The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-01

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: would not recognize it. / am ignor-
an. Oh their passwords, and / must
!uase entirely from the outside. But
oniise mas given us rule by which we
may Judge not only all individuals, but
gu socleties, secret and open. by
'heir fruits we shall know them" Bad
socletles make bad men, Good socie-
ties make good men. A bad man will
hot stay in good society. A good
man Will not stay in bad society.
lhen try all secret societies by two
or three rules.
Influence on Home Life.
lest the first: Their influence on
nome, If you have home. That wife
soon loses her influence over her hus-
pand Who neryously and foolishly
LOOKS upon all evening absence as an
assault on domesticity. How are the
great enterprises OF reform and art
ana literature and beneficence and
puDllc veal to be carried on if every
man is to have his world bounded on
one side by his front doorstep and on
the other side by his back window,
knowing nothing higher than his own
auto or lower than his own cellar?
mat wife who becomes jealous of her
husDand's attention to art or literature
or religion or charity is breaking her
own ,scepter of conjugal power l
know an instance where wife
thought that her husband was giving
TOO many nights to Christian service,
to charitable service, to prayer meet
lngs and to religious convocation. She
Systematically decoyed him away until
now he attends no church, waits upon
no charitable institution and is on
rapid way to destruction, his morals
gone, his money gone and, fear, his
soul gone.
Let any Christian wife rejoice when
her husband consecrates evenings to
the service of humanity and of God
Or anything elevating, but let no man
sacrifice home life to secret society
life, as many do. can point out to you
great many names of men who are
guilty of this sacrilege. They are as
genial as angels at the society room
and as ugly as sin at home. They are
generous on all subjects of wine sup
pers, yachts and fast horses, but they
are stingy about the wives dresses
and the children's shoes. That man
has made that which might be a
healthful influence usurper of his af-
lection and he has married it, and he
is guilty of moral bigamy. Under this
process his wife, whatever her fea-
lures, becomes uninteresting and
homely. He becomes critical of her,
does not like the dress, does not like
the way she arranges her hair, is
amazed that he ever was so unroman-
tic as to offer her hand and heart.
There are secret societies wnere mem
bership always involves domestic ship
wreck. Tell me that man has Joined
certain kind and tell me nothing
more about him for ten years, and 1
will write his history if ne be still
alive. The man is wine guzzler, his
wife broken hearted or prematurely
old, his fortune gone and his home a
mere name in the directory.
Evils of Bad Associations.
The doctor coming in will at a
glance glance see it is not present dis dis
ease he must fight, but years of fast
living. The clergyman, for the sake
of the feelings of the family on the
funeral day will only talk in religious
generalities. The men who got his
vooht Il, tho o+or,o1 ,,p;de will ,,o4 ~
at the obsequies. They have pressing
engagements that day. They will send
flowers to the coffin, will send their
wives to utter words of sympathy, but
they will have engagements else
where They never come. Bring me
mallet and chisel, and 1 will cut that
mans epitaph, Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord?" mo" you say
that would not be appropriate Let
me die the death of the righteous, and
let my last end be like his?" mo-" you
say. that would not be appropriate"
Then give me the mallet and the chisel
and will cut an honest epitaph, "Here
lies the victim of dissipating associa-
tions!"
Another test by which you can find
whether your secret society is right or
wrong is the effect it has on your secu-
lar occupation. I can understand how
through such an institution a man can
reach commercial success. I know
some men have formed their best busi-
ness relations through such channel.
If the secret society has advantaged
you in an honorable calling,it is good
one, but has your credit failed? Are
bargain makers now more anxious
how they trust you with bale of
goods? Have the men whose names
were down in the commercial agency
AL before they entered the society
been going down since in commercial
standing? Then look out. You and
every day know of commercial estab-
lishments going to ruin through the
social excuses of one or two members,
their fortune beaten to death with
ball players bat or cut amidships with
the front PROV of the regatta or going
down under the swift hoofs of the fast
horses or drowned in the large pota-
lions Of cognac or Monongahela. That
secret society was the Loeb Earn.
Their business was the Vile de Havre.
They struck, and the Vile de Havre
went UNDER!
In the LAST Hours.
Which would you rather have in
vNIlr hand wbon wa, oop,o +o d;o n