The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-23
The "Crisis In MOrals.n

The Present Crisis in Morals is so
sad, so serious, so terrible, in the opinion
of the New York State Conference of
Religion that its causes and conse-
quences were discussed with due gravity
by five clerical and lay philosophers at
the meeting of that body in this city on
Wednesday night
Now, undoubtedly there is such
crisis at the present time, for there is
always such crisis. Every moment OF
time has its moral crisis in the life of the
individual and of society A time will
never come when philosophers like those
of this conference will not find reason
to agitate themselves over a present
and peculiarly acute moral crisis of their
discovery, Things are always bad: at
least, there is always room for improve
ment in them The heart of man is
deceitfully wicked, as we know from
Scriptural authority. from self-exami-
nation and from observation of our
fellow men. Jals and prisons are never
empty Wars and rumors of wars are
ceaseess. Sinfulness prevails every
where, and at all times there is struggle
against existing conditions. Experiment
in social Improvement succeeds expert
ment, uninterruptedly, and the out
come is always the disappointment of
would-be reformers Moral crisis fol-
lows moral crisis, and the present crisis
| is always the worst, in the estimation Of
social philosophers like those in confer
ence on Wednesday evening The older
the world gets the more are these crises.
for there are more people to make them
and the changes in social customs and
methods are more frequent.
The particular crisis at present, ac-
cording to Mr.. NORWAY WILLIAMS, is in
business, and it will last until ultimately
pure selfshness will teach the great
captains of industry that better condi-
tons make better trade According to
Mr.. FULTON CUTTING, another of the
lay philosophers, it is in politics and is
due to the failure Of the " present repre-
sentative system Of government. be-
cause the people have risen to a higher
level of intelligence than their repre-.
sentatives.' Blu! how can that level be
high if the people have not intelligence
enough to choose representatives who
are up to it,
Municipal ownership" is a "highl,
moral principle in the opinion of Mr.
CUTTING, but manifestly the people ar,
not of the same mind or they would vote
for it and get it. If municipal owner
ship is a highly moral principle Fedora
ownership must be as high, or ever
higher, yet when the Democratic plat
form in this State gave the people
chance to vote for it they rejected tn,
ton proved nothing because our who'll
political life is poisoned by the spoil
system But how could the spoil
system or any other system proven
voting for the principle of Government
ownership and operation If the peopl
wanted to introduce it, Are they no
free agents and cannot they mark thei
ballots as they please in the seclusio
and secrecy of the election booths?
Philosophers of Mr.. CUTTINGS typ
usually discern the appearance of
moral.crisis, we have observed. whc
an election goes against their hobbies
Il DR.. LYMAN ABBOTT had been ap
II pointed to speak of the phase of tn
moral crisis which appears in tn
crisis in the home" but being an homes
man he confessed that he could discove
no such crisis. Homes seem to him :
be getting on all right, to be sufTerin
from no crisis. His observations lea
him to the belief that never at any tim
in the worlds history was home happi
, ness 81 great and so general as it
in America now. Undoubtedly. ther
never was a time when there was 5
much home comfort rs there is here no,
and there ia no other country in whic
the people have so much reason to b.
satisfied with their homes Comfort
and convcniences unattainable by tn
richest century ago, nay, half-centur
ago, are now universal Az Lady HENRI
SOMERSET observed during her reoen