El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-04-20

@ATS the Grapevine sun: II our
forefathers could come back 70
- earth they would want TO get right
off again. This Is no place for them.
High prices would bankrupt them, leg
shows would blind them. political rot
tenness would stagger them. and the
greed Of gold wo1id nausests them.
No; this is no place FOR our forefath-
ers-good. honest souls that they
were"
This is the pet opinion OF the ances-
tor wOrshipper. And all Of Us are to
some extent ancestor worshippers. II
is perfectly ratural that we should be.
De mOrtuis nil nisi bonum" (of the
dead nothing, unless good) is a maxim
that We live up 10 sufficiently TO wipe
out a great deal Of the unfortunate
record OF the past. Our histories are
written TO glorlfy rather than to por-
tray the country in which our fore
fathers lived and which in some meas
ure they made.
All Of this system OF zlorifyine the
past comes down To each of uss per
sCnally in the form OF respect for his
own parents We number among our
friends a scholarly gentleman whose
father died when our friend was 4 baby.
about his father and by persistent cross
examination through 20 years he has
learned that his father had just one
fault-he sometimes came late 10 din
ner.
We do not object to the honorins Of
father and mother and grandfather and
grandmother unless IL lead Us into the
error Of thinking that all human frailty
is confined TO our own generation. We
are urged by no less an authority than
Benjamin Franklin to be at war with
our vices so we may a. well admit we
have them but IL is silly to think that
none Of them were inherited. The
most intelligent study OF history will
teach US that the world tends to grow
better rather than worse. Peering back
just little WAYS into the DAYS of our
when slavery was not vet abolished,
when Imprisonment for debt flourished.
when the labor movement was regard
ed as anathistic and fair DAYS toll {
was from dawn to dark. We viii come /
to the tire when a wOman's job was
the most thankless and toilsome exist T.
snce imaginable while her rights We're /
lil and her privileges existed mainly /
n song and story
Charges I'm the Indictment.
Let us, just Tor the fun Of il. take J
~ one by one the charges in the in
'ictment Of the present age which has
ust been quoted.
High prices would bankrupt them"
-et US remember that low prices bank ]
-upted many OF our fOrefathers and 3.
made the wage OF their toll, merely the ]
iweat IL produced. II there are high
'rices today II because OF the influx
OF gold that has upset the counting
systems OF the world and led to extrav-
sances that might as well be curbeo
ven if in the process some OF the in
.ocent suffer. The future welfare OF
he nation is at stake.
Leg shows would blind them" We
ather doubt II. We are inclined TO I
hink they would hasten 10 the box Of
ice Let US not forget that prudery
I the childish and cruel sort that was
nee the accepted public opinion Of
many parts Of this country caused
bout as much suffering as the looser
ablIS OF today. Let US recall that
While today the divorce is an acknowl-
dyed evil there was a time when =
woman was disgraced II she obtained a
ivorce even though any jury OF rea-
enable humans would have given Il 10
her and acquitted her Of any part Of
he cause that brought il about And
ct US also remember that in the same
titles where those prudes lived and !
hrived and built up such q public
opinion that We look back or Il and 1
100 flourished the red
light district that finally developed the
White slave trade that this wicked gem
lprOOted- Let us remember that this I
eg show admiring generation has
,assed more legislation Tor the bene- 3
IL OF women workers than all OF tine
preceding generations nut together. ,
ct US remember that the sexes arr
thrown together more Unfortunately .
oday han ever they were iu the pas. .
md that all Of the records tend To 4
how that promiscuous relations be
ween them are decreasing rather tAau z
iams leg show admirers are movins