The Chitina leader., 1913-01-28
ears ago. A gradual gain is being

pressive swearing may be at times, it
lacks intelligence. 1t makes no fine
distinctions. The same blasphemous
words apply to great variety of de-
tested things. If one kind o. an oath
meant an expression of great physical
pain, as for example when a hammer
misses the nail and hits the finger,
and another kind of oath meant that
you regarded the person to whom it
was addressed as lying scoundrel,
there would be more reason for a
continuance of the habit of swearing.
Americans are better educated
than they were when the swearing
habit was stronger with them. They
are more careful about their speech.
1t is not true that the educated do
not swear, but it is true that there is
less swearing among persons that are
educated. The uneducated person,
lacking a desired word to describe
pain, disgust, hatred or some emo
ton, breaks out in oaths and exple-
tives.
Religious restraint has had some
thing to do with the reduction of
swearing, though some years ago
when the churces seemed to exercise
a wider, or at least a more direct in
f1uence than they do today, swearing
was commoner than it is now.
In our colonial days swearing was
regarded as a grave offense and many
laws were made to punish the plas-
phemers, though it is doubtful if any
of them did as much good in that
direction as the regulation of Captain
John Smith of Virginia, who good
Inaturedly poured cold water into the
sleeve of the wearer. Captain Smith
thought it we'll to cool off the James
town emigrants who became hot
headed and took a holy name in vain
A common mode of Furnishing the
swearer in early New England was to
put him in the stocks. Sometimes
blasphemers We're publicly whipped
and sometimes they were fined. In
Virginia the parson was the
prosecutor in one case or record
History tells of Hazard student vino
used disrespectful or blasphemous
words about the Holy Ghost (presum-
ably he gave expression to skepti-
cism) and was for that whipped
solemnly before the public. That
| is to say, there was a prayer before
the whipping and prayer after it.
Death was not too severe a punish
ment for heresy in those days and
the Hazard student probably escaped
severer punishment because of his
youth. A Unitarian was branded on
the forehead with a OBJ for bias
phemy if he denied the Trinity in
Maryland for the second time. The
punishment the first time was bor-
ing his tongue for giving utterance
to any denial of the Trinity.
Wien Virginia sent out expeditions
against the Indians, the soldiers were
ordered to refrain from profanity,
and the Massachusetts company
wrote from London to Endicott to
make good laws for the Furnishing of
and blessings of God might come to
swearers" in order that the comforts
the plantation.
But with all the prohibitions,
threats, punishments and promises of
eternal perdition, Americans appear
to have held to the habit of swearing
pretty steadily until fifteen or twenty
years ago, when they became more
careful of their speech. We have
learned other ways to express our
passions. We are more definite
about it. Perhaps we do not give
utterance to our feelings as often as
in former days. We have more self
control and self-respect and more re-
spect for the feeling of those whom
swearing offends.
Mr.. Wilson's announced determine
ton to put none but progressives on
guard is, of course, promptly met by
the declaration that 1--WE are all pro-
gressives now" At least unail after
| the jobs are handed out.
-x-X-X-
A Boston woman announces that
she will supply wives for bachelors.
But statistics indicate that she would
| go further toward meeting the local