Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-02-27
The WalkiSt.-Just now an cpl


to place brains below par; and raise
muscle to an altitude akin to gold on
the ever memorable Black Friday 1t
is a good thing to coax and pet mus
Gle; but to so fatter ones arms and
legs that they will say to the head
what need have We of thee" we fear
will create a panic IN the human anat-
omy and make the brain the laughing
stock of the big toes and knse-pans, and
plethoric thighs, and rotund belly.
Our colleges were once the schools for
intellectual culture, and the "shecp
skim was once bestowed upon the stu
dent who had attained to excellence
in the classics, and who could scalp a
latin verb and bring his trophy upon
rostrum to be exhibited before an ad-
mirirg audience who had been taught
the foolish idea that it was a good
thing to be an intellectual man. To
day the youth who can display an arm
equal to a mules hind leg in power OF
establishment and a limb that would
elicit plaudltS in a Roman Ampathea
ire, though his head resemble tea
cup, is the chap who gets the boquets
and the commencement persimmons.
To row boat in a state Of nudity, to
bat ball into the eternity of space, to
shoot glass ball ere it fall to the dir
ty earth, are the great accomplish
ments. But there is another "ac3om-
plishment," and the world is growing
crazy over it. The Walkist" is the
admired Of all admirers to-day. The
field is not confined to men, but wo-
men are aUowed to contend for the
championship. And it is we'll to say
right here that the women are walking
right aaoay from the men, as strange
as it may appear. 1t is not too brash
to say that third-rate strumpets are
eliciting applause from respectable au-
diences in our large cities, They can
put the best foot forward, to an ex-
tent that is producing greater frore
in the world than could be produced
BY the finest poem that slumberS in
the brain Of Whittier or a Tcnny-
son. Men of high standing in society
are proud to mark the time made by a
prostitute upon the ring of skating
park, and beautiful women Of our
chest society" are proud to wave
their kerchiefs, and shout ''bravo" in
fashionable way as the miles are eat
en- up by the wicked feet of fallen
woman The choicest flowers of the
tropics are woven into fantastic de-
signs, and purses with jingling gold
therein are thrown at the feet Of har-
lot, while poor suffering necdle-women
are permitted to starve in loathsome
cellers and darksome garrets. And all
this because the world sanctions and
shouts bravo" We don't wonder
that the Rev Talmadge went down
into hell in Gotham to portray upon
the platform Of his Tabernacle the
damnable life Of wicked city Pros
titution is becoming a virtue: and viz
tue only a name-a hy-word, and sad
as it is to say it, the prowling fend
and despoiler Of all virtue is not to be
found alone in New York but in small
towns thousand miles away from the
great city. Surely brains are below
par, and lust is at a premium. 1t is
not strange that the John the Baptist
of the nineteenth century calls from
the platform of his Tabernacle for men
and women to come as eye witnesses,
and ear hearers, "wheTe Kings are
actors and burning worlds are the foot
lights" Society is doomed if our
colleges and schools. our teachers,
and society itself does not move to
swing back the gates Of hell that are
opening under the magic key of Fash
ion and National Popularity.
Some of our young friends are dis
posed to treasure bitter feelings toward
us for our criticism of the last play Of
their entertainment at Writer'S Hall.
We assure our young people we har-
bored no i'll will toward even the least
of them we criticised as We thought