National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-17
THE MORALITY OF TODAY

Almost instlnctlvely and with miraculous
unRnimIty the minds Of thinking people In
this country are now filed with thoughts
regarding the morality Of the present age.
We say instInctlVely, because current re-
ports, while they may suggest this vein Of
thought as regards q certain coterle Of per.
sons who are connected with the Plymouth
church scandal, are not accepted as truth
full by the majority Of the class to which
we refer. In other words, the discussion
Of that scandal even among those who dis
believe 1t has aroused o sentiment alto
gether foreign to 1t, and one which will ere
long betray itself In many ways. It
prompts a comparison between the morality
Of to-day and yesterday, and the deductions
therefrom ore as varied and numerous as
the minds Of those who entertain It. II is
the custom, however to declare that the
present generation has fallen away from
the purity Of lie predecessors, and
Il Is probable that two thirds Of the
worlds people believe this to be true
Yet the faCtS do not sustain this assump.
ton. Statistics show an increase each suo-
oessive year Of the number Of protested
Christians and church members, They
also show on increase Of the number and an
Improvement In the character Of our bone
factions and charitable institutions, Fur,
thor, they show tho organization Of new
associations intended 10 improve the eehdI.
ton OF our fellow men or 10 eiyllIEs and
ChFlstlanze the savage races, Where thou.
sands Of dollaFB were spent for these puF.
poses In the last generation, millions are
spent now, and the Government itself has
become, TO great extent, an efficient agent
In support OF these schemes, Again, the
women Of America ara more active now,
either 90 workers In the cause Of temper.
Anos or Of religion Itself tlmn ever before.
In every city Of the United States and In
almost every town and hamlet the hmhlAr
letters, "Y NJ, o, A." aro 10 DO se0n on
plaoards OF signs, inviting strangers TO pleas.
ant rooms where tho friendship aud FRAZER.
NIFTY Of religion reign supreme,
But with oil those indications Of spiritual
progress, 90 10 speak, II must DO admitted
that an inclination exists 10 give 4 more
liberal construction TO religious ereods and
q wider latitude 10 the acts Of FelIgiehists
Mon and women think palmer now than
their h,theFs and mothers did, and are Tot
so hlds.bouRd In their principles Human
nature has been studied more closely than
1t formerly was, and the motives which
prompt the acts Of everyday life are more
frequently taken into account In our every
day discussions, In short, outside OF the
class known as strict seotaFians and close
followers Of accepted preoepts, the right Of
each and every man to reconcile his acts
with the dictates Of his own conscience is
conceded, and tits acknowledged by though
full professors Of religion that all the truly
good people in the world do not place their
names on the rolls of church-membership
1t is true that there are many who abuse
this latitude and take advantage of 1t TO the
injury both of church people" and them
selves. But we incline to believe that they
are neutrality-suspicious., perhaps, which
are needed to prove the truth Of the fami-
liar saying that "there Is no safety outside
the limits of, the church" However this
may be, it would be sad indeed if we were
compelled to acknowledge that the world
grows more wicked, and the effect of such
an acknowledgment would In itself have q
demoralizing tendency. But as we have
demonstrated, the contrary is the case, and
the morality of to-day, with our new lights
before us, and with new and more liberal
aspirations, compares most faVorably with
that Of former days.