The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-26
DEcADENcE or SWEARING.
Marked Improvement in Public
Morals In This Respect.
From the Chicago Times-Herald.
- 90.

do YOU sWear?' asked lohB-VlSd5eu
man of an applicant for work
mo. by - l don't" was the uneX-
pected answer, which lost the applicant
a situation.
THAT swearing is habit is eXemplifed
nv the readiness with which it is drop
ned when some other habit forces it aside.
The habit of slang has superseded that
of swearing; man being talking animal
uses a superhuity of words, and he likes
those which are in the nature OIL eplthets
and carry conviction with them. There
are degrees of profanity, and he suits ms
arrows to his outrageous fortune Inc
careful observer must have noticed the alb
sonce Of severe profanity from our street
and travel circles, very much less OF thaL
offensive use Of sacred names, an m
clination on the part of men and boys
of the loafer element to avoid loud scan
dalous phrases and profane retorts, ana
has. perhaps wondered what has brought
about so desirable a reform. No compan-
ion tablet TO the street car command, DO
not expectorate," has suggested, do not
blaspheme" But the fact remains to
gladden. the sensitive soul, swearing as a
habit is sensibly decreasing.
IN our literature the DASH dash, takes
the place of literal swearing, and some
very funny stories are told of the effect
on authors who feel themselves aggrev
ed when their double-faced adjectives are
softened down to meaningless hyphens and
blanks. The humorist of a paper once
tried to slip in blanks on a conscientious
editor-in-chief in this little story. A man
who had a temperance wife kept a little
brown jug under the side entrance TO his
house. which was screened from observa
ton and all went well until one day when
visiting delegate called, and Mr.. --
took him out to view the scenery and have
nip from the jug. But the jug was
Tn4a hos pnf n 1.fg L11a
and crawled far under and came back
empty handed. Looking ruefully at The
man he intended to honor, he said: IT'S
id seldom where that jug ISL When
the story came out in print it read; It's
seldom where that jug is" and when Mr.
Humorist ventured TO demonstrate with
the editor he was told to be thankful that
the seldom was left in, as there had
been doubts about that. In a story Of
current date a Well-knoWn army colonel
thus peppery punctuated sentence occurs:
Il shouldn't be surprised" said Canker
decisively, Ito find whisky still in full
blast or a complete gambling outfit-dash,
dashem to dash and destination"
When Mark Twain sent out his new pat
ented self-mucilaged scrapbook some
years ago he published series of testi-
monials from parties who were suppos ed
TO have tried the scrapbOok. One purport-
ed 10 be from a ministers daughter >"
I have never used a single oath" Mark
can swear solidly himself, but he does it
without malice, and with the most lady
like form of explosives.
Army rules are very strict concerning
swearing, or would be if they were en-
forced, which they seldom are. How could
they be when the generals of the army
are, almost without exceptions, men who
accentuate their commands with great
Oaths? Even Gen. Wash ngton swore with
such Vehemence on occasions as to fright
en- his subordinate officers into immedia te
discipline. 1t was the exception uf
Washington's conduct. and not the rule
and for that reason carried with il greater
power of persuasion Gen. Grant goes on
record as a non-swearer. Sheridan swore
huentY in the service and In social life
greeting his friends with red-hot oatn
of welcome that was to him tne very flower
of speech. The army oath is fearfuily
and wonderfully made with dash of
mule talk, jingling spurs and a peculiar
diablerle of its own that belongs exclu-
sively to army circles.
In 1879 quartermaster in the English
army had his sword broken over his head
was dismissed from the service. and had
his tongue branded with a hot iron for
using profane language. If such rules
| existed to-day in the British army, Kip
lings Soldiers Three" would not be TAX
en- as fair samples of the rank and file,
and some critic would be apt to write:
! don't know,
1t may be so,
| But it sounds TO me
Like a blink-banked lie.
Marjorie Fleming, that precocious child
! friend of Sir Walter Scott wrote a poem
on a bereaved turkey, which may be taken
as a specimen Of early profanity in poeti-
! cal garb:
But she was more than usual calm
She did not give a single dam.
Favorite authors OF past decades have
garnshed their conversations freely with
oaths and in their own correspondence
have not hestatcd to use the emphatic
1 language OF profanity Charles Lamb. in
writing to Wordsworth, used a familiar
prefix. which IS illustrated with two as
| and a connecting dash, but ne explained
that he only meant "decued" and soothed
! his friends feelings Dickens had one OF
| his characters employ the remarkable
| oath. "Ill be Gormed." Pope and Byron
| swore POLITICALLY, in rhyme, without rea.
son, nnd used the oaths Of pirates. A
| popularity Of those who accustom them.
| selves to profane language is that tht
| smaller the provocatlon the bigger che
oaths. making of the language Of invec.
tive gatling gun to blow up a hen.
| coop.