Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-06-11
COURTESY IN CHURCH.
Is Politeness Instructive and Unborn. or a
Mere Convent .~Iae

Is PoIiteness Instructive AID Unborn. or
Mere GoI.V.nt.~He
As the sweet. sacred music foatea
above the heads Of the congregation
and welled and reverl,erate,l among the
fiuted pillars thar upheld the groined
roof Of the cathedral great light
seemed TO fall upon the soul OF the re-
porter. who was comfortably seated in
d well-appointed pew. lie looked a bout
him and observed that many women
were standing here and there. For a
moment he forgot that he was in
church i faint suggestion of the car
surface or elevated-fiaShed across
his mind. and. acting as though he
were in one. he arose and offered his
seat TO the nearest lady. With sur
prised smile she thanked him. where
upon il occurred to him that he had
done a very unusual thing. As q mat
ter of fact his thought was true
AS he stood in the aisle he saw bout
him many ladies standing and many
men seated. For the first time he
realized that he had often seen the same
thing before, and ii had never occurred
TO him that there was anything out OF
the way about tin church. He. who
never allowed woman to stand in
car when he had seat to offer her, had
frequently done 50 in church and
thought nothing about the matter
The reporter. as he stood unconscious
" listening 10 the swelling peals of the
organ, preached little sermon TO him
self. What, thought he. IS this thing
We dub politeness? Does II come from
the heart. or is it merely initiative and
conventional? Are we polite because
we are taught to be so, or is ii an in
stinct of civilized man TO be gentle and
courteous and unselfsh? Every day he
saw men raise their hats to women in
the streets or offer them their seats in
the cars. Was it due to respectful
reverence for the sex to which mothers.
wives and sisters belong. or was il
merely superficial "a conventional
habit taught ii childhood? AS
he looked around the church
and saw women standing while
men sat throughout the service. he
was forced to conclude that courtesy Is
not inherent: that men are polite be
cause initiative. and that selfshness is
paramount in the heart OF man even
before the altar OF God.
The men he saw seated around him he
knew would not let women stand in a
car then why in church? Probably
because it was the custom and no one
condemned it. There are, il IS true.
many New Workers who keep their
seats in cars while women stand They
argue that as distances are great in this
city and business day is very irl1some.
that they. the tired bread-winners. are
justified in resting. while a woman.
who IS ont but a few hours for pleasure.
shopping or recreation. should take her
chance with the rest, and she Is not
obliged TO be there. The logic. if I'M
gallant. IS irrefragable. But il can not
apply TO the church The business
there Of men and women is presumably
to worship God. The body is not tired
with the turmoil Of business. and the
heart should be softened while gentle
emotions stir the breast If there are not
seatI enOugh for all it would seem to be
but natural that men should give way
TO the weaker sex: to the women who
are wives, mothers and sisters. That
they do not do 50 indicates that polite
ness IS not instructive; that il is mere
convention. To be polite men must be
taught and be made to act unselfishly:
they must be shown wherein they are
selfish. They are like sheep, and in the
absence of a leader. or leaders, do moth
ing but huddle together, not knowing
what to do.
As the reporter locked down upon the
sweet uotherly face Of the woman who
had accepted his seat. vision OF the
multitudes Of women he had in his life
time allowed TO stand in church arose
before him. Their faces were not re-
proachful, but his heart smote him. He
thought OF his own mother and sisters
and of his lost Lenore, and the fact that
so simple an act Of courtesy had never
occurred to him before brought before
him. with vividness that was startling
and unpleasant. the fact that he was a
man. As the last words of the benedic-
ton fell upon his ear he realized that
the only sermon he had heard that day
was the one he had preached to Himself
N. y. Press.