Birmingham age-herald., 1894-11-25
SOCIAL PURITY.
Sam P. Jones' Plain Talk on This
 Important Themo.
TEo same High Standard of Morals That Is Demanded of tho Woman Should Bc Required of tho Man-A
 Great Peril.
IcopYRIcuT 1se41


 have what we call our social problems,
 our political problems. financial prob
 lens and commercial problems, but we
 have met the crisis in American his
 tory, and the question of social purity
 is paramount to all. The mcralist, the
 enthusiast, the statesman the theolo-
 gian, in fact every man who stands for
 the purity of home, for the purity of
 womanhood, should now take hand
 and lend the forces and energies of his nature to the discussion of this subject.
 people may swing too far in careless
 ness and thoughtlcssness, until we have
 debauchel sentiment and unsafe
 ideas upon this question. Family tics,
 noble manhood, and pure and yirtu-
 ous wonlanhood demand that those
 who lead thought, and those who lead
 in the various professions and callings
 of life shall determine for the rank and
 file of humanity this great question of
 social purity. Overcome evil with good
 is not only command, but we have
 in hs command weapon by which all
 evil forces can be conquered or sub
 dued. Where social purity is lack
 ing, there we have the most debauched
 municipal politics, and the most 1agrant
 vices. Upon the word purity the very
 foundation of society stands. What
 ever is impure is cutting away and un-
 dcrmining the very structure of society
 itself We have in our country class
 of freethinl1ers. A man who thinks as
 he pleases will not be long in deter
 mining to do as he pleascs, and the
 world is turned adrift the day when a man or any set of men can think as they please until they begin to do as they please. There are boundary lines and limits to thought on moral qucs-
 tions as really as there are limits to
 actions in the social world. In some places we hear the remark: "fhe man who is pure in his life is an exception
 to the rule" If one-half the male part of humanity is debauched how long shall it bo until the tidal wave shall
 be strong enough to debauch the otEer side? God knows there are enough i'm pure women in America to-day. The shameless houses as thick as the lamp posts along the streets in all cur cities give expression of womanly impurity that,would startle the world if all their
 numbers could be gotten together and humanity look at one side upon the hundreds of thousands of rulned wom- en, and then, if there could be placed so they might be seen at another glance, the millions of impure men whose lives are disgrace to virtuous mothers and pure wives and innocent sisters.
 Social impurity is regarded by many as but one of the necessary evils. 41,s s1 +lo and manhood in that community is de- bauched. There should be written upon every lintel and door post of every American home: Nothing i'm pure can enter here" The virtuous woman looks with contempt and scorn upon another woman whose character is blasted. The lost woman is tabooed in all society of virtuous womanhood. No riches can adorn her and no trap pings can qualify her for entrance into pure society, and yet women who scorn a lost sister will give social recognition to the [man who is as guilty as the lost woman. "1t's poor rule that on't'work both ways" The act that ostracizes a woman ought to taboo the man, and any sentiment or thought that does not taboo both alike is vicious in it's tendency and harmful to society. Congressman Linen, of Mississippi, said to his colored breth ren on one occasion that God could not lift the African race to it's place in the world until the colored man thought moro of his wife and daughters and less of whisky.
 The very principle on which all good society is based, is in the declaration of man who says: ''I will never do towards any mans wife or daughter or mother, that which I would not have done towards mine." Every gentleman measures up to this standards; avaga- bond who does not so measure up, ought to be tabooed and despised on equal terms with his paramount in l crime A section of the city set apart, | allotted to vice like this, the troupe of
 soiled doves, the numberless be- bauchees, their partners in crime, call attention of thoughtful men and pray ing mothers and pure sisters to Q state of things which to them looks like an evil whose bounds cannot be marked. | But the line must be drawn. Preach CTS and patriots must alike take the platform, the pulpit and columns of the press, and agitate until sentiment
 shall be converted and conduct changed. Then, indeed, we will have
 right thought, and with right thought, there will come right action. verify believe that man can do wrong until his thoughts are wrong, and there can never be reformation of character un- til there is regeneration of thought with him.
 Social impurity in all its meanness is regarded as the theme of fanatic or the idealism of transcendentalist So much the worse for poor humanity. It is contemptible for man to say that
 every man has his price. If things go on, won't some fellow say, by and by,
 that every woman has her price? Then
 the foundation is gone. The super
 structure fallen Society is rotten at
 the bottom and the top, the buns and
 harlots at the bottom, and the gilded
 vicious leaders with their gang at the