The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-08
'|MMODESTY DOOR THROUGH WHICH ALL WOMEN PASS DOWN" Dr. Stuart Begins Series of Sermons to Young Men and Women at First
 Methodist

Yesterday morning Dr. George R. Stu art, pastor of the First Methodist church. preached his first sermon of a series which he will deliver to the young men and young women of Birmingham His subject yesterday morning was: Dan gers That Threaten Young Men"
 His sermon yesterday morning was se- rious, though full of "Stuartisms," and lie was greeted by full house.
 pr. Stuart chose for his principal theme yesterday two women, Vashti and Es- ther, taken from the first chapter of the book of Esther. vashti, the queen who surrendered her palace and her throne to preserve her modesty. Esther, who be- came queen following Vashti's election from the throne, who would sacrifice her life for her people
 T can think of no greater picture that I would paint, were I an artist, than that of Vashti, stripped of her throne, her honors, her jewels, wealth and lux ! uries, walking down those stairs from her palace she was leaving-standing in her womanhood, for she was vacating her place as queen because she would not remove her veil and stand before the
  break this sacred custom of her race. She fought the battle for woman's mod esty. Modesty is woman's citadel. When her modesty is gone. she is practically dead.
 'Immodesty is the door through which all women pass when they start to fall. The preacher hardly dares to mention in his pulpit the things that are depicted in the magazines and leading journals and fairly pushed into your daughters faces Shall say it-I feel that must the beauty and the sweetness and the glory of womanhood, of our American homes is seemingly being sent out to play to the lust of the low incarnate hu- man devils of the streets
 Esther gave her life to her nation. She was patriotic, and yet her nation was worth it. Esther told Mordicii that she would take her life into her hands and go to the king and tell him that he should not put all the Jews to death. She did this when she violated this cus- tom.
 sss'The trouble with our young women of today is that they are thinking only of what they are going to get out of this world and their fathers and mothers are also thinking what they will get, and fairly putting their daughters on the stage to be bid for, for certain things. AT cannot help but think of Helen Could here-the rich woman who has spent most of her life and lots of her money, building Y. M. c. As for railroad men. She was approached by one of these railroad men who stated that he would shake hands, but his hands were too dirty. She smiled at him, grasped his hand until she wore the most beauti- ful gloves in the world-the gloves of efmoot, made by honest toil--gotten through shaking hands in brotherly love.
 @s'But there arc so many of these little Hips everywhere you turn-not women, just little Hips that would like to blow them over when I ru nacross them, but there are so many that it would take all my breath. There are three "F's' that always cause trouble-fads, follies and fools, and 1t generally takes rich per- son to start a fad for they have plenty of money-money also means culture. power-power to organize and to debut with too much luxury, ease and idle ness there is very little power left in anyone.
 1T will give you three of the little things and they start with I1-luxury, loafing and littleness. You know that the way the women go out on the street now it is enough to cause us to wonder these things they wear are 'chawed off at the bottom and schawed off at the top, too-so you don't exactly know what to say about it." remarked pr. Stuart in conclusion.