The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1913-08-28

hotels and lodging houses protes
| that it is useless to keep up tn
fight for decency while disreputabl
) houses under police protection max
/ eXorbitant profits. Students of Ell
| genics find sexual immortality tn
| CHI eff hindrance to racial improve
ment. Turn where he may within
any field of legitimate human endeav
or and we run counter to this de
structiye force: we discern new as.
poets of Social Emergency.
an the face of this Social Emer.
gency, there are but few who offel
no complaint. They are the white
slavers, the pimps and the panderers
the imbeciles and feeble minded
among their victims, the keepers Of
bawdy houses, the respectable own
ers of property used to promote the
joint business of drunkenness and
plPSIiJuJlOll, utdltlS III lIluOl, IiuhlS
ipal officers and police who protect
vice for a living, fake doctors who
thrive on ignorance and spread dis
ease, and newspapers that make such
criminal business possible through
advertisements accepted at eXtraor-
dinary rates
ITO begin with there is the his
tory of the question. Many genera
tons have Joined in the conspiracy
of silence in matters pertaining to
sex and reproduction. The result is
widespread ignorance of matters of
the utmost importance to the indi-
vdual and the race-ignorance of
which many gold people are proud.
During these generations IN which
the home. the church and the school
have withheld the truth from young
people, other agencies have been busy
disseminating falsehoods. Having al
most no opportunity to hear sex and
matrimony discussed with reverence,
our young people have almost in
variably heard these subjects dis
cussed with vulgarity Partly as a
result of all this has come the gen.
eral acceptance of the double stand
ard of morality which has bitterly
condemned the girl-made her an
outcast of society-and excused the
boy for the same offense on the
specious plea Of physiological neces-
sity. With the sanction of this dou-
BILE standard, tacitly accepted by
society, the majority of men have
grown up in indulgence, and have
developed habits which are, or which
they believe to be, beyond their con-
troll. Millions of men who recognize
no law in sex life but their own
appetites are thus contributed to us
by the past. They are factors in
the present situation and must be
reckoned with
"As matter Of fact the educa-
tional phases of social reform are
of the most Immediate importance
Nothing can so profitably occupy
the attention of social hygiene So
cieties as the education of the pub
Ec. If groups of social workers come
to serious disagreement on other
phases of the present emergency
If the discussion of restricted dis
tricts, minimum wage laws, health
certificates for marriage, and re-
porting of disease divides the group
INTO warrflg camps-all can unite
in favor of spreading certain truths
as widely as possible; and it is not
difficult to agree on at least a few
of the many methods which have
already proved effective in education
al campaigns.
AT the outset of our attempt %
educate the general public in matters
of sex, we face certain factors which
govern the scope, time, place and
method of any successful efforts
Failure to give t hese fcators due
has brought many at
tempts to early and unhappy ends.
and convinced some people that ig-
norance is safer that such education.
mo aspects are more important
than those concerning morals and re-
ligion. The restraining fear of dis
ease may and probably will be thrown
off by science Whether education
in scientific aspects of the subject
will do good or harm in a given
case depends on hte extent to which
moral and religious ideals control the
conduct OF the individual. The mad
euuacy of mere inform, ton in mat
ters of sex is painfully evident.
To the knowledge or what is right
must be added the will to do the
,F Ia