, 1874-04-05
HISS DICKINS0N'S LECTURE.


To the Editor Of The Chicago Tribune:
S1n: As q literary effort, Hiss DicEnsons
"Social Evil lecture was failure. As moral
effort, it WAS still greater failure.
In its literary aspect, it was
IHcoSsEQuESr AND ILLOGICAL.
It led its hearers up to heights OF sympathetic
feeling; OF great pity, aud almost love. for the
unfortunates; Of high indignationa gainst their
wrongcrs; and there, on those heights, it left
them,-otreriug no strong ground to stand on,
no work to do no road leading away to practical
resulta,-nothing but q barren prospect OF
horror, and IN unwilling return to the ordinary
lever, with naught but little weary excitement
to show for their toll.
Il further literary fault WAS this: that the
speaker allowed herself to 60 into 1epulsive pie
lures, revolving statistics, md
DISGUSTING DETAILS,
which did not in tho least assist in the de-
yelopmont OF the subject details that made
every woman blush and every man afraid to
glance at his nc;ghbor, but which added nothing
to the zeprehenson all feel for the evils in ques-
ton. II Miss Dickinson had been arguing
against something that half her audience was
disposed to defend, and the other half was in
doubt about, then the production OF dirty details
to convince, and conEict. and convert, might have
been justitiabe, or at least excusable. But as 1t
WAS, 10 ulG AA9foaGA ~
tie opposite, these unblushing, bluRh-produc-
ing particulars were uncalled for,-were lngged
in b. the head and shoulders. intellectually, it
was delivering blows against nothing; it was
kicking the air,-which We all know to be use
less aud nngracefnl exercise In literary point
Of view, it was an example OF that gross error,
strained effort without result.
Now, regarding the lecture AZ an effort IN the
interests Of morality, what was the upshot OF it:
Here was girl, or ut least an inexperienced
foll n a fxrr1t mixed audience On
subject OF which nearly every man within TIC
sound Of her voice knew more than she did.
How could she
LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT IT2
She could only learn what ia reported by police
authorities, what is published in statistics, and
what is told her by the unfortunates themselves.
Letting the first two sources OF information go,
/ as being equally open to us all, lot us Iook az
the last. What can Miss Dickinson learn By visit
ing those houses2. The women like and admire
| her; who could help doing 500 Her visit
| arnnses and hatters them. They havo everything
to gain, and nothing to lose. By acting part be-
! fo1o her; aud they act Their part. with more OF
! less success. Their dreadful trade makes them
| actresses, even II they had not been 30 By Ms
| ture, The poor girls, dying OF ennul, gather
| around their unaccustomed visitor; admire her
| beauty and strength; envy her iaces and jewell
~; recognize in hers greater actress , than them
| selves; think that, If they were Like her, how
easyit would be to DO good, being 30 well paid for
it clasp her hand kiss her, and CRY over her, II
| they are allowed; and after bidding her good
| by forever, maize her visit the subject OF talk
With al their friends, male aud female, 1or Gays,
| weeks, or months
Miss Dickinson goes away (forever) from this
| strange dreadful, dangerously-excltng inter,
| view. with oyerNrought feelings, unbalanced
| Judgment, end
UTTERLY FICTITIOUS VIEWS
| Of what she has seen. These views her strong
imagination dresses in burning col0rs, and Aer
| vivid language conveyP afterWard to IN audi
| ence almost as ignorant, excited, and unbalanced
as herself.
Now. must say some hard words; but re-
member that, in these days. words ate judged by
| their truth, not by their hardness, softness,
sweetness, bitterness. Suppose Miss Dickinson,
! or auy other woman, would take one OF the aV-
erage Of these unfortunntes into her Kitchen OF
| her laundry, give her the usual regular wages
| for regular work, the usual dull routine oy
| which most men and women have always lived,
| and always must llyo,-how many OF them you'd
then aud dthenceforth desert and keep clear OF tha
life the lectu1ess so graphically descrlbea'-the
| Of them ? One III ten ? No.
| NOR ONE N HUNDRED!
If Miss Dickinson were as logical as she is alo-
! queut, she would answer, unaskod- TIT questlon
inr tho passage OF what is called the inspection
! or license law, what do these herce denunciators
| propose The answer. as far as nave seen
! their violent appeals, Is this Ihore shau pc no
| such Law enacted LleF8 su2u Ve uu ~" enatt-
ed the social-ay1l as now existing shall not be
| interfe1ed with This q reductio ad aosurdnn;
| but I have seen no other practical ISSUE to the
! diatribes. OF course, bliss Dick!uson's sugscs-
tons that those who cause the ruin shall oe sub
| tected to capital punishment, and that money
stolen by female outcasts shall not pc taken
| away from them, need not be seriously cons1d-
| cred. Neither need the suggestion that Magda~
| lon Asylums and Reformatories shall be made
| into delightful residences Of ease and elegance,
FAR MORE ENJOYABLE
| than the homes which the majority OF honest
men and women can earn by honest labor.
| Thus dismissing two OF the main suggestions
which l gathered from Miss Dick1nson's lecture,
let me- 500 il there we're any others that seem
more worthy OF serious thought. Yes, there are
some the better education Of girls; the equal,
| izing the blame thrown on woman the betrayed
aud man the betrayer; the giving OF better op-
portunties for girls and women to earn their
! subsistence,-theze are the worthler, though not
| the most prominent and fo1cible, points made
during that fiery harangue. MAS'
| UhENDlNG.
| There Is IN end to kisses and to sghs,