Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-26

be closed, while the alleys are lett Wlue
 open, or in licensing saloons on certain streets and avenues while prohibiting it in others. church sees no moral sick
 ness in taking up some pure, Virtuous girl and trying her for dancing, or in pouring hot shot of condemnation into it's members who go to theaters or play cards, while allowing to go unmolested some of the pillars of the church who rent houses for barrooms and prostitu- ticn. An individual sees no moral sick ness in what he does to others, but when it is done to him the disease is plain. And so in all the relations of life, from the individual as a unit to the world as the whole. We all know that universal cosmopolitan standard of morality, ac- knowledged and accepted as such by the | world, does not exist Therefore, there | is and always will be, until such standard is accepted by the world, racial, | national and governmental differences l of opinion as to what is moral health | and moral sickness. The same applies l to less extent to communities and in | dividuals of any given commonwealth. | Some of these differences are due to an honest, conscientious difference in judg- ment, while others are nothing but | hypocritical efforts at justification for wrong doing.
 The acquired causes of moral sickness I may have been acquired by previous | generation, which to succeeding ones is hereditary; thus parents who are slaves 1 to drink or the opium habit, the result of
 | their own conduct, impart to their chill 1 dren this acquired thirst and craving; | therefore what was acquired by the pa rent is inherited by the offspring. The | offspring, giving way to this craving, | which to them is natural, imparts the I same to their offspring in a greater de-
 gree, and thus from generation to gener- ation the predispoSition is intensified. un- l til what was once strong, robust self | Ifaf fof flfr hnn nvf1n | moral wrecks. In the same way nation, | family or individual may acquire wrong l principles and opinions, known at the l time to be wrong, but to meet some gen. | eral or special demand are accepted;
 thus the existing generation has allowed 1 an alloy in its code of morality; this if
 not eliminated is accepted by succeeding | generations as the genuine. In this way
 l change after change is effected, until the
 l whole code is an alloy. In this way civ
 | iliza tions nations and religions rot and | decay. It is a notable fact also that
 | special predisposition to particular dis
 ease subjects the individual to an in- creased predisposition to other and en- l tire1y different diseases The same ap-
 | plies to the predisposition to moral sick | ness; what was acquired as single form | of moral sickness in one generation ap- | pears in many forms in the succeeding; | or what was acquired in early life as a single form of moral sickness will winden and multiply as age advances. Thus an acquired avarice may end in stealing; | disagreeable temper in murder; simple | immortality in outrage or in dishonor.
 These previously acquired predisposi- | tions are the result of environment; the attack of moral sickness to an opportu- nifty; the environment causes the predis- | position to, and the opportunity is the' | exciting cause of the attack. To illus | trate: The predisposition to consumption se t,,1, fo1 ha r essential cause is the bacillus of Koch. Without the latter there could be no con sumption A supply of the bacillus, then, furnishes the opportunity for the predis- position to assert itself-no bacillus, no consumption. man has inherited or acquired a great thirst for drink; the ex- citing or essential cause of his drinking is alcohol; supply of the latter fur nishes the opportunity for the thirst to assert itself-no alcohol, no drunk enness. The environment and op-
 portunities of men. in a ,l given selves. Therefore the whole prob lem of preventing moral sickness, so far as human agency can go is in the mak- ing of such environment as will best pro- tect us from our natural or 'orlglnaF in-inheritance-and in limiting oppor- tunites to indr r'~r the predisposition. This means ilization that has a standard of what is right and wrong; code of morality in which there is no all Joy. except that of human imperfection; religion that Is universally accepted as its creed. and a patriotism that main- tains these, without fear or favor, by every means in it's power.
 To this end the right thinking of the world have striven and, in my humble opinion. the general result is progress in the right direction. The personification of evil Is the devil; bg ic ho individual Snvprp;PntV of man, with the inherent right to in- dulge his evil passions and prOcliVities to their fullest extent, regardless Of the rights and interests of others; selfshness is his instrumentality.
 The personfication of good is God, whose creed is the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, making of the whole, individually and collectively, re- sponsible intellgences. with limitations as to what is right and wrong, He alone being the rightful sovereign therefore the master of the universe. His instru- mentality is love. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as myself" Each of these has erected in this world a temple. That of the devil has for its corner stones ava rice, malice, licentiousness and intem- perance, and upon which has been built a superstructure out of the ruin of na- tions governments, communities and in- dividuals. Over the entrance is written: Love myself! Damn thy neighbor! That of God has for it's corner stones love, faith, hope and charity, and upon these has been built a superstructure that represents the virtue, the morals, the integrity, fidelity and good of na- tions governments, communities and in dividuals, over the entrance of which is written: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" Through which entrance, gentlemen, have we passed? upon which are we to work? Are we casting upon the devils temple ruined fortunes, ruined characters and broken hearts, or are we adding to the beauty. grandeur and glory of Gods temple by deeds of brotherly love and kindness? When we all work upon the latter we are accomplishing the will of God, and we are destroying all predispos- ing and existing causes of moral sick ness and curing those who are already victims. How to accomplish this IS the