The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-29
THE USES OF PARKHURsT.
An Eau Claire Correspondent Takes
the Doctor to Task.

An Eau Claire Correspondent Takes
the Doctor to Task.
To The St. Paul Globe
For what purpose DR.. Charles Parkhurst
was ever permitted to come into existence
has long been enigma among those who
believe, a DOGMA that the Lord made
erything, but also-like st. Augustine and
Artemus Ward-have felt the difficulty of re-
futing Mancheeism whenever they thought
about measles, New England rum, expansion
ists la grippe, and DR.. Parkhurst. To such
bewildered souls. the Doctors peregrinations
in New York saloons, and your appreciative
criticism on the same will come like doors
from Araby the Blest. The utility of Park
hurst consists in that maiden freshness Of
soul which, after all his subaqueous re-
searches in moral cesspools he never fails
to emerge clothed with, like mud-hen. That
innocence, remarked by your critic, which
in any one else would be greenness, but in
Parkhurst always stops short Of being brighter
than toadstool color, secures him atten-
ton when he chances to utter truths such as
the hypocritical world would stop it's ears
against If they were spoken by someone who
knew what he was talking about That the
saloon Is social necessity" for example,
that it is ''the poor mans club" that many
a ''rumseller" isn't half bad fellow that
spontaneous kindness and unaffected SYM
pathy are more easily found outside the
pomoerium Of respectabiity than inside;
these. and other equally dangerous doctrines,
have always, we know well enough. been
commonplaces in 1.-The religion of all sensible
men, The security of humbug has consisted
in this, that sensible men never make their
religion known. A purely esoteric creed. con-
veyed only by those already initiated, to one
another, through the medium of their pc
culiar symbols, it could have done nobody
any good had not some maraudng fanatic
like Parkhurst broken into the sanctum
sanctorum and ridden away on the goat. Thus
far, the ways of Providence are clearly in
dicated. But some obstinate advocate OF
Satan may possibly say: Was 1t necessary
for Providence to employ so vile an instru-
ment?" If the time has arrived for the reli-
gion Of all sensible men to be promulgated in
the name of decency, would nothing make 1t
go but another uncorking of Parkhurst? 1
answer. in wise. Had either wiser or a
better man been entrusted with this revela-
ton, it would have fallen as fat as the
fable of the bees. To reach the class Park
hurst addresses, one must not talk common
sense, but inductive demonstrations founded
on such experiments graced his memorable
visit to Madam Hattie Adams. Furthermore,
if any one less renowned in the practice Of
what his friends call his methods had pro-
claimed his results, that tyro would only have
been set down for an apostate. No one but
Parkhurst has reduced the gospel of prurient
folly to uncompromisng practice. Except
Parkhurst, therefore, no one ever lived who
could be held entitled to light it's funeral
pile. The effect Of his experience is seen
in the recent utterances of such men as
Bishop Potter and Gov. Roosevelt. The justif-
cation of creative wisdom is complete The
world could have got along no further without
that crookedest of odd sticks called Park
hurst. &C. L. James.
Eau Claire, Wis, jan 26, 1899