The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-12-22
The Vice of New York.

OF unlawful amusements, such as gam
bling and others, New York has her full
share, graded for all classes of society, from
the gilded palace on Fifth avenue down to
the dens of Water street. There is lar
more of vice and immortality than in Bos-
ten or Philadelphia. 1t is more open, more
general and more fashionable. In some re-
spects it is worse than London, in others,
perhaps better. cannot see that republic
can institutions affect the general morality
Of our cities in any favorable way whatever;
if anything, the influence is unfavorable.
There is less inclination to execute or toll
crate repressive laws. The old idea of stern
republican morality has long since been
forgotten, lift ever had any actual exist
ence. In the towns and villages there is
some trace of it. The general standard of
morality in these is higher than in Europe,
and it is an advantage not to have the evil
example ofan aristocracy which considers
itself raised above the moral law. In the
cities there is an aristocracy of wealth
which is worse than that of birth. As in
other aristocracies, there are noble
examples of Christian manhood and philan-
tliropic spirit among the wealthy men of
our cities, There is more readiness to give
away money for benevolent purposes than
can be found in any other part of the
world, This spirits not confined to relig-
ious men, although They are the principal
them. But in spite of all tire good that can
be said of New York, it is no better morally
than the great cities of Europe. If we
contrast it with the towns and villages of
the part of America, the difference is very
much greater and more unfavorable than
would be found in contrasting village and
city life in any part of Europe with which
| am familiar This is due, however, to the
corrupting influence of wealth, or to the
failure of Republican institutions, TO secure
good government and high morality, but
quite as much to the fact that New York is
not an American city. The majority of the
population is foreign. The worst of the
immigrants landed upon our shores remain
there, and there is no form of vice known in
Europe which they have not brought with
them and domesticated in this city. One
sees something of this in London, but,
in spite of its foreign population, London
is still an English city. Its vices as
well us its virtues are distinctively English.
do not mean to imply that there is any
better or more attractive in the vice of Lon
don than in that of New York. On the
contrary, it has always struck me as more
brutal and repulsive. !, have never seen
hnylll1lR III any Otiltr city WHICH
shocked me 50 much as sight
Saw in broad day in street lead
ing from Southampton row on
one of my first visits to London. Two rag
ged begrimed, drunken women were fight
ing in a ring Of 20 or 30 men, who we're
them on. The very fact that they
were all English made their filth, profanity
and brutality more repulsive. could not
help feeling sort of nalresponsibility
for it, | have seen other such scenes in
London; but have never happened upon
one Like IL ia Nca York. NOR have 4 ever
heard criminal amusements defended and
justified by men of good standing in soci
ETY., as have In England. Every form Of
does in London, but 1t does not present itself
to the eye and ear in SO repulsive manner.
1.-THE Contemporary Review.