The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-02-20
Enhance Morality of Manhood.
Editor of The yirginlan;

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Sir--Noting the public condemnation of the
double standard Of morals by prominent body
or Richmond women, / am led to study the
subject in view of finding causes While there
exist I believe the chief one is the lower social
value the world has placed upon the morality OF
manhood. The fields furnishing abundant proof
of this are many.
In much of the standard literature we find
the value set upon morality OF manhood low
when compared with the valuation of the
morality of womanhood. writer In bequeath-
Ing essential traits of character to young people
does 1t in this way: let all our sons be brave,
and all our daughters virtuous" In a stand
ard dictionary the author in defining the ad-
jective "virtuous" adds that "tt Is applied es-
pecialy to women" In educational institutions
this vast difference in valuation has unaues-
tionably existed. A weli-founded tradition is to
the effect that Thomas jefferson, whose chivairy
we cannot question, thought society should con-
cede more moral latitude to man than to woman
And Milton's college mates, for examples, taunt-
ingly call him "the lady because he advocates
a single standard of morals. Is 1t an exaggera-
ton to say the majority Of moral teachers and
public speakers place different emphasis and
values upon the morality of the sexes? Would
we have no grounds for saying some fathers
have such regard for the morality of their
daughters that they will shed them to the
limit of their power, and at the same time
have such little regard for the morality of
their sons that they will encourage them in
wantonness? Civil law bars the door OF the
g1ided saloon to woman to protect her. and
opens 1t wide to wreck manhood. The average
chiyalrous man would consider II an Insult TO
womanhood to picture OF woman on a
pottfe or WfiSkey, but Is slow to regard the same
offense as an Insult to manhood. If woman
smokes a cigarette, the New Worlds
friend, Publicity" assails her, but the press
takes little notice of the banefu offense
committed by man: his character is unaf-
fected. Consider unlawful and unsacred reia-
tons Of the sexes Society demands both par
ties to suffer dishonor But the is dis
honored because of the loss of ersonal purity.
the man not because of the loss of so sacred
a possession, but solely because of the element
of crimnality Though he may be youth
several years younger than his companion in
sin, the same rule holds. Virtue is held up
to the young girl a goal of life. but for the
boy, other personal attachments often re-
garded as more important. Until recent years
| small messenger and errand boys were re-
quired to enter saloons and brothels in dis
/ charge of duty think IL a universal truth
that the amount of concern by either or
woman in acquiring personal possessions Is
proportonate to the social appraisement of
such possessions
Taking q broad view of the subject from
the standpoint of woman, we find she is more
protected by law, warned by sentiment en-
ciety, and in addition. has less inclination to
any form of Immortality From the stand
point of man the restrictions in the realm OF
social control are less stringent. To speak
plainly, separate standards implied in the
TACT that the State and public sanction allows
more temptations to exist for man than for
woman.
In expressing my views as / have I would
not depreciate in the least the sanctity of wo-
manhood and the high social valuation of her
morality. But / do believe there is Injustice
done both man and woman in undertaking the
sanctity Of manhood. Further ! can but believe
that social conscience will result from the
evident change Of the legal and social status of
woman necessitating a better adjustment Of
this difference. To doff the threadhare cloak
the morality of one is more necessary than
the other-would do a great deal towards equal
izing the moral standard
Nashville Tenn.