horrible story being located
at doors believed to be white as mno-
cence ITSELF The gay old beauX who
love 10 dwell upon scandal and g0bble
such a morsel with greedy avidity-
these have specUlated TO their wits
end (and that's not very far), and,
even with the aid of the more thought
less youths who ape this class as the
s'glass OF fashion and mold of form,"
cannot come TO a conclusion, cannot
locate tany one doors crime too hOrri-
bic to be named. Thus left to ospeculste,
these scandal -mOngers, who trade upon
the best regulations, have spread the
defamation Of the white women of the
city, and made it even worse than
the ill-digested publication. They
have agitated the dirty waters, and
in their effort have splashed the repu-
tstiOn Of the good and innocent. Well
may the merchants and business men,
and the thoughtful of all classes ex-
press themselves outraged that scam
dal so horrible should be basely attri-
buted TO a respectable white family
residing in q part Of the city most
thickly settled by that class. In the
absence of any names, all
who have daughters and sons
are likely to be suspiciOned,
and to suspicion in such case is to
blow a breath that, like the sirOccO,
kills as it goes. We have seen that
one who mas always stood as
adamant could not pass on his
way in the decline OF
long and useful life without serving
the purpose OF the idle and viciOusly-
minded, always ready to seize greed
lily upon such food. Not even life
time service in behalf Of his country
a life spent in the field, the forum and
the cabinet-eould plead against a
scandal " baseless as the fabric OF
vision; and now not even the thought
that a word may destroy what net
lifetime repentance can replace, can
protect innocent wOmanhOOd from
maIevOlent scandal, hydTa-headed and
double-tongued, with razOr-edge. Will
not the discreet, the wise and the good
(and We are among those who believe
there are many sueh) exert them
selves to suppress and put an end to |
the disease that seems TO grow since
last week in pace that threatens the
good name of our city? Will they not |
make it a point to rebUke the scandal
mOngers, TO chide thestOry-teller5 and
by dignified refusal to hear or be-
lieve, silence the calumnie5 that have |
unhinged the confidence Of the COM
munity and turned even commerce
out Of its accustomed channelF II all |
Hel l0iU protect all arOmen, there lCiU |
not b. dily scandals.