New Britain herald., 1927-02-14

l theme. Sermons on the evil are s'
 rare that vice so prevalent and in teXcusable, so brazen and so destruC 1 tive of all the finer qualities of th, soul to be so generally ignored i
 at least remarkable. A fact easil. recognizable is that America has be come one of the most, if not the mos | profane nation on the earth. We ar, 7 a nation of swearers. Profanity i' : our national sin. There are thous
 and men who will take the name O i God in vain to one who will steal | There are those in high places an( 1 in low. who glory In it as a fine ar , and swear with all the freedom O sort of declaration of indepen ! dence." The foreign student in oul
 universities tells us that the first ht
 learns of our tongue is to swear.
 Tt is everywhere and like the lice
 in the plaques of Egypt, it covers
 everything. We find it in office anC
 in street in factory and in shop; ir
 trolley and in railway train. San
 Jones was so impressed with its pre-,
 valence that on hearing group O.
 swearers travelling in the same car
 made their acquaintance and begar
 to talk to them about the excellenc!
 of the comfort provided by the rail
 road for it's patrons-the sleeping
 car, the observation car, the dining car, the smoking car-and now they
 would make it complete by adding (
 "cussing car," where swearers nigh
 congregate and "cuss' to theil
 hearts content.
 An age so lacking in the con-
 sciousness of the person. the pres
 ence, the power of a holy God and
 for His Name: that dares to drag our 1 most sacred and cherished concep- tions to the level of the lowest link | ing them to the obscene and the filthy, that, that is our appalling in- dictment. An irreverence encouraged
 in the sanctity of the home, toler- ated in education, vulgarity practiced
 in the press, applauded in the thea ter, wnked at by the law, and in- dorsed by a liberal concept of Deity, that would reduce the infinite to the dimension of a pallid-faced finite with nothing in God to fear.
 AS the condition of the tongue Is to the physician an indication of health, so it's use 10 the student of human life points to character. A mans words are being transcribed
 into the pages of his life and become a part of the record of his soul to witness for or against him. A mans speech. James says, is a key to his character. The man who can control
 his tongue Is quite certain to bring his whole life under proper disci- plne. It is like the bit in the horses mouth; 1t is like the rudder Of a ship; it Is like a flame of fire; 1t may one moment be used to bless God and the next to curse men: it may now pray like a saint and again swear like a, sinner But it can never
 be fitting that out Of the same mouth, modelled by the same tongue, should proceed both blessing and cursing, no more than can foun- tain give forth sweet water and bit ter, nor that a tree bear apples, then pears. These produce after their kind. So also is it with the tongue. Even protesting Christians fall into the gross habit of profanity. My brothers, these things ought not 70 be. The profane tongue can be in- dicative only Of an impure life. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth Be ye clean ye that bear the vessels Of the Lord. Our prayer should be, Hallowed be Thy name.'
 Tt spells fun. Thank God for the humorist and the wit; the man who makes US laugh is a public benc- factor. We can cry without assist ance-lifes experiences will look sunshine through this vale of tears and stir the sweets of heaven into life's cup are worthy to be praised. But let foulness enter, and this fun, this witticism, this excursion into paradise is c,oude1 into eclipse. Robert Eurdette attributed his sue cess to the clcanness of his merry making. He said: There never en- ters into my fun making the pro- fame or the vulgar. Should that ob- scene element gain admission, my career is at an end.' The introduc- ton of the indecent and the salaci- ous into mirth is the sport of the reptile trying 10 see how well 1t can sting. It is the last refuge Of a de- prayed soul.
 "It spells youth. It is d sad com- mentary on their elders that boys and girls in city streets, subjected 10 the vulgar and the obscene, are un- dergoing the hardening process which dulls the fine edge of inno- cency and who easily become adopts in the vice. Childhood and youth are all too questionable tc be so easily coarsened and who grow up with the years only 10 find doors of
 dencency closed against them, and
 
 pure. Surely the penalty which the Master pronounced upon such an off, fense is none too severe when He declared that the man who makes a little one to offend it were better for him to be drowned in the depths Of the sea than that any child should 1 have learned to profane the name of God.
 "Thcre are other and more subtle aspects of this sin besides the gar nishing of conversation with words of evil import. It shows itself in the fiippant. thoughtloss and superficial
 use of the expression Of God in
 thought and in deed, as well as in