Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1899-04-21

the age, especially in our mining
towns When Holy Writ admoish-
es us to abstain from adultery, forni.
cation and all its concommitant evils
1T made no difference betwee male
and female adultery. 1t may be
generally known that a young man
abuses himself with all kinds of
dissipation, and spends much of his
time With, aDd iuoney on, the DESC
Lutte Nni aoani)ned ones of the
opposite sect, all the week and then
takes young lady from one of the
best families to church on Sunday.
Is this right Let reason, common
sence and judgement answer.
While on the other hand, the
female wko once departs or seems to
have departed irou the path of virtue
and rectIt Iie, Is abandoned as an
harlot and kicked out of society and
the demon who started her on her
way to ruin is the first one to assail
her character. The demon who Wis
It's the family under the guise of "a
friend and gentlemen and wins the
confidence and esteem of the inno-
cent girl and takes the advantage of
and abuses her love and confidence.
my pen falterS to describe a punish
ment too severe. And yet there are
hundreds of such cases and then she
she is left to herself TO meet the
cruel shafts of scorn and contempt
that are hurled at her from every
quarter. L see the girl whose mo-
uves were as pure as snowflake, ia
an unguarded moment, allow one
privilege after another, unit. before
SIZE is aware OF it she is on the
broad road to ruin, father forsaken
her aud mother turns her back upon
her, none to caress or advise her.
none to admonish her to retrace her
steps, and feeling like David did
when he said no man cares for nv
soul. She is driven to desperation
and from bab TO worse she grows
until she loses all self respect, rolls
in the gutter, finds congenial spirits
only In the brothel, and in the prison
she spends much of her time. and
converts-the image of God in which
she was made into brute.
Oh my God My God when will
the church people wake up to a
realization of their duty to these
poor fallen creatures? To see a
young girl whose person and gen
eral department show she is cultured
and has seen better days, and who
carries in her countenance the hooe
of an afterlife and yet in her teens
behind the iron bars with all races
and classes is picture that makes
my heart ache. Why not have a
reformatory for these yet under 20
years? When once they are started
in such life, and have them cared
for and educated and trained and
taken from the scenes of their fall
and and started again. My brain
grows dizzy, my inauguration reels,
and my tongue falters to tell what
could be done for these fallen crea.
lures. More than once I have seen
the rosy cheeks aud girlish faces of
from fifteen to twenty years behind
the iron brrs and shedding the bitter
oriney tears over misspent life,
The last time visited our State
prison we had 1868 persons in our
penltentiary and their average age
was 70 years, and to see the beard
less boys and the bright eyed girls
yet under twenty years, said in un-
mistakable terms our churches were
not doing their duty.
To err is human, but to forgive is
ChrIstlike and divine. We cannot
afford to take these while in their
wayward course, into the bosoms of
our families, but We can show them
that we love them because of their
Immortal souls within them and
heip them up and start them again.
David. the man said to be a man
after Gods own heart, could not
nave stayed IN any of our protestant
churches to day, and lived as he did
portion of his life, but how he
signed aud mourned and wept over
ms past course and at Last d;ad :.