The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-19
THE WOMEN ARE TO BLAME.
REV. BAsCOM ANTHONY AsCRIBEs
PAUCITY OF PIOUs MEN TO THEM.

Pastor of Trinity Tells the Women
of His Congregation of Some of
the FaiIings of Their Sex-In Their
Failure to Perform Some of Their
DivineIy-AIIOtted Duties He Finds
the Answer to the Question, .'Why
There Are Not More Pious Men,"
Politics, Business and society Take
Up So Much of the Time of the wO-
man of To-day That She NegIects
Her Children.
Rev. Baseom Anthony preached at
Trinity Methodist Church yesterday morn
ing an earnest and impressive discourse
upon one of the controlling issues of the
day. The theme was "Why There Are not
More Pious Men" The arguments con-
tanned in the sermon were intended for and
directed al the women of the congregation.
1.-The difference between men and wo-
| men," said Rev. Mr.. Anthony, lis not so
much in the physical as in the mental and
| moral attributes of the two sexes Though
it has been said that woman is built in
curves, the lines of beauty, and men in
angles, the lines of strength, the real dis
| Iinguishing and differentating character
| istlc lies deeper than the outward form. "
That it exists, however, there can be
| no doubt. That il exists is not to the
credit or the discredit of either man or
| woman, but that the difference is there
| is too self-evident to admit of argument
on the subject. Woman is the idealist of
the race; her moral attributes put her in
touch with all that is best in nature, hu-
| mainly or religion and her mental at
| tributes place her beyond the reach of The
lr.1a 81
trusts naturally to her intuitions and in
| nine cases out of ten she is right. Loving
she inspires love; trusting, she inspires
confidence; believing, she enforces and
commands belief"
Then, too, woman by the very nature of
things is thrown in closest touch with the
| life of the young of the race. Through the
days of their youth the good woman is the
inspiration and the lesser divinity of her
children. their mentor and their standard
of all that is pure and sweet and noble
So il is that both by her nature and by
the laws of the universe. woman is the
natural guardian of the children. 1t
would seem that heaven had so censti-
tuted her that she is best fitted for this
work and then confided the work to her
hands The morals of all children. their
conceptions of right. their religious train
ing and their religious power for good
flow from the lessons implanted in their
youthful minds by some good mother. Is
the woman of to-day living up to the full
measure of this duty? Is she doing what
she ought 10 do. what heaven has con-
manded her to do, to maintain and i'm
prove the moral and religious condition OF
the world.
II think not" said Mr.. Anthony There
are many things in the life of to-day that
lead women away from that sphere for
which they are intended by the divine
will, in which lies their greatest power r,
good and which they are best calculated to
ornament and adorn. They are engaging
in other pursuits, they are neglecting tho
ties of home. and their children are suffer-
ing from their neglect. They are decreas-
ing the number of godly and upright men 3"
''In the first place here Is this everlast-
ing cry for woman's rights. Women want
the suffrage; they want the right to vote
they want an opportunity to play a part
in the political life of the nation. Now in
my mind the objection to this does not
involve any question of the ability of a
woman to vote correctly and properly
/ suppose she could vote just as intelli-
gently as a man, and that she could per-
form the necessary amount of labor re-
! qdired with the same ease with which she
would purchase spool of thread My OBJ
lection is more deeply rooted. When wo-
man mixes in politics she neglects her
home and her children. She neglects the
x
banking business and goes to peddling
peanuts"
And then there is the woman in bus
mess 1t is not in my mind or my heart
to object to any woman making an hon
est living, but / cannot help thinking
that the participation of women in bus
iness activities, their rivalry and compe-
lition with men in the busy marts of
trade and commerce, tend TO lessen their
| love OF home and TO cause them to neg
lect their children"
Next come woman's social aspirations
and ambltions-a third menace and the
| most deadly OF all her modern avocations
to lure her away from her home and to in
duce her to neglect the moral upbuuding
of her children. The social life OF to-day
Is at a high tension all of the time Re-
ceptons, card parties. theater parties
dinners and dances follow each other in
rapid and unbroken succession. Life TO
some women means round OF social du-
ties, in the performance OF which the du-
ties she owes to her family. and her God
are forgotten or disregarded. The mean
ing OF moderation Is unknown to her.
THE children. Of such women suffer
from the lack of moral instruction and the
woman's failure robs the child Of The best
things In life. Man holds n good woman
next to God in his heart and there Is al
ways one woman who occupies the highest
and the sacredest niche in the altar of his
affections In his childhood it IL bls
mother and In his manhood II Is his wife
| These women are his standard of good
| and right, and IL they fan what IL the boy
| or the man TO do. His Idol * shattered ana