The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-02-14
RES THERE IS A MIR. HYDE IN THE LIFE OF EVERY MAN

aspirations of DIR. JekyIi stevenson
was not in fairyland when he wrote
DR.. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde. Mr.. Hyde
Ii alive today.
There is in the hearts OF men a
force which chains them and drags
them in the dust Society Is organ
Jed around the idea that men have a
x>AS&SlA s~k->4..s~,s Il. M1... { s..s 4 ID. ".
back" OF every social and every Grim
inal law on the statute books You
may not like the doctrine of original
sin. but unless you are a moral idiot
you cannot deny the fact that there
Is an Unborn tendency to sin.
Paul said, What hate, that do.
1t Is no more / that do 1t, but sin
that dwel1eth in me. For the good
would, I do not: the evil would not.
that do. 1 ind a law when / would
do good, evil Is present see another
the law Of my mind, bringing me into
the captivity Of sin"
There are thousands who can SUBJ
scribe to the statement Paul makes.
who appreciate the sorry plight or
DR.. Jekyll, when they have reached
the point where Mr. Hyde has
dominated.
IIAotcn. Inc etUky mas a ray OF
light. Your viii Ia still supreme; it
is sti1 the pivot Of your destiny.
You may say who win take the thorne
OF life
| In front Of you tonight stands the
mild-mannered Jekyll. with pure and
clean thoughts. On the other side
crouches dwarfed, mean, vile, low,
misshapen Hyde.
He asks control. Neither can take
4
drug in Stevenson's story had no dis
eliminating action: 1t was the will Of
the man taking the drug which de-
cided what the result would be. Men
try to avoid this truth. lay blame on
other things, but you are at fault
You remember when Moses was on
the mount. Aaron. whose chief lack
was backbone, who was hike many
| people in our day always a reprint OF
the one who had his ear last. per-
mitted and helped the wavering chill
dren Of Israel to make ont OF the
earrings and trinkets the golden calf
which they worshfpped. Aaron even
fashioned the calf with a craving
tool: but when Moses returned, In
dignant at Aaron for following the
children of Israeli instead of leaving
| them. Aaron. like a whimcpring child
caught in jar OF jam, said In sub
stance
We'll, Moses. Tn not to blame for
the golden caif--the people brought
earrings, trinkets and jeweIry. and
cast them into the fire, as you might
throw old letters into the waste-bas-
ket, and out came this calf which
You see"
You see, Aaron tried to shift the re-
sponsibility for the idolatry of the
golden calf on to the furnace, tried
to make Moses believe that he threw
gold into the fire to get rid OF IL and
upon its own act of his own initiative
out walked a calf. perfect from it's
head to the end of it's tail
George Elliot in Adam Rede" tells
OF Mrs. Poyser. who sent Molly, a
modest, awkward girl, for a mug of
beer. When she returned Mrs.
Poyser began one of her famous
tongue lashings. In humiliation and
excitment Molly dropped the mug
which broke into n thousand pieces
on the fiagstone.
Mrs Poyser cut loose like a broad
side from one of our big battIeships
and In her agitation dropped a beau
tiful piece of crockery which she was
holding. Immediately she changed
her tune, put on a soft pedal and
and said: There do be times when it
seems crockery In bewitched and flies
out of ones hands like a bird" and
ended with one OF our comforting
Presbyterian doctrines, What Is to
be broke win be broke"
Must Share Blame.
You laugh Mt Aaron and Mrs.
Poyser, but we have exactly the same
tendency today to shift responsibility
10 some one else One man blames
cussedness on environment. and says:
Il was born In the Stun district.
where twelve people lived in one
room; my father died when was
young. and my mother was compelled
to throw her unripe strength into the
care of the family. was left homo
during the day. and roamed the street
a the only playground. Naturally I'll
took on easy low morals Of the street,
low standards OF my tenement sur
roundings. am what I am. because
of my early environment"
Now / win not say one word to
lessen the enthusiasm for Improve
ment OF the physical and moral en-
vironment OF mankind. / firmly be-
lieve environment has great effect
upon character. I believe il society
permits any considerable proportion
to live in foul. unlighted rooms,
where from eight to ten people live. |
cook, eat and sleep. working year in
and year out from fourteen to fifteen
hours every day: ! believe II society
allows deserving men to stagger
along with less than q living wage: /,
II society permits shoulders Of Wild |
owed motherhood to be forced down |
under industrial burdens and throws !
the unripe strength of children into |
the hopper ofscorporate greed. to BE- !,
ground up into dividends. that soci- !
ETY. must share tho responsibility IL /
these people become criminals.
II light causes q plant to lift its |
head and the flowers to swing In glad