News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-10-21
THE WHITE CROSS AND SOCIAL
PURITY
by FRANCES E. WILLARD.


the seaside. Going out blithely on
bright morning together. talkin
fhnrloh lnselyy~i ff1n1r- 5fnn=as1t faslio
along a narrow ledge where the pat
was more dangerous than they VIII
were unaccustomed knew, suddenly on
of them grew dizzy, became bewildered
her loot slipped, and with a pitiful an
sobbing cry she fell over the sheer PAT
cipice upon the boulders away down be
low, where the waters foamed and wcr
beaten into spray. And her young com
panion, rushing up the path, screamed
''Oh, she has fallen, she is lost; com
and help usl' She called the men O
the village near by, workingmen, VIII,
heard he sound of sorrow and of help
less weakness. And these kind hearte,
fellows took shutter off a house as the
passed along, went down a path yer
difficult and very dangerous, and in tw,
hours they had reached the place wher
this fir young life lay broken among
the rocks. they put their rough coat
over this shutter which they had brought
they lifted the poor tortured form, witt
barely the breath of life yet remaining
in it. to their shoulders, and so upon
this litter, in a sorrowful procession,
worked their way back to the village
again. And women drew their little
ones close 10 their sides, and said, "Ah,
see how sorrowful it is; she fell; she
was dashed to pieces on the rocks. u
And strong men were not ashamed of
the tears upon their checks as they said
so pitifuliy, "'She has fallen; she is lost
and yet she was so young and fair
But every day in this nation, the most
civilized and the most blessed on which
the sun shines, from height infinitely
lOftier, down to depth that is fathom-
less. lair young ladies, growing be vii
de. ed, slipping over tue Drink, f Ill into
ruin that we have ca led remediless,
fall into their shame and degradation
We have seen it happen, aud have not
lifted up hand to prevent it. At least
| speak for myself. Ispeak for my own
sorrow and regret that in past years
thought this line of reformatory work,
of which | am speaking, had no part
nor lot in any work TO which l would
put my hand.
have not come here to defend
specifically the cause of women. hat
never interested me as a separate consid-
Grafton. he two fractions, equal S
they are that make up the integer of
humanity, have interested me always
equally. have found one nee ed more
help. | have found one was irving to
work with the left hand, grasping the
short arm OF the lever. ] found women
Lad never had falr chance in the
world, and so | gladly dedicated nv life
to their cause. But ever and anon the
thought of the cause of manhood came
to me with equal power. Ii is the human
question have been speaking about this
hour and always. Man and woman rise
or lalt together, dwarled or Godlike,
bounG or free. When men asked me in
1874 why did not work for women. |
answered that | did. When we bring
out the pledge and offer it to men whJ
are under the bondage of drink, we are
helping the women who love these men.
They seemed to think | had made a.
toierabie answer, but they were not
quite salts fed and said, ave mean wo-
men that no one seems to care about. :"
so a ter awhile we helped to start the
Martha Washington HON in hi ago.
and the RehObotn, and we made efforts
to rea> h these women in a di ettant.
arms length fashion, which was not
special J successful
When this grand movement came
which made it possible for me to speak
and you tn hear, with none to criticize
except the brutal and the base, when
this change came over the spirit of the
dream of our people, then we dared to
do Whit in our hearts we had wanted
to do always. Do not tell me that wo-
men have not cared for the down
trodden and oppressed. They have not
dared, that is Just tue truth OF the mat
ter. Noble ladies have written me
from New Orleans since l took up this
work, and said they were glad we had
the courage to do so, but they could not
touch 1t in the Crescent City.
Whoever touches the origin of the
social evil has come very close to the
origin of the evil itself. That the world
has lost its equilibrium we know right
well; that it shall regain it only when
there Is different law upon this sub
ject, many CT US believe That time
shall come when Christ's law shall be
observed by Christians, to say the least.
He said TO the woman overwhelmed
with shame, Neither do l condo mn
thee; Go and sin no mare" and to the
men who s.ood up in their pharisaical
independence, ''Let HIM who is without
sin among you cast the first stone. -"
Thus by the guiding lights of science
and the New Testament. with their law
o. equal purity for two, we shall come
out of the wilderness, and into the
blessed daylight of new and glorious
dispensation That is why | believe so
much in the new movements which
Chautauqua has don more than any
other institution to inaugurate and EN-
biazon before the people, viz, educa-
ton, industry, and self-help for wo-
man.
The time shall come when the daugh-
tiers of America, with bread winning
weapons In their hands, with wide OFT
loOE, and the possibilities of grand
and Independent career, whether in the
smaller or the larger circle, shall be able
to turn to the young manhood of Amer
lea, aud with hearts inclined. as they
always are, toward the sweet and sacred
pathways of love, marriage, and the
home, shall say to him with whom she
would gladly share her life and destiny,
"YOu can not have tobacco and me; you
can not have strong drink and me; you
can not have impurity and me-" Gap
pause.) Then such men as are found in
the Chautauqua audience will be not the
exception but the rule; then tine man.
hood OF the nation at large will reach
the height that purity insists upon; then
shall come the blessed, sacred. pure.
home lie, the fair, sweet future that
Christ wants 10 see in our republic. 1t
is coming sooner than many of us
think.
Primeval and medieval man out of
his seltishness and cruelty wrought the
law of virtue for one-half the human
race. Christ coming in our modern
civilization, shall work out virtue as the
only tolerated law of the other half of
the human race.
The principle is that prevention is
better than cure, and | will read to YOU
tie White Cross pledge. We print it on
cardboard and also on white satin rib
bon for book mark. 1t bears the white
cross and the shield of the crusader, for
the whole idea of the heraldic sentiment
in its best meaning is applied to this
present crusade. The cd crusade
sought to redeem the sepulcher. this
seeks to restore the beautiful lilies in the
heart redeemed to Christ In the midst