Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-27
DENOUNCED GRAFT.
Cardinal Gibbons Says Publicity is
Cure for Corruption Evil.

the present condition of society exists IN
this country said Cardinal James Gibbons
yesterday in New York. Whenever there
is an amalgamation of great capital
large collection of men interested in one
money making concern, there Is sure to be
corruption. 1t is not new story. 1t is
story as old as the worlds history. The
only reason that it comes much to the
fore at present is that >the methods of its
detection are daily growing stronger.
corruption has always existed. Cor
rupton, l am much afraid, will always
exist as long as human nature yields 10
the attributes that lead to temptation
The bright spot in the whole swamp of
present moral degradation is the fact that
the degradation is made known. Corrup-
ton cannot exist nowadays without being
discovered after a while The greater
the evil the greater the possibility of rem
edy. And that possibility of remedy has
now become such assured fact that 1t
counterbalances almost the evil which the
present condition of money madness ere
ates.
The fear, the dread of exposure, is the
counterbalancng element. and that fear.
that dread, that horror of having a name
once respected dragged down is due to the
efforts of the metropolitan press.
1T may not be good theology, it may not
be good ethics, but it is certainly very
good common sense. and a very good
moral element that the fear, the dread of
exposure in the public press keeps many
man sticking close to the path of recti-
tude who otherwise would stray off into
the byways of personal graft
Cardinal Gibbons is spend ng the sum
mer away down at the further end of
Long Island. in the modest little rectory
of Father O'Hara, who is the pastor of
the local church at Southampton. In this,
one of the oldest settled spots in America.
where even the road signs tell you that
this particular one was opened in 1868, the
m " a "a n a m r.
lea is lounging away the brilliant wind
sweet summer days. Off to the east the
Atlantic ocean pours in its Aood of salt
laden ozone. The surf thunderS on the
beach From the other hand come the
winds of New England, balsam laden with
sweetness. The sand dunes rise and fall
in a seemingly unending reach of barren
pillows. Clear skies, w!nd-swept dunes and
the eternal roll of the ocean are the play
things that his eminence has c4osen for his
summer recreation.
What do you consider to be the great
danger threatening the United States at
the present timer was asked
THAT in a general way is rather a diffl-
cult question TO answer. and | cannot an
swer II as l would like to. / am down here
in d state of lethargy. / am here TO rest
and breathe the salt wind that comes
sweeping in TO US over three thousand miles
of ocean. But in a general way it is my
opinion that the great evil of the day Is the
lax regard given to the marriage tie.
THE increasing and prevalent misfor-
tune and evil of divorce is horrible thing
to contemplate. 1t Is such an awful up
setting of the family ties that If 1t is al
lowed to continue society will be in con-
dition that should never exist in civilized
nation. 1t is not that the evil is so great
with the man and the woman who sepa-
rate and renounce their marriage VOWS.
The evil is one of heritage.
Its confusing and embarrassing condi-
tons and the degradatiOnS fall upon the
children rather than upon the parents. If
ont. haV eli O oh rr11lS
perforce bear the fruit of the obloquy. No
spring rise higher than its fountain
head, and the parents are the fountain
head of society If their manner of life
falls below the level the children mu!F
suffer for their neglect and weakness.
That means the disruption of the home
and the disintegration of the family. Now,
every great society, every fine social condi-
ton depends absolutely upon the moral in
tegrity of the parents and the home. When
that is brought to a low standard, society
itself must come to an equally low or
you think the evil of divorce. then, is
a greater evil than the evil OF corporate
corruption?"
Il do, because corporate corruption, as L
have already explained, rights itself by It's
own wrong.
Would a uniform divorce law throughout
the country help matters?" =
ENTHUSIASTICALLY South Dakota. in Its
divorce laws, is now a blot upon the Union.
If all the states could have stringent d.
vorce laws undoubtedly the evil would be
minmized OF course, | do not believe in
divorce at all, and | do not believe in d.
vorce laws But ! believe in anything that
will lessen great evil The church sane
tons separation from bed and board, but
1t does not sanction divorce as it is gen
orally known
DO you approve Of the agitation by
women in the Catholic Church in New
York who propose TO osraclse all divorces
from good society,""
Il think the idea and the spirit of the
movement are all right, but now far 1t can
be carried out in a practical way is a ques-
ton Suppose for instance that Mrs. A.
gives a reception and invites Mrs. b.
Among the other guests at the reception
is Mrs c. and Mrs. c. is a DIVORCE. Now
Mrs. b could hardly know that she would
meet Mrs c. there and it would be quite
impossible for her 10 draw the line against
Divorces under those circumstances OF
course a woman can refuse to accept an
invitation from a divorce and refrain
from asking a divorce to her house. All
that is simple enough. But when II comes
to so conducting herself in social affairs
as to keep entirely out of touch with
DIVORCE the situation becomes almost i'm
practicable. Undoubtedly the women who
have started this movement are very
ciety deeply at heart. 1t is only qut 5 ion
of the ability Of human nature to dlffer-
entiate and draw fine enough Inc
DO YOU think the accumulation OF great
fortunes has been am incentive to d.
vorce?"
Undoubtedly the accumulation of great
wealth has been the incentive of all kinds
of wrongdong, divorce among the rest.