Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-07-20

/ must ne severe ana sanTulne temperament
indeed VINO can behold with complaconcy
the unbridled lcence with which some ne VS.
papers CT our tmo arc literally running
a-muck in Amoricn.
There is n class Of publications and fear
n constantly increasing class whose columns
TEEN day by day with every sickoning scan
dial that the prurient energy Of filth can
gather from the four quarters of the world
! The viler the scandal the more eagerly is IL
sought for, the more infinitely Is 1t detailed.
To such publications as these the privacy OF
the home circle is no longer sacred. The
populations of the noblest mon and OF tho
purest women may at any moment be
blackened by the breath of irresponsible
caumny. The man VINO enters public life
docs at the sacrifice of his privacy end
| the risk OF his reputation. The wisest and
most patriotic statesman may take up such
sheet at any hour to fiud himself de-
nounced as fraud and demagogue-or tho
most eminent surgeon ss quack AMI a
charlatsn. Tho minute details of the daily
| life of prominent men and women are laid
bare with unblushng effrontery until right
minded people turn from the exhibition in
the utmost disgust and alarm.
Concurrent with these indccencios Gil
sorts and conditions of perncous 'isms'
| born of infideiity. rebellion and sin are fos.
, tered and advocated through column after
column of red-5ot print. Tho Socialist"
! tle Anarchist, - the inf lei and Atheist
each has his newspaper organ through
which he bricks his anathemas against God
nud government and the laws OF society,
and scatters the poisonous seeds of dscon
tent, hatred md rebellion brondcast to the
winds OF heaven
| is this a part of the free lom for which so
much blessed blood was shed Is this the
liberty of the press that tho fathers of the
republic guaranteed to their poster.ty for
ever
! What words could paint the emotions of
one OF them il it were possible Tor him to
como back from his sojourn amid the goodly
company OF the immortal dead, to find the
flag o: HI, country floating above establ, sh-
meuts from which Is advocated the aboli-
ton of property and this forms OF govern
ment, to find That banner nutterins where
the harbors of the republic arc throngsd
with foreign faces--of men to whom the
language of the constitution is en unknown
| tongue and to whom our institutions are
| ncompreheusible mysteries-and to find
! pubic prints entering tn. homes of the re
! pubic for all eyes to read, which in his
purer and more patriotic day would not
! have been tolerated across the thresholds Of
| 10 respectable houses in America
An, gentlemen, would he not sxclaim that
the liberty no had helped to guarantee was
being turned into license that threatens the
existence of those very Institutions, 10 es-
tublish which he pledged his life, his
fortune" aud his sacred honor p Yet,
let it not be forgotten that there exists a
brighter side 10 this picture. Against
the class to which | have referred may be
! al
integrity aud enterprise AMI ref act honor
| upon the republic-whose pages contain no
scandulous ndecencies-which pauder to no
vitiated moral or political sentiment, whose
news columns ars clean and reliable and
whose editorials are TIE thoughtful work Of
intelligent and patriotic men.
This class OF journals comprises the bal
anco wheel of our syste the true educa-
tor and benefit TO humanity-and it Is one
OF the chief hopes for the future welfare Of
the republic. Every patriotic man in
America should old in uplifting its power
and extending its influence. What course
should mon pursue who sec and appreciate
tie dangers have referred to?
Gentlemen, lot me again remind you that
you are sovereign citiz MS of the might
lest empire of this EARTH and that cit-
asnihip ia fraught with vast respop p
sibiity as itls with splendid privilege
y GU to whom | speak tonight are edu-
Gated in the greatest Of oil arts the art
| preservntive-tae healing science that puts
| fresh vlgor into the shattered and enervated
human system and guards it against recur
! romeo OF disease. The physician i, not
trained for public life, in the ordinary ac-
ceptation Of that term, he rarely enters it,
but no man has such opportunities for
!
lie enters into the most sacred precincts OF
the home life OF his people, he touches
its inner and most holy sauctuaries. Anx-
| ious and trusting hearts await his coming.
Ready hands do his bidding. His word IS
the law. He brings the secrets of life and
death-hope is in his tootfai, aud hea ing in
his hand-snd lie Yields an influence and
commands respect that reaches beyond
the sick chamber and takes root and bios
SONS in many lives around him.
How is that influence to be exertel For
the purposes of personal advancement only,
Or, i'll addition, for the publication and up
| lifting Of the liyes aud the conscences
around him? There can be bat one an
swer from every sincere and honest heart.
Therefore, my countrymsn, l adjure you to
take constant interest in the public affairs
OF your couutry-not as politicians but as
|
public opinion-to heal, so far AS God shall
give you power and wisdom, the wounds of
the body polite, as you would heal the
hurts Of the human system, and to set reso-
Lutte faces against a continuance Of that Ii
cense that mocks the liberty for which the
blood OF your fathers and OF inc was free
ly shed.
Fight quackery aud dishonor in the public
press, just as you would fight them in your
profession and every whore. Discourage by
every means in your power the introduc-
ton to the homes of your communities Of
these licontious and poisonous influences
which enervate the public conscience and
debauch the soul Of the citizen.
Such, | apprOhend, is a part of that
higher education which your Alma Mater
has sought to bostow upon you-to educate
you not only as competent aud Learned
physicians, but over and beyond that, as
patriotic and public spirited American cit-
Zens
| pray Gods blessing on her work-tha at
her sons and the sons of her sister institu-
tons may 60 forth from the lecture rooms
equipped 10 hght not only their own battles