New-York tribune., 1922-03-19
Old Standards
OF Morals Held
Need of Youth
DIR. Stearns, at Yale Lunch
con. Pleads for Revival
of Real Home Life to
Save BOYS and Girls
Social Conditions a Peril
Youngsters Anxious to Do
Right. He Says. but Are
Victims Of Environment

fciiips Academy, AndoNer. Mass. ap-
pca.e3 to Yale men Yesterday at a
iuncseoa st the Yale Club to rc-estab-
ish ln Their homes old standards Of
morality and give the natural decency
ot ttelr sons and daughters a chance
He had talked w.tA n.a.y 5oys concern
ing the social standards OF to-day. he
SAID. nd found almost without eNccp~
ton innate repugnance to the out
ward frivolity and disregard of la
abon' them. 10 which. nevertheless,
thoy felt required 20 conform
l1r. Ste@rns VAS one cf several Acad-
'nasters of preparatory schools whose
students era>ita', 20 the GREAT univer-
SItics of tire HIST Wha spoke It the
luncheon. fhoir purpose was to bring
before the NAic mea Of this city the
situation ~ which the outs OF rom
ffteen 20 nineteen years Of age found
hirsSeh and The dtt'icG!ty ne encount-
crod N efectug sympathetic contacts,
ev,n at home.
C,her speakcrs were Dr. Mathcr \.
Abbott hcsdmaster q lawrencevillc
School Lawrcaoevilic. \. j.; ~ H.
Ra'slolder. hesdmes-er a. Loomis In
stltutc Windsor. Conn, and Dr. Huber
Gray Buehlcr headnlastor Of Hotch-
t'ss School tascv'lle Conn. The
Re-. Henry Sloane coffin presided
Parent Deeply Interested.
- waYt 10 touch on toe condition,
ufich we rnd ID the sec ai world to
d.. in 30 far a 1t aTccts our boys"
sa-d nr. Stearns. Il believe that par
ent> arc earnestly Seeiirr for light on
this thing. ! have talked to great
many parents associations i'm the last
ear and have been amazed at the
response and az the constructive re-
suits after VIC have talked things
oyor. face TO face.
Il am a. amazed as anybody IS who
deals with boys at To splendid and
Eager response one gets from the boys
the nselfes. If You will call a spade a
beat around thc bush.
"Ihc boy snow Shat these things
these conditions u society to-day
are vropg. fThey are eager to have
somebody help them out. dAd ! nave
every reason to believe that tl;o same
tang would app,y u tho ri-ls. lr taken
up With taera. Bat tae conditions are
such in most cf our social lifc to-day
thnt our boys are not getting . fs,i,
chance. I am convinced that M boy
OF to-day is just as good. Just as h.en-
minded. potentially as decent and as
splendid as boys ever were. but he is
up against it hard Tie way things are
IN society to-day, sowe l.lus,cat' ons uf
~ ich YOU have heard hfro this after
room OF course ] 20, 20 on ard
give YOU dozens Of Instances. mlny Of
which are tAings tlat the boys nave
told me themselves; but let me give
yoU iust one case:
"I was Attending recently 4 banquet
Of a war organization consisting of rcd
blooded. high minded follows who had
20 render a great service to mankind.
At tho close Of the dinner, which had
dcgenerated into q modern social gath
ering. vcnturcd 20 say just word
70 the~r fellows. reminding them that
What they were doing was not in line
with the IDEAL which had prompted
them To go across dc water and TO
risk the supreme sacrifice.
The moment that was touched on
they ouietcd down a. Il gas attack
hsd bcen uade ON the room. Then |
aid 90 them, " hv not let Us have d
ttle Of tho practice OF those same
deals in our country here who're they
arc so badly uccded3' After the meet
ng was over, ono fellow asked me to
talk with him over IN the corner. |
had never sccu him before, and have
never seen him since; bat he told nc
what he was Up against
"fc had been gassed early N his ac-
tfrities in France. and mad been scut
bacl. 10 Paris In the months that he
hung around Paris. the doctors said it
Yas very doubtful if his life could be
saVod that he did not have more than
fighting CHARGE. Then he said. he
Mos his grip oil himself lost his cour-
&c aud his IDEALS and everything.
~ He said he went the limit, follow
:, j. c;r,
Then he had q sort Of reaction; he
anew il vas All wrong. and he JUST
hoped and prayed that the day would
conc when lie could get back TO Amer
sea. where conditions would be differ
eut. and lie would NO. be up against
that sind OF temptation.
Home Conditions a onoch
When The armisticc vas announced
he iairl5 shouted for Joy, to think
that he Wos GO" back TO his native
and and his .Yienas, TO be again under
me influences chat would help to sus-
tain him ana to put HIM on his fee
agajn. that he might clean up his rec
ord before he had TO 90.
AZ this point hc turned to ne, with
great intensity and said: Mr. Stearns.
came back t. q Sodom' said:
Wnac Go you mean He said: I
found here worse conditions than we
ned to face in Paris He said; 4 have
always moved in the best society here
and in the ueIghboIing citlee, through
~. family connections. and he told
ne what they were. and il was one Of
tne best New England families
"He said: Y wen, with the best poo-
pie, socially. and wherever went /
'ound the same conditicus-the couu-
-ry's laws fouted. the Constitution
sneered It. liquor everywhere. and d
jolity Of the boys and good num-
Der OF the "iris under the influence Of
=. at these gathe rings All the old
moral barriers were gone. all the old
standards done away with. and ideals
dragged IN the dust. yielded anu
vent with tic crowd again. Nhet can
DO. What can I do
He seemed to be very much dis
tressed. and | am slre he was. He
said; How am going 10 get or my
feet? How AIN ! going to make tie
start, What caN | DO -
Declares Situation Tragic
"Gcntle.nea. that IS but one ii.us;ra-
: on o. the ,,aaic conditions that some
oI these fellows are Up against. Some
of them &C sanding up sPlendidly
ga.nst them. They admit that the
-adlt is win them and taey are making
& ta;rly decent showing. but they can
not be expected to end ali the cond-
IONS that e,ist. The influence which
hey are up against. in The form Of the
uovies, in the form vi our modern
literature which is nothing but hash
md rehash Of the old sex problem,
-nir+ the author of "The Nirrors ~