Evening star., 1940-07-27

he is not sure of himself and has
not the spunk to be independent,
a young man adopts current drink
ing fashions and the habit of vast
ed nights and petty pleasures and
all the enervating usages of dissi-
patton. He knows that these do
not satisfy and do not contribute
to his well-being, but because he is
essentially weakling he "goes
along"
Nobody deliberately begins to
drink because he likes liquor He
does it because "everybodys doing
it''-though it everybody" is not. Tap
rooms, which are the modern poor
substitutes for the old-fashioned
saloons, are crowded with young
people of both sexes who are paying
a price beyond all reckoning They
think it is the thing to discard
the old standards of gentility and
of the good life They are the vic
time of an inferiority complex.
What of the Women?
Every intelligent and informed
observer of these times is concerned
over today's widespread deteriora-
ton of the standards of womanhood.
MultitudeS of young women have
cheapened themselves and lowered
their own status. Respect for the
sex has generally diminished. Chiv-
airy is on the Wane, or wholly
absent in some large groups. Even
in print, women are called skirts
and other disrespectful names. To
muititudes of them the traditional
conception of a lady is something
read about in outmoded books. Girls
aspire to be good fellows and
good sports" able to drink glass for
glass with their male companions.
A whole new social grouping. called
cafe society,"" has emerged since the
World War. The road to Reno runs
straight from the night club.
Night clubs make more noise IN
print than their Importance war;
rants. Who would believe, from
reading the newspapers, that IN New
York there are a hundred persons
going to church for every one who
visits a night club? Yet the latter
sets the fashion for youth. Parents
may be "old fogies," and so was
the long-ago writer of our lessons
lines from the Book OF Proverbs:
The fear of the Lord is the begin
ming of knowledge, but fools despite
wisdom and instruction. My son,
hear the instruction of thy father
and forsake not the law OF thy
mother: For they shall be an orna-
ment of grace unto thy head ana
chains about thy neck. My son, II
sinners entice thee, consent thou
not"
As to Booze.
When was a cub reported-those
were the drinking days in journal
ism-I was often told that could
not hold to my Sunday school and
Christian Endeavor standards ana
be a good newspaperman. One
comrade, a better reporter than l.,
who insisted upon this, was passed
up when promotion to the news
desk came, because he could not be
trusted to keep sober, and l was
given the place.
There my chief, shame upon him,
Systematically set out to prove to
me that my convictions were all
wrong. But there came a night
when he went to banquet and got
drunk, and I had to carry on alone.
Thereafter he had the grace to ease
up. In a Journalistic experience
which has carried me over most of
the earth's surface, in work for
many of the greatest newspapers
and magazines in the land, bringing
me into contact with the most IA
nous men of my generation, 1 have
never been hindered or embarrassed
by my total abstinence habits. 1t
is all bosh to tell young man that
he has to drink"
A pretty fair picture of the mod
ern taproom and night club is
given by old Isaiah, who lived
700 years before Christ: WOE
unto them that follow strong
drink; that tarry late into the night,
till wine infame them! And the