The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-29
The Heron Episode.

| The HERON Episode.
The adventures and performances of
| Prof George ID. Heron, Socialist, in
| New York and Boston. seem to have
| stirred up a sort of tempest in a teapot;
and newspaper controversy over his
character and conduct has begun in the
/ columns of a New York paper One
| gentleman wishes to know what Prof.
| Herron's divorce from his wife has to
| do with TIE value of the gospel which
| he breaches; and another rejoins quite
| sensibly, that ii may or may not have
anything to do with that, but it certain
| ly concerns the question whether his
social position is good or not. 1t may
| be added that a man who arises before
| an assembly of Harvard alumni and
students to deliver a vituperative
harangue against that college could
! only be considered a gentleman by a
/ mighty stretching of that term. Prof
| Heron may not like Harvard, but it is
not pretty in him to come before the
Social Science Club of that university
as its guest, and tell his audience that
their alma mater is a bloodsucking
to villainous greed, and so on. Decent
society recognizes obligations which
Prof. Herron's type of socialism, appar
| emily. does not. Among them is the OBJ
legation to be reasonably polite to ones
| hosts.
AS to the question of Mr.. Herron's
private life. 1t must be admitted that
this materially affects the question
whether or not he shall be recognized
as an equal by men of Intellectual
prominence and standing in the COM
munity. Society has its laws. and while
these should be elastic, in order not to
shut out a really good and conscien-
tious man on account of his unconven-
tionality- of thought. and SO lose the
benefit which his originality of view
might afford to others, they should not
be so badly strained as to lose all con-
fornity to the general laws of right
and wrong in human conduct. There is
no way of Furnishing offences which are
morally but not legally wrong except
by the unwritten law of public senti-
ment; and this is shaped only by usage,
and by the action of those who by force
of character and largeness of achieve
ment are recognized as leaders. The
reason for the punishment of offences
against the moral code is obvious. 1t is
not so much a matter of judging the
offender as Of preventing offences. If a
reckless youth is encouraged to believe
that he can marry a good young girl
and subject her TO all kinds of insult.
neglect. and outrage, without society's
taking any cognizance of it, he is likely
to do il whenever there is inducement
in the shape of a fortune or anything
else. IT, on the other hand, he knows
that such behavior on his part will be
visited with severe punishment in the
shape Of ostracism and loss of social
position and the privileges which go
Herewith, he is likely to think twice
before committing the offence. 1t is
just as unreasonable to say that
charitable disposition should lead one
to be forgiving to such an offender as
to argue that murderer, thief, OF an
incendiary should be allowed to go scot
free. Society has no moral right TO be
lax in its judgment. Its obligation is
rather 10 be strict, but to be strict in
the right place; not to punish the vic
tim and reward the offender not to I
place restraint upon generosity and al
low selfshness and license free course. (
According to report, Mr.. Heron has ]
behaved in a way which no decent man
should approve: and he does not i'm {
prove his case by parading himself |
about New York and Boston as the dis
penser of new and holy social gospel /
1t may be true that a mans private life |
does not affect his work, when il comes \
TO art, science, or political economy; |
but in matters which involve ethical |
problems the private life of the preach
er is most certainly important