The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-11-16
STREETS At NIGHT.
The Rev. Dr. scudder Tells
of Dangers Which Beset
Children There.
EARNEST WARNING 70 PARENTS.
Urges That Youths and naidens
Be Kept at Home After
Nightfall.
EARNEST WARNING 10 PARENTS.

at 6 h He took for his text, l TheS-
salonians, ", 5: rye are all the chill
dren Of the day. we are not Of the night,
nor of darkness"
He said. in part:-s'In this text as web
as elsewhere in Holy Writ. light is Severe
" contrasted with darkness-one being
made the emblem of purity and the other
the symbol of wickedness. This scrip
tura1 imagery is doubly appropriate. In
the first place the sign fits the thing
sfgnified. What is more beautiful n
healthful than sunlight? How pleasing
to our eyes! How inspirfting it is, driv-
ing the gloom from our minds with as
little effort as it chases the darkness
from the earth. How we push aside the
curtain every morning to ascertain If
Providence has given US a fair day, and
break into smiles If we see the sun! And
how singular it is hat our most sombre
thoughts visit us IS the light fades out
of the western sky and the shadows
close in upon nsi We don't like the
darkness. We were afraid of 1t in our
childhood, and one of the worst punish
ments our parents could infiict upon US
was to lock us up in a dark closet.
Our whole mode of life declares that
darkness is dismal and disagreeable, but
that sunlight is animating n Joyous.
And the same may be. said of the two
great moral principles of sin and holiness.
They are as diametrically opposed, both
in nature and results, as are darkness
and light. Holiness is beautifui in Itself.
sin is black and repulsive.
Darkness is a good symbol of sin, be-
cause most of the wickedness in this
world is done in the dark. It is at night
thai the desperate sallies forth to deeds
of violence and villainy; and it is night
tina drunkenness and debauchery hold
highest carnival. In the daytime deprav-
ed humanity skulks out Of sight. In the
very nature Of things decency and day
light go together. Very fifty then does
the Bible designate Gods children as
children of light and children of the day,
n call Satan's followers children Of
darkness. If wickedness superabounds
and is especially rampant at night, it
follows thai all those who are suscep-
tfbie to temptation should stay in doors
after lark and put themselves out of
harms way. AS a rule (of course there
are exceptionsl the place for. grown-up
people at night is in their homes. If
make a practice of staying out late,
trouble Of some kind Is almost sure TO
follow; and this permitting children to
run wild in the streets, from sundoWn
until ten and even half past ten o'clock
at night, Is the height of madness. You
might as well put a lamb into a cage 81
wolves and Wildcats as allow your M
nocent, unbalanced, easily influenced child
to spend its evenings upon the streets OIL
Jersey City.
IF this is your custom, father or
ran+ha,. 7 1ara mt Whn VIM are nor what
your station, | say your child is in dam
ger. and you are putting a premium upon
It's perdition. The kind of education our
is second to none in its demoralizing
power. / place 1t well up to the front
among the pernicious Influences of our
a aSdow Th IS B Bsass TIT Is s fafSer ,sh roof. as ana
encourages all kinds of mischief. ] have
no objection to children having al the
tween the close of school and supper
time, and according TO my way of think
ing no boy or girl should be allowed to
stay indoors in the afternoon. Our youth
should have at least three sunny hours
of fresh air n sport a lay.
Those children who now run at large
until ten o'clock at night and are suffered
to do as they please are certain sooner
or later to be thrown. into bad company
and become acquainted with many forms
of wsckedness and be gradually led astray
1880 = ~ ~
your boy run with these gangs of street
Arabs which go proving about the city
every night you win be pretty sure to
see him graduate in time into a first
class loafer. If he does not go so far as
to rob hen roosts and become a neighbCr-
hood, terror, he wifi soon be able to swear
like a pirate and have a choice vocabu-
larry of slang. filthy terms, which Will
stick to him as long as he lives. His
mind viii be 9 receptacle for all the
coarse jests and. Indecent stories known
to- the community. and feeling. that he is
not watched, being ignorant, inexper-
fenced and too young. to exercise any
into unwhoIesoIne practices. which bring
their retribution with them, and which
no amount OF repentance in later years
can rectify Little by little this boy that
the gaming tables and other ~disreputabie
resorts. It IS a bad. school, This night
school upon the streets, and | warn every
father and mother against its pernicious
education. 1t is a school Of vice and
Any mother, knowing what she does
OF life and its. perils and yet permitting
her daughter to wander about the streets
at night, must be on the verge of insan-
itys God pity her thoughtlessrless. You
may think II very funny, my good mad
anne, for your silly, knpw-nothing child
to be flirting with anyone and everyone
upon the streetF. bat let me say this. you
will live to see the day when you viii re-
gret your folly and curse the stupidity
@FNN " grant LIS unWaT-
rantabie license. There is many a heavy
hearted mother in this land today whose
daughters downfall was due more than
aught else to her own negligence, and her
flowlng tears can never wash away the
shame and sorrow begottens of her own
folly l would sooner take a flaming torch
and set on fire the clothing of my children
than allow them to go about the streets
at night and run the risk of becoming
slnged by the unhallowed flames of pas
sion which vicious surroundings are capa-
BILE of generating. There are many evils
IN society which we cannot overcome. be-
cause they are beyond our control; we
seem unable to PUT down the drink traf-
fic. or obliterate indecent literature: but
here is a crying evil within the power Of
every parent to correct at any moment.
There ~ a ridiculous notion afioat. es-
pecially among fathers. that It is we'll for
their Children to know VIVA evil exists
IN the world; and as they are sure to meet
Temptation sometime the sooner they meet
~ the better. This IS what they call the
hardening process, but / am free to say
4 regard it g fatal mistake. They are apt
10 Pc hardened the. wrong way. There is
a like1ihood Of their becoming hardened
sinners. 1 don't want my children to come
into CONTACT With all the devd1try that Hi
go1nK on az the world until they arS 0Id
eppnSM r. f1ght. We don't put bAb{a& into
~ pa12!ef1Sl9 Ma19f time ntQ{ Il ~