The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1880-01-15
New York Observer
The Dry.ROf in PubIic Morals.

One would think twice before bold-
ly charging the people of this coun-
try with willfully taking a downward
course on all questions of public NOR
ais. Too much is being done to ele-
vate and educate and Christianlze
men, to justify any charge OF design
ed abandonment of strict morality.
But the most dangerous diseases are
often insidious in their approaches:
Count over the number Of public
questions that periodically make dis
turbance or sleep in guilty obscurity,
which are thoroughly grounded in a
rank disregard for the commonest
rules Of honor. The subjects are all
hackneyed, and review of them must
be necessarily trite. There are the
unpaid thousands Of dollars pledged
to the Indians of the various tribes.
A strong public sentiment in favor OF
not breaking the Nations pledges,
like that which is forcing us to solid
currency, would settle those claims in
twelvemonth. We would not allow
our promise with a foreign power to
go to protest that way.
Again, in several of the States va
rious schemes to repudiate portions OF
the local debt are regular features in
politics, and in too many cases the re-
pudiators poll the most votes. The
other day the Governor of Minnesota
told the young men of the State Uni
versitY that about twenty years ago
the State openly repudiated bonds is
sued in aid of certain railroad He
did not gloss the matter bit, He
said: "The worst repudiating South
ern State is a paragon of commercial
honesty when measured by the exam
pie Of Minnesota" But owing to the
dry-rot in public morals, there is
about as much prospect of an earth
quake as of payment of those bonds.
Still again, the statute-books are
not at all unintelligible on the subject
Of Sunday observance in most of the
States, and the majority of the people
would not annul them; but go through
the land and count each Sunday eve
ming the ''sacred concerts" )" the thea
ters, the immoral performances which
are publicly advertised in the news
papers and shamefully patronized
Within fortnight, in the New Eng
land city Of Springfield, where one
would expect that the shade of Jona-
than Edwards alone would force peo-
pie into keeping the peace, local pa.
per under the head of ''Too Much
Bowery" bemoaned the two or three
variety shows that were continually
outraging the moral sense of tho com
munity. And we can not but think
that the starting of a Sunday edition
by one of the greatest of American
journals is nothing less than a sur.
render of respectability to a debaseG
public sentiment.
We might continue this Indictment
by long bill Of undeniable particu.
lars, if it were necessary. The last
five years will be memorable in the
number of sacred trusts broken by
honored public men. The average
business man is much slower than Of
old to endorse the notes even Of his
best friend. The ''honor Of honesty
is not potent as it once was. There
was once a man who disturbed a gen.
tleman in the room below him by
walking the floor O nights. When
berated for SO doing, he explained that
his note to Jones was due, and he die
not have money to pay it. go tc
bed" was the reply, ''and let Jones
walk" This easy morality is evident
ly the creed of too many business
men.
This is not pessimism. We are not
going to the bad in mass: but men
are too content to pass over existing
evils, trusting that somehow they will
right themselves. We need to have
our eyes opened to the extent Of ou
sins of omission in not making more
aggressive fight for what is right and
noble and godly.