French Broad hustler., 1918-03-14
GOVERNOR BECKETT
IN STRONG ADDRESS
DECLARES DOUBLE STANDARD
OF MORALITY, DAMNAsLE-
NATURE KEEPS BOOKS.
HOLD SIXTH ANNUAL MEETING
His Address Before Conference for
Social Service Wins Wide
commendati0n.

"The double standard OF morality is
damnable. The colossal folly OF the
ages is the belief that a man may sin
against his body, and then about face
and wipe 1t all out with a sigh and
tear. He can't do it. Nature keeps
, books, and with a heavy hand collects
every debt contracted by sin or folly.
In the economy of nature there is no
paCdoning power; we may look for
mercy beyond the grave; here there is
none"
So declared Governor Beckett speak
ing before the North Carolina Confer
ence for Social Service, his subject be-
ing "State and National Efficiency"
Expressing the belief that the object
of the Conference is to get results
rather than to conf1ne itself to the
realm of purely academic discussion,
Governor Beckett spoke straight from
the shoulder in language that could
not be misunderstood, his address be-
ing the outstanding feature of the first
day of the Conference.
For one of the few times in his ca
-reer the Governor read his speech
from carefully prepared manuscript,
delivering the words slowly and with
! impressive forcefulness, the while his
audience sat tense In silence unbroken
until the round of applause that greet
| ed his conclusion. He said in part:
"The AtheRians were not peculiar
| people in their fondAess for new gods.
The Israelites revealed a trait Of char
acter common to mankind when they
shifted their religious allegiance be-
cause as a war measure the food ad-
ministrator ordered them to substi-
tute mamma for onions and garlic. In
the presence Of discomforts and dis
! appointments 1t is hard for men and
nations to hold to the faith that the
sources of power and Joy are simple
and the same yesterday, today and for
ever. To power add Joy and there is
wholesome efficiency. The unfaiIing
source of this combined happiness and
force Is the home builded in the fear
of God and on the unselflsh and un-
bounded love, Of a good man and a
good woman. The anchor and the
hope, the sword and the shield of CIV
ilization are found in
1.-The wee colt and the cricket's chirr,
The love and the smiling face Of her >
destroy or in any way discount the
power and the joy of the home, and
the devil will find world plastic to
his touch.
"The most powerful incentive to q
man to be clean and strong, to be and
do his level best is the perfect love
and perfect faith Of the woman who
walks by his side, and the finest force
in the life of the woman is born Of
such perfect love and\ perfect faith
Such faith, like mercy, is twice bleSt
1t blesses the woman who believes
and the man who is belieIed in.
Whatever tends to conserve and to
justify this boundless love and bound
less trust, this relationship of mutual
helpfulness and mutual dependency
between the man and the woman at
the head oS the home protects and pro-
notes personal and public efficiency
Any fact. or fancy, reform or revoiu-
tfon, that tends to discount this basic
relation and send the man and the
woman along separate ways in quest
of happiness or Of the fullest and An
est expression Of their lives under
mines the foundations of all life, Of
love of law, and is costly at any price
Double Standard Damnable.
"Every child has a God-given right
to be the final expression of a great
love, and not a mere by-product OF q
heartless convention. The vigor and
the purity, physical and spiritual dy-
namics of those who make marriage
vows fix the measure Of personal and
ultimately of a national efficiency
The double standard of morality is
damnable.