Evening journal., 1898-03-09

stil1 greater success, upon respectable
society. The average blackleg would
Gull his victims from the most ada
cent garden-plots and make heavy in
roads upon the virtue of mediocre So
ciety And the tough" or rowdy genus
would indulge his hlstful propensity
wherever and whenever the opportu-
nifty suggested itself. In short society
in general would be in state of ter
rorism. That would be the inevitable
and lamentable state of social affairs
all the world over were the door OF
each and every house of ill-fame closed
by process Of law.
We do not champion vice, least of all
the vice that is fair to look upon and
which insidiously approaches us cloth
ed in the exquisite raiment Of refine
ment. We are not sufficiently "daffy"
we believe that "daffy" is the latest
and most approved definition of in
sanity-'to lend ourselves to anything
of that kind. We merely view, with
feelings of more or less complacency,
certain existing conditions of evil, con-
ditiOns for which no man is directly
responsible And we have merely
stated what, in our opinion, would be
the state of society at large were those
certain present conditions, conditions
which are more or less of a necessity,
to be superseded by more ostensible
but ostensible only, moral conditions.
Further, we are inclined to question
the legitimacy OF the modus operandi
Of these Parkhurst imitators and to be-
lieve that much of the talk INDUCED in
by these prospective crusaders is ira
tional and characterized by "a plenti-
full lack Of wit" We dislike visionary
speculation Of any kind; it savers too
much Of that which is untenable and
absolutely useless and, as such, fails to
commend Itself to none save those
whose mission on earth is either to
build castles in the air or to strive,
with utopian-like effort, to scale the
very apex Of the Impossible.
Were these well-meaning mentor
they are all that-able, for instance, to
change the color of the skin OF the
Ethiopian, or to transpose thespcts dis
cOyerable On the coat of the leopard,
then they would, perhaps, be able to de-
wise remedial measures Of a practicable
nature, measures having for their
meritorious end and purpose the clos
ing Of the door of each and every house
Of ill-fame.
Someone has very wisely said
EVERY human life should contain
three kinds Of intelligence-uncommOn
4 sense, common sense and nonsense -
We fear, so far as this proposed cru-
sadie against vice is concerned, that the
| respective dCmes Of these wOuld-be cru
saders are largely and painfully cru
| dowed with the intelligence OF mon
sense" Visiting, spy-like and under
false pretense, the abodes of wicked
| ness. even though it be not to satisfy
a prurient curiosity, and thenfurnishine
! the public with detailed account oil
| the self-abandOn indulged in by th'
| inmates, is a most reprehensible course
Of procedure, brings into contempt th'
| cloth worn by these men and is calcu'
| lated to discourage the public from
| lending a helping hand to this speci
fic work Of reform. TIE policy OF per
mitting a sleeping dog to continue hi
slumber is sometimes an exceedingly
wise and diplomatic course to adopt
But as these men have taken con
! trary view, and imagined otherwise
1 II behooves them to at least emplo,
other and more manlier weapons Of at
tack. The Devil himself, with all hi
faults, scorns to trip us from behind
| He invariably goes for the mora
plexus. EtNl4Sl lolll'
Philadelphia, March 9. 1898.