Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-07-03
LEr us HAVE nO MORE oE IT.

LET US HAVE NO MORE OF IT.
Now that the Beecher trial is over we
hope the public will have a rest from
scandal and a surcease OF filthy litera-
ture. Much needs to be done to coun-
teract the evil Influences Of such ex-
posures, made specific and definite in
language not to be Misunderstood. We
are informed by those who attended the
trial that the press has been modest and
polite as compared with the counsel on
each side and the crowd in daily attend
ance. We may well conclude mat vir-
tue is at a low premium and that female
modesty has ceased TO charm when in
formed that ladies Of wealth and social
position have attended from day to day
and listened eagerly to things that would
bring a blush to the face Of a man of the
world. Many went away disappointed be-
cause they could not force their way in.
What are we coming to if those who set
themselves up as models of respecta-
bility hover around the prurient slums
of a monstrous scandal and inhale its
~sickening fumes as a delicious aroma?
So long as there is purity in our homes
there is hope for the rising generation
and security for our institutions. Chi
cago once had a monopoly Of all that
was %scandalous and corrupting, but
Brooklyn, a city Of churches and the
residence Of New York business men,
has fairly won the palm. If it stopped
there, if a wall could be built around the
city, it might not be so bad, but unfor-
tunately the papers all over the country
have followed the New York press and
made this the sensation until every
village and hamlet in the land is
familiar with all the loathsome details,
and it is daily a Subject Of discussion
among all classes. Even children half
grown hear and talk it, and are becom-
ing familiarized with loose and immoral
theories. There is work for Christian
people to do in the pulpit, in the Sun
dsy-school, the day school, in the social
circle, around hearthstones and in the
highways and hedges. By a combined
effort on the part of those who know the
priceless value Of virtue and morality
they may eradicate the bad seed sown in
the minds Of our youth and instil into
their minds a proper respect for what is
pure and good. The events Of this
trial are well calculated to COR
fuse the distinctions between
right and wrong With the young and
thoughtless. Corruption and deceit have
appeared in a captivating mask and been
ably defended and applauded. Hy-
pocricy should be exposed, even when it
assumes the mildest form Of heterodoxy,
and vice be made odious in high as we'll
as low places. Beecher began a quarter
o. a century ago as a beterodox, and it
took all this time to eliminate the good
that was in him aud transform him to a
vain, pompous %blasphemer. The church
which stands by such a man must fall,
as he has done, sooner or later; and
when the fountain is corrupt how can
the stream be pure? The moral wrecks
are strewn on every side, and many a
household will yet be disrupted. 1t is a
leprosy, as it were, to the touch, the in.
fuence Of that trial. Let it be cut OF
and forgotten as soon as possible, and a
healthful morality and current literature
resume sway over the minds of the
people.