The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-22
THE GOOD OLD DAYSOF YORE
REV. ADDISON MOORE PREACHES
AGAINST PESSIMISM.

Believes the World is Crime
Gambling Hundred Years Ago-Inter-
esting Specimens of the Good Old Times
Intelligent Mep Are optimists.
AT the First Baptist church yester-
day morning the pastor, Rev. Mr..
Moore, preached on the subject rs the
World Growing Better or Worse?" The
sermon laid bare the falsehoods of the
pessimism which asserts that the world
is growing worse, and was listened to
by large and interested audience. He
spoke, in part, as follows, from the text
found in Rev. 1876, 1.-THE Lord God Om
rejoice"
1--WE are to-day witnessing a revival
of the pessimistic prophets Of evil It'd
ings, who assert that things are grow
ing worse; that times were never so
hard as now; that music is beautiful
only to the hysterical; that our novels
have a degenerating effect; that the
great poets are all dead our statesmen
are pigrnies compared with those of
bygone times, our government is cor
rupt, and we are losing our freedom,
and things are generally out of joint.
''Pessimism is the road to the grave.
1t takes away the courage from the
heart and the strength from the arm.
Pessimism is no new thing, however.
1t is only very big name applied to a
very childish thing. 1t is the same
thing that prompts the child to break
it's tin sword and toy soldier when in
petulant humor A whip will usual
ly cure the child, but when the child
grows up into manhood this outbreak
is dignified by being called pessimism.
Is there a foundation for pessimism or
is there any rational ground for op-
timisn? Is there in the heart of the
ages, in the hold of this old ship of life,
some energy which is driving us on to
some higher goal of life.
I'm answering these questions let us
make a, comparative study Of things as
they were and as they are to-day I'm
1890 the arrests and the imprisonments
for counterfeiting exceeded all the ar
rests for all crimes in the United States
in 1896. In Delaware they hung the
counterfeiter In Connecticut they crop
ped the ears. The cry Of the insane
prisoner Is husned only py Hosslns anu
solitary confinement.
'In 1902 the London Post advertised
wives for sale, and there were Instances
Of women being auctioned off for a.
nominal sum in those good old times
In Washington's time twenty crimes
We're PuiiIsheu VIII uealh' ny" oiiAS
two. murder and treason.
We are justified in saying that vice
to-day as compared with a hundred
years ago has decreased. LuNuries
were IeWef tllaii 'ney aie 'u-uds
ness the improvements OF ngntlng anu
the improvement of fruit culture:
In 1910 the death rate IN New Raven
alone exceeded the death rate to-day or
New York's most congesteo tenement
district. But the lost arts IS tne hihse
Of the pessimsts complaint. history
is not repetltlon OF the arts oI uays
gone by, as many assert.
"A thousand dark secrets Oh the IN
QUESTION have been lost, out not one OF
the useful arts or peheliclal institutions
of government. You cannot pe'pesslm-
istlc relative 10 the rum lIaiiic anu
gambling, even IN comparison WITH
what 1t was one hunured years ago,
although there is nuch 10 oe oeslreo
still.
I'm 1900 library was FOUNDED at
Harvard out OF the proceeds OF lot-
terry. In New Jersey church was
founded out OF the pfoceeos OF traae
in rum and molasses, afterwards invest
ed in lottery. Duelllng was also COM
mon.
Churches were dedicated win rum
and the use OF II was the proper tii,lis'