COPYRIGHT 1914 BY DR. W . 0. HENRY A-.;>-i -■: '-■---- . r EQUITANIA OR THE LAND OF EQUITY BY dr.w. o. henry OMAHA ♦ + * This Book is AfFECTIONATKLY DliDUAriCD To My Father, DR. SAMUEL HEXRY, AND ALL OTHER LOVERS OF RIGHT EOUSNESS AND SEEKERS AFTER TRl'TH. 4- KLOPP a BARTLETT CO . PRINTING, OMAHA. PREFACE For years it has seemed to me that each person should do the things that he beheves will be the very best for the human race. So that each should put in writing, or some imperishable form, his best thoughts out of an honest heart according to his ability and experience for the help of those who follow. If he can live it out in every day practical life, so much the better and the more impressive and helpful are the truths thus taught by precept and example. If therefore one sets down in order the truth upon any subject, as he sees it, even though it may not be the ultimate truth, yet it may be a stepping-stone for his successor, who, following this light until he sees a brighter and better, may arise to a higher view- point and nearer the truth, until at last someone following in these steps will arrive at the desired goal, which he might not have reached except for these aids along the way. He is the inspired man who sees ultimate truth at first hand without having been aided thus by his fellowmen; so that the most truth is left for mankind to build into a sublime structure in this manner, by each doing his part and carrying the investigation along as far as he can, and ihen leaving the record in som.e tangible form to be handed down to others. Even as Socrates taught his disciples and Confucius taught his followers, and Jesus gave ultimate truth to his, which teachings were recorded in the writings of men who followed them, and m the lives of men who tried to put their teachings into practice. No mere man has ever possessed all truth, or had all knowledge, and therefore no man has, or could have imparted all truth, or knowledge to his fellows, nor has any man ever been responsible for the transmission of all knowledge and truth to mankind; but the race is so constituted and organized that the design plainly is for men in society to co-operate in the search for truth and in the systematizing of knowledge when acquired, for the mutual benefit of all. Therefore it is each one's privilege, and, I think, a duty, to acquire as much knowl- edge from study, observation and experience, as is consistent with his ability, vocation and opportunity, and thus out of an honest heart and upright purpose give it to his fellow-men in whatever way he can best do it, and thus add his mite to the welfare of the race, and this it is which makes human progress. If it be true, as I believe, that all truth emanates from a common center, then we may be sure that there is and can be, no conflict in truth; and we may have there- fore a sure and positive test by which to estimate the truth or falsity of any theory, scheme, or teaching; if we can once arrive at one certain and infallible truth, then what- ever harmonizes with, fits, or dovetails perfectly into that truth, must also be true, and whatever does not, must be false. Scientific truth, whether medical, political, socio- logical, astronomical, geographical, chemical, botanical, or other, cannot be in conflict with moral, religious and theological; and when there appears to be conflict, discord or disagreement, it is only because at some one or more of the points in question we have not yet arrived at the truth, and hence it becomes us as rational beings to be conser- vative and weigh more carefully the evidence before us, where there is apparent differ- ence, and aga'in and yet again go over the apparent facts or evidence and search further for the truth until it is found, rather than dogmatize too strenuously upon insufficient, uncertain and inadequate proofs. Perhaps Bacon was right when he said, "No pleasure (3) PREFACE is comparable to standing on the vantage ground of truth." And we may be well assured that "Truth is mighty and will prevail," even though it seems at times to be suppressed and error to be triumphant, so that we who advocate the truth may in patience, "possess our souls." and await the issue in perfect confidence, without fear. And doubtless the same comfort may be given to all well-wishers of humanity who are sincerely seeking for, teaching and living the truth as far as they can; hence it was that Peter could say by experience, observation and inspiration, "I perceive that in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with Him." After more than thirty years in the active practice of medicine; after filling for many years the chair of Gynecology in the largest medical college of Nebraska, and filling the same position on the staff of the two largest hospitals in the state; after having been closely identified with the Y. M. C. A. work in city, state and nation; after a long, intimate and active connection with church, Sunday-school, philanthropic and other humanitarian organizations; after a trip to the Orient to see and study the conditions of those people; after two trips to the great hospital, medical and industrial centers of Europe to learn something of the social, industrial, health, economic, political, educa- tional, moral and religious conditions there, and with such opportunities as I have enjoyed, having tried to study man as a rational, intelligent, responsible being with almost infinite possibilities of growth and development, I have endeavored in this work to give my conclusions and the reasons therefor as to the ideal environment and gov- ernment in which man might have the best opportunities in his process of evolution toward physical, mental, moral and religious perfection. Let this suffice, then, as a suitable introduction to and excuse for "Equitania, The Land of Equity," wherein are set forth thoughts upon many subjects, which have been of interest and importance to the race since its beginning, and which will deserve and command the best thought of its teachers to the end of time. I have given a supposed conversation, beginning between two old friends, Horace Manly and Sylvester Dryden, in which they discuss this imiginary land and people. As the discussion proceeds others are introduced, who prolong and enlarge the field of observation and inquiry, until a wide range of subjects is covered. Sincerely, DR. W. 0. HENRY. CHARACTERS 1. Horace, a young and wealthy business man who has traveled widely. 2. Sylvester, a shrewd traveling salesman. 3. Robert, manager of a large mercantile house. 4. Rev. Jones, pastor of a leading church. 5. Professor Johnson, superintendent of the public schools. 6. Dr. Brown, a prominent physician of the city. 7. Lawyer Smart, a well-known corporation attorney. 8. Mr. Lamed, editor of the leading daily paper in the city. Los Angeles the home of all. (4) CHAPTER I. THE ISLAND, THE PEOPLE, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THEIR VARIOUS RELIGIONS. Sylvester — Why! hello, Horace, how are you? Horace — I am fine; how are you, old man, said Horace, as the two men met in the lobby of the hotel in Los Angeles. Sylvester — Where have you been; I haven't seen you for a long time and we used to meet so often? Horace — Well, I must tell you a strange story. After I saw you here two years ago, I decided to take a trip across the water and see Japan and China, so took a steamer for the voyage, but a few days before we were due in Tokio, we were ship- wrecked off an island and while our lives were all saved, we lost everything on board the ship, and had it not been for the kindly treatm.ent.of the natives we would have been in sore straits. However, they took us in and treated us royally so that we were more than repaid for our loss, and I have been there ever since, and am now in the United States again to interest my friends in going out there. Sylvester — What! You do not mean that you are going out to this strange land to live. You surely are not going to take your friends to this wild country! Horace — Yes, that is precisely what I mean, for it is the most interesting, most attractive land I have ever visited, and the possibilities are greater, and the chances for comfort and real happiness are more fascinating and hopeful than any place I have ever seen. In fact, the very name itself, is expressive of what it is for they call it "Equitania," or "The Land of Equity," and what I have seen of the people, their customs, their laws, and their habits, as well as the climate and the land, convinces me that there is the one spot on earth I really want to live. Sylvester — I am greatly surprised and interested, for I know you have seen enough of the world in all its phases, and have enjoyed enough of travel, and your long and successful business career have made you a pretty careful observer and you would not rashly take up such a notion unless it has merit. So I wish you would tell me about it. Horace — Very well, I shall be only too glad to give you an account of it. Now that dinner is over, let us go up to my room and we can talk it over more quietly. Besides, I have some maps and figures, together with some printed matter you will enjoy seeing, too. You must know first about the people, who they are, where they came from, and how they came to settle upon this choice island, for it is a rare story. In 1857 a thousand natives of the best families of India gathered their all together and sailed out of Bombay in the ship "Freedom," to find a home and plant a government to their own liking afar from their native land and free from all other domination and influence, where they might develop a nation according to their own ideals and practice their own religious and moral principles without let or hindrance. They were intelligent, well-to-do people with noble aspirations for independence, and were heartily loyal to Buddhism. They believed in themselves, their ideals and in the future possibilities of a people thus produced. Being intelligent and firm adherents of Buddhism they had in mind the following well defined conceptions, for which they were determined to live and die: "A Buddhist, meaning a perfectly enlightened one, who by perfect knowledge of the truth IS liberated from all existence, who before his own attainment of Nirvana or 'extmction' reveals to the world the method of attaining it. That is, a Buddhist is one who explains the doctrines of Buddhism and follows its tenets. "Buddhism believes first; existence is suffering; 2nd, the cause of pain is desire; 3rd, cessation of pain is possible through separation of desire; 4th, the way to this is the knowledge and observing of the 'good law' of Buddhism. The end is Nirvana and cessation of existence." (5) U K(^riTAMA, ()l{ THK LAND OF KQUITY "The good man is characterized by seven qualities. He should not be loaded with faults, should be free from laziness, should not boast of his knowledge, should be truthful, and benevolent, and content, and should aspire to all that is useful. A husband should honor his wife, never insult her, never displease her, make her mistress of the house, and provide for her. On her part a wife ought to be cheerful toward him when he works, entertain his friends, care for his dependents, never do anything he does not wish, take good care of the wealth he has accumulated, and not be idle, but always cheerful when at her work herself. Parents are to help their children by preventmg them from doing sinful acts, by guiJmg them in the paths of virtue, by educatmg them, by providing them with husbands and wives suitable to them, and by leaving them legacies. Parents in old age expect their children to take care of them, to do all their work and business, to maintain the household, and after death to do honor to their remains, by being charitable." "The Four Noble Truths as taught by our merciful and omniscient Lord Buddha, point out the path that leads to Nirvana or to the desirable extinction of self. "The First Noble Truth is suffering; it arises from birth, old age. illness, sorrow, death, separation from what is loved, association with what is hateful, and in short, the very idea of self in spirit and matter that constitute Dharma. "The Second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering which results from ignorance, creating lusts for objects of perishable nature. If the lust be for sensual objects, belong- ing to the mind but still possessing a form in the mind, it is called Bhava Tanha. If the lust be purely for supersensual objects that belong to the mind but are devoid of all form whatever, it is called Wibhava Tanha. "The Third Noble Truth is the extinction of sufferings, which is brought about by the cessation of the three kinds of lust, together with their accompanying evils, which all result directly from ignorance. "The Fourth Noble Truth is by the means of paths that lead to the cessation of lusts and other evils. This noble truth is divided into the following eight paths; right understanding; right resolutions; right speech; right acts; right way of earning a livelihood; right efforts; right meditation; right state of mind. "Temperance is enjoined upon all Buddhists for the reason that the habit of using intoxicating things tends to lower the mind to the level of that of an idiot, a madman or an evil spirit." "Siddartha Guatama or Sakya-Muni, the founder of Buddhism, was born a few days journey north of Benares, and was son of the King of Kapilavastu, B. C. 450. Filled with deep compassion for humanity he retired into solitude to study the mysteries of life, and finding as he believed, the true way of happiness was by Nirvana or extinc- tion, or non-existence, he became the Buddha and so preached and taught. "Buddhism — way to Nirvana or non-Existence. To obtain it, eight things must be done : 1 . Right views. 4. Right purpose. 7. Right memory. 2. Right judgment. 5. Right profession. 8. Right meditation. 3. Right language. 6. Right application. "Also five moral precepts must be observed: 1. Not to kill. 3. Not to commit adultery. 5. Not to get drunk. 2. Not to steal. 4. Not to lie. "And six fundamental virtues practiced. 1. Charity. 3. Patience. . 5. Contemplation. 2. Purity. 4. Courage. 6. Knowledge. "The Four Great Truths of Buddhism are: 1 . Misery always accompanies existence. 2. All modes of existence of men or animals, in death or heaven, result from passion or desire. 3. That there is no escape from existence except by destruction of desire. 4. This may be accomplished by following the four-fold way to Nirvana. "It is said, 'The first enemy which the believer has to fight against is sensuality and the last is unkindliness. Above everything is universal charity. True enlightenment. \ THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 7 true freedom are complete only in love. The last great reward is Nirvana, Eternal Rest, or Extinction.' " After sailing many days over a rough and boisterous sea, they landed Feb. 19th, 1858, upon the western shore of a beautiful island, heretofore undiscovered and without human inhabitants, lying in the Pacific ocean in latitude 34-36 degrees north and longitude 160-170 degrees west. The natural harbor was commodious, inviting and attractive. After making some investigation for miles in the interior and about the coast without evidence being found of any human being ever having been there, and finding the climate balmy and exhilarating, the soil fertile and productive; the mountains majestic; the valleys large; the plains for grazing rich; the springs, lakes and rivers numerous, clear and refreshing; the fauna varied and charming; the outlook for fuel and power brilliant and the prospect for every temporal comfort easy of access to the willing toiler; they determined to make this their new home and develop the resources of this, their newly discovered island, which they named Buddland. Strange to say, during the same year, a company of Christian men and women from the United States had been discussing the wisdom of founding a colony in some new and western land, where they might have a truly Christian civilization and a government established upon their principles. Toward the close of the year they had gotten together a group of one thousand men, women and children, all of whom were imbued with these ideas and were high class, intelligent believers in, and firm adherents of, the Christian religion. All of those who were of the age of discernment, each for himself accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, Lord and Master, and took the Bible contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be their guide, the only infallible rule of faith and practice as the word of God to them. They believed that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, was the Interpreter of the Holy Book and that each rational human being might appeal to Him in prayerful meditation for light to understand the book and its applicability to him in his relation to Jehovah and his duties to his fellowmen, with reasonable hope and expectation of being led aright, if in simple truth and sincerity, he thus sought the way. They believed in the practical application of the Sermon on the Mount, and that each for himself must give account to God. They believed in the Golden Rule as taught by Jesus, "Whatsoever ye v/ould that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." They believed in a personal, self-existent Supreme Being, whom they called Jehovah, the Author of the Universe, by whose power they were created, and by whom all things consist. They believed that man was originally made in His image of right- eousness and true holiness, and by the fall of Adam and Eve in Eden, that image was defaced, and could only be restored through faith in the Second Adam, Jesus Christ the only begotten son of God, full of Grace and Truth. They believed that each human being was responsible and personally accountable to Jehovah, for the Scriptures say, "So then every one of us shall give account of him- self to God." They were all believers in the Apostles Creed, which says, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, he descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and sitleth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting." "They were all believers in the practical application of the teaching of Jesus to the daily affairs of life, and that Christianity rightly understood had to do with the bodies as well as the souls of men, and Jesus' message to John, who while in prison, sent two disciples to inquire of Him, "Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?" When he said, "Go and shew John, what things ye do see and hear; the blind receive their sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them;" was not only a proof of His Messiahship, a demonstration of His infinite love and compassion, but a wise declaration that the religion which He taught and wished His followers to teach and practice, was 8 IK^riTAMA, OK TIIH LAND OF EQUITY to care for the whole man, his temporal and physical needs as well as his spiritual necessities. They were all believers in, and accepted as final, Jesus' interpretation of the fen Commandments, when he said; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind; this is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it namely. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." They believed the first four of the following ten commandments, had to do with and pertained to, man's relations to God, or were his religion, and the last sixf contained the moral law, or man's duties to his fellowmen. Love Supreme to God being the basis of the first, and love to man the basis of the second: L "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. 2. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shall not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands, of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 3. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 4. "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord Thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man- servant nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 5. "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 6. "Thou shalt not kill. 7. "Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. "Thou shalt not steal. 9. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 10. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." Having gotten their earthly possessions together they sailed from the western coast in the ship "Liberty" for a new home where they might found a colony to propagate their own kind and develop a land for their posterity untrammeled by other peoples and beliefs inimical to their welfare. After many days of hardship they landed Feb. 19th, 1858, on this beautiful and fertile island, whose very center proved to be latitude 35 degrees north and longitude 1 65 degrees west in the midst of the Pacific ocean, which they named "Christland." Singular enough in the year 1857 a large company of the more enlightened Turks completed a plan which had been taking shape lor some years, to abandon their native land, go to some new country, if possible away from all civilized people, and establish a Mohammedan settlement upon the most modern basis, and be free, if possible, from all entangling alliances. They sailed in the fortunate ship "Chance." They, too, had a band of one thousand people, all of whom were faithful adherents of Islam, and accepted the Koran as their chief guide in religion and morals. They believed: 1st. There is one God without beginning or end, sole Creator and Lord of the universe, having absolute power, knowledge, glory, and perfection. 2nd. His angels are impeccable beings created of light. 3rd. There are good and evil genii, created of smokeless fire and subject to death. 4th. The Holy Scriptures are his uncreated word revealed to the prophets of \ THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 9 those now in existence, but in a corrupted form, the Pentateuch, Psalms and Gospels; but in an uncorrupted and incorruptible form the Koran, which supersedes all previous revelations. 5th. The most distinguished prophets and apostles are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed the greatest and most distinguished of them all, the most excellent of the creatures of God. 6th. A general resurrection and final judgment with rewards and punishments. 7th. God's absolute fore-knowledge and predestination of all events, both good and evil. 8th. Abstinence from all intoxicating liquors. 9th. Circumcision according to the Mosaic code, and the observance of clean and unclean meats, accordmg to the Mosaic law. "Its pillars of practice are physical and mental cleanliness, prayer, fasting, frater- nity, alms-giving and pilgrimage. It will make a man sober and honest, and truthful, and will make him love his God with all his heart, and with all his mind, and his neighbor as himself. Prostitution and marital infidelity, with scandalous newspaper reports of divorce proceedings are quite impossible to a Musselman community^ where European influences have no foot-hold." After touching at many ports, they, too, landed Feb. 19th, 1858, upon this island in the Pacific ocean which seemed to be uninhabited. Finding the island so attractive and inviting they proceeded to investigate fully before building their city, and the more they explored and searched, the more delighted were they with the prospect, and called it "Islamand." It seems that many Jews in England had long thought it would be desirable to have a country of their own where they might develop and grow according to their own ideas and so 1,000 of them had come together and planned to join their possessions and cast in their lots together and endeavor to found a home for their own people. Late in the year 1857 they sailed away in the ship "Opportunity." They were the intelligent and broad-minded Jews who were firmly attached to Judaism, and not only believed its teachings but practiced them as well. They accepted the "Old Testament Scriptures," that is, the writings of Moses and the prophets as the Word of Jehovah. They believed: 1 . Man was created by Jehovah, and Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden free from sin but with the power of choice. 2. Adam and Eve fell into sin by choosing disobedience at the suggestion of the evil one called Satan or the Devil. 3. The world was destroyed by a flood because of its wickedness and only eight persons were saved alive by special provision, and that a renewed covenant was made with Noah. 4. That Abraham was called for a special purpose as their Ancestor. 5. The Ten Commandments were given to them through Moses and*covered man's relations to Jehovah and to his fellowmen. 6. In short this book to be an infallible guide both in religion and morals to them, they were a people specially chosen by God as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After some months, of searching and testing different islands, they landed Feb. 19th, 1858, upon what seemed to them as they had sailed about it, a most charming island in mid-ocean. They began explorations into the interior and became daily more infatuated with their discovery and decided to find the most suitable harbor in the island to build their city and establish themselves in this, their new land or country, which they called "Jewland." A strange coincidence was that all of these four communities while landing in different parts of the island the very same day, decided upon the same plan of action, and so while the great body of the people stayed by their respective camps, chosen leaders from each company were sent out to locate the best place to build their city. Of course they chose respectively leading men upon whose intelligence, wisdom and 1(1 KIH'ITAMA. OK Till-: LAND OF EQUITY judgment they could rely for this very important mission, and each chanced to send forth ten men to select the most desirable site, and they would naturally choose one accessible to the sea and if possible with a fine harbor. These several delegations set out on their mission of inspection and explored the coast, ascending the rivers that emptied into the sea and passed to the interior at many points until finally one parly reached a large and excellent harbor in the center of the southern coast into which a large river discharged its abundant waters. They ascended this beautiful stream and found its banks and adjoining territory most inviting. They encamped for the night on the bank of the river near its mouth and expected next morning to locate their city and send for their entire company. After a night of peaceful rest and refreshing sleep, what was their surprise to see a small boat come to land in their immediate vicinity, and its ten occupants hail them in a foreign tongue; but both parties being educated men they soon came to understand each other and related their experiences with interest and enthusiasm; but hardly had they gotten well acquainted when another boat with ten men aboard came into view and essayed to land in the same vicinity and were explaining their condition and conclusions when ten more men came upon the scene from the interior, for they had landed late the night before near by and were out for exploration, when they came suddenly and very unexpectedly upon this group or this combination of three groups. At first there was a feeling of resentment and chagrin upon the part of all as they began to see their hopes and bright prospects of founding a colony only for themselves, flit away, for each group had come to look upon the island as its own by right of first discovery and they regarded the others as intruders. Then, too, each group had seen enough of the island and its wonderful resources and possibilities to make it fairly enchanted with it and covet it for their own dear people whom of course each group exalted far above all other competitors. But as they talked matters over among themselves they finally agreed that all having discovered and landed upon this new country the same day and hour, they by right were equal owners of it, and therefore the following were the only possible ways of settling the question what should be done with it and how should they now further proceed : I St. They might fight for it and let the strongest, or the victor in the contest, have it, while the others should pass on, or become their servants. 2nd. They might cast lots for it and let the winner have the prize. 3rd. They might let the highest bidder have it. 4th. They might divide it equitably among the four parties and let each be independent of the other. 5th. They might join hands and develop it together, upon a fair and equitable basis for all. 6th. They might abandon it and look for a new home. 7th. They might one or all, lay claim to it for the "respective countries from whjch they came." Having decided among themselves that these seven were the only possible ansv/ers to the question, they appointed one man from each group to give the best possible argument for each plan, after hearing which, they would jointly decide. When the various speakers had duly prepared themselves they all came together as a deliberative body to hear the arguments and decide upon which course to pursue. This being a vital question not only to their respective companies in the immediate present, but to their posterity for all time to come, it was deemed wise to give it delib- erate and full discussion and if possible, decide upon a course which they could unani- mously recommend to their respective companies for final action; since they had all expected to found a real democracy, therefore no action would be acceptable or binding until the separate communities had agreed to it. After listening to the arguments and having the various questions answered as they were put by the different members they finally rejected by unanimous vote the first proposition for the following reasons: I . Might never makes right and mere physical force can never equitably settle any question. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 11 2. It is a barbarous way of settling disputes and differences and more civilized, enlightened ways should be chosen. 3. Any question settled unjustly and in manifest wrong, merely because one has the physical or brute force to do so, is never at resi, nor is it finally so settled, but always leaves some bad effects to show themeseives later in the posterity of the unfair temporary victor. They rejected the second proposition for the reason that whilst equally fair to all, it would unnecessarily be giving up something of untold value which might better be settled in another way. They rejected unanimously the third because no one of the four had sufficient funds to pay the others any adequate compensation for their equity and just share in it, and because they could see a better way out. In spite of the many strong and forceful arguments in favor of the fourth propo- sition, they unanimously rejected it, because they saw that in future years there must needs be conflicts and misunderstandings in a territory so compact, circumscribed and rich if controlled by four different governments and because they could see in prospect a better way. They rejected the sixth because it seemed most unwise and no good reason could be given for so doing. They rejected the seventh because that would defeat the very object for which they started out, namely, to found an independent country in a new land away from all entangling alliances, and now to appeal to their respective countries and put themselves under any one or all of them would thwart their object, and they therefore adopted the fifth proposition unanimously upon the following basis, and for the reasons herewith given : First — As intelligent human beings they all wanted the same things, namely: 1st. Opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. 2nd. Protection for their persons, their dependents and their possessions. 3rd. Security in all their natural rights. Second — While they differed in their religions, they agreed perfectly about their civH needs and they realized that religion means binding the individual soul back to its source or to the Supreme Authority in the universe. Or, that rehgion is the bridge or belief or faith which connects the individual soul to its divine source, or to its Maker; hence there are many religions in the world, all designed to bndse or span the chasm, between God and man. As this bridge, belief, or faith is good, bad, or indifferent, so must be the system of religion which is built upon it; and yet they are all based upon these three predicates: 1 . What man ought to believe about God. 2. What, if any, relationship man bears to God. 3. What man ought to do to please or be in harmony with God. Therefore they said religion is a personal, an individual matter with which no state ought to interfere, if it could, and with which no state could interfere even if it would. The state has to do with civil affairs and not with religious matters, for every individual man must answer to God alone for his religious beliefs and practices, while the state deals with the social and civic relations of men. For man looketh on and can judge, as well as in a measure control, the outward or material relations of men, while God only looketh on, judgeth and ruleth the hearts, the spirits, the internal rela- tions of men. Hence it follows that men may be associated in civil, tem.poral or material affairs, and be widely apart in religious, eternal and spiritual m.atters. If men are broad-minded enough to stand together in those civil affairs wherein they can agree, to gain their common, temporal necessities, and at the same time allow perfect liberty in religion there may be great mutual benefit and harmony. One may under such circum- stances be a good citizen, a good neighbor, a good husband and father, a good officer without being an adherent to any of the recognized systems of religion. 1 . A great historian has wisely said, "The first and most general truth in history is that men cr^ht to be free. If happiness is the end of the human race, then freedom is its condition. 2. One of the greatest enemies of freedom, and therefore of the progress and r_' EQUITAXIA, OR TlIK LAND OF EQUITY happiness of our race, is over-organization. Among all the civil, political and churchly institutions of the world it would be difficult today, to select that one which is not in a large measure conducted in the interest of the official management. The organiza- tion has become the principal thing, and the man only a secondary consideration. All this must presently be reversed. Organization is not the principal thing. The man himself is better. The institution, the party, the creed, the government that does not serve him; does not conduce to his interests, progress and enlightenment; is not only a piece of superfluous rubbish on the stage of modern civilization, but is a real stumbling block and positive clog and detriment to the welfare and best hopes of mankind. "What men want, what they need, what thy hunger for, what they will one day have the courage to demand and take, is less organic government — not more; a freer manhood and fewer shackles; a more cordial liberty; a lighter fetter of form, and a more spontaneous virtue. 3. "Of all things that are incidentally needed to usher in a permanent democracy and brotherhood of man (the coming new ear of enlightenment and business) one of the most essential is toleration. 1 he prescriptive vice of the middle ages have flowed down with the blood of the race and tainted the new life that now is with a suspicion and distrust of freedom. Liberty in the minds of men has meant the privilege of agreeing with the majority. Essentially freedom is the right to differ, and the right must be sacredly respected. The right of free thought, free inquiry, and free speech to all men everywhere is as clear as the noonday and bounteous as the air and the sea. 4. "The development of a high degree of intelligence is in all free governments a sine qua non of their strength and perpetuity. Without it, such governments fall easy victims to ignorant military captains and civil demagogues of high or low repute." If people of different religious beliefs are to live together in peace, these distinctions should be borne in mind and the laws, rules and regulations made to govern them in their daily relations and in these temporal affairs should be made from the standpoint of their agreement and of their mutual needs, but should not infringe upon their rights in religion. In other words, there are basic principles upon which their needs as rational, intelligent and responsible beings are founded, and these should be observed in the interests of truth, justice and the enlightenment and progress of the race. THESE PRINCIPLES ARE 1. The right of every individual after reaching the years of discretion, to choose or reject any religion or form of worship he desires. Each man is personally account- able to God alone for his religious obligations, both in belief and practice. 2. The right of any individual to live in any part of the world he may choose provided only he discharges the debt of obligation he may owe to the land of his birth, and is admitted to, and obeys the laws of the country of his choice. 3. Every man has a right to teach whatever he desires upon any and all subjects, social, scientific, political, philosophical, and religious, subject only to the restrictions of the government under which he lives, or to which he comes, concerning teaching of the young; for it is by this process of discussion, agitation, inquiry and controversy, one man advancing new and progressive ideas, others defending the old ideas until they have been clearly and conclusively shown to be outdone by the new and better ones, that we make real advances, and the truth when once found in its ultimate essence upon any subject cannot be improved upon, added unto nor successfully controverted, but stands firm and unshaken, the Everlasting Rock. Progress is made by the discovery or application of truth, in new fields or for new uses; and therefore unless the human mind is free and at liberty to study, inquire and investigate in all fields of thought, no growth, progress or advancement can be made. And further, the dread or fear upon the part of some, that old landmarks, old truths, political, scientific, and religious may thus be ignored, outdone or overthrown are entirely groundless for truth cannot be forever overthrown but is eternal and indes- tructible, as the poet has wisely said: "Truth crushed to earth will rise again. The Eternal years of God are hers; But error wounded writhes in pain. And dies among his worshippers." FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 13 They recalled that Sir Thomas Moore, the courageous, wise, judicious, humane and learned, as well as an experienced English statesman who was Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, and who suffered martyrdom because he would not, like the other church- men and prelates of England, stultify himself and falsify his religion to please the King, says in his Utopia, that ideal state which he portrays: "There are divers kinds of religion not only in sundry parts of the Island, but also in divers places of every city. Some worship for God; the sun; some, the moon; some, some other of the planets. "But after they heard us speak of the name of Christ, of his doctrine, laws, miracles, and of the no less wonderful constancy of so many martyrs, whose blood willingly shed brought a great number of nations throughout all parts of the world into their sect; you will not believe with how glad minds, they agreed unto the same; whether it were by the secret inspiration of God, or else for that they thought it next unto that opinion, which among them is counted the chiefest, "They also which do not agree to Christ's religion, fear no man from it, nor speak against any man that hath received it. Saving that one of our company in my presence was sharply punished. He as soon as he was baptized began against our wills, with more earnest affection than wisdom, to reason of Christ's religion; and began to wax so hot in this matter, that he did not only prefer our religion before all other, but did also utterly despise and condemn all other, calling them profane, and the followers of them wicked and devilish and the children of ever- lasting damnation. When he had thus long reasoned the matter, they laid hold on him, accused him and condemned him unto exile, not as a despiser of religion, but as a seditious person and a raiser up of dissension among the people. For this is one of the ancientest laws among them; that no man shall be blamed for reasoning in the maintenance of his own religion. For King Utopus, even at first beginning, hearing that the inhabitants of the land were, before his coming thither, at continual dissension and strife among themselves for their religions; perceiving also that this common dissension (whilst every several sect took several parts in fightmg for their country) was the only occasion of his conquest over them all; as soon as he had gotten the victory, first of all he made a decree, that it should be lawful for every man to favor and follow what religion he would, and that he might do the best he could to bring others to his opinion, so that he did it peaceably, gently, quietly, end soberly, without haste and contentious rebuking and inveighing against each other. If he could by fair and gentle speech induce them unto his opinion yet he shonld use no kind of violence, and refrain from displeasant and seditious words. To him that would vehemently and fervently in this cause strive and contend was decreed banishment and bondage. This law did King Utopus make not only for the maintenance of peace, which he saw through continual contention and mortal hatred utterly extinguished; but also because he thought this decree should make for the furtherance of religion. Whereof he durst define and determine nothing unadvisedly, as doubting whether God desired manifold and divers sorts of honor, would inspire sundry men with sundry kinds of religion. And this surely he thought a very unmeet and foolish thing, and a point of arrogant presumption, to compel all other by violence and threatenings to agree to the same that thou believest to be true. Furthermore though there be one religion which alone is true, and all other vain and superstitious, yet did he well foresee (so that the matter were handled with reason and sober modesty) that the truth of its own power would at the last issue out and come to light. But if contention and debate in that behalf should continually be used, as the worst men be most obstinate and stubborn and in their evil opinion most constant; he perceived that then the best and holiest religion would be trodden under foot and destroyed by most vain superstitions, even as good corn is by thorns and weeds overgrown and choked. Therefore all this matter he left undiscussed and gave to every man free liberty and choice to believe what he would. Saving that he earnestly and straightway charged them, that no man should conceive so vile and base an opinion of the dignity of man's nature, as to think that the souls do die and perish with the body; or that the world runneth at all adventures governed by no 14 EQinTAXlA. Oil TIIK LAND OF P^QUfTY divine providence. And therefore they believe that after this life vices be extremely punished and virtues bountifully rewarded. Him that is of a contrary opinion they count not in the number of men, as one that hath abased the high nature of his soul to the vileness of brute beast's bodies, much less in the number of their citizens, whose laws and ordinances, if it were not for fear, he would nothing at all esteem. For you may be sure that he will study either with craft privily to mock, or else violently to break the common laws of his country, in whom remaineth no further fear than of the laws, nor no further hope than of the body. Wherefore he that is thus minded is deprived of all honors, excluded from all offices, and rejected from all common administrations in the weal public. And thus he is of all sort despised, as of an unprofitable and of a base and evil nature. Howbeit they put him to no punishment, because they be persuaded that it is in no man's power to believe what he list." Third — They wanted a common standard of public morals, and whilst morality is a natural outgrowth of religion, and is determined more or less by the particular kind of religion practiced by a people, yet it is true that there would be necessarily a kind of morality among men who do not pretend to any form of religion, and also while people living undeiT the same government where different systems of religion are believed and practiced, there would be unwillingness to adopt in full the moral system of any one of the religions, yet a moral system as a public standard might be formulated, taking those fundamental things in which they all agree, and upon which there would be no dispute, hence they found a common ground upon which they could stand, and determmed to adopt that common standard as their ideal for public morality, and leave the finer points upon which their respective religions made them differ, to be taught in the homes and in their respective places of worship, along with their various religions. Fourth — They all wanted a democratic form of government which as they believed would give them the largest possible liberties with proper safeguards for peace, happiness and perpetuity. It would give them the best thmgs for themselves and their posterity and would allow them to pursue the wisest and best course in dealing with other nations. They said: The efficiency of any government may be fairly gauged by the morality, intelligence, justice, prosperity, sincerity, liberty and happiness of its people; because the very object of government is to promote these ends; therefore, the more perfectly they are attained, the more nearly ideal is the government. The right of any intelligent being to govern one or more other intelligent beings must rest upon absolute justice and can come about or may prevail only upon one of the following conditions: 1. By creation, as Jehovah rightly and justly rules over all other created intelligences, and has absolute right to make the rules, laws and regulations for them because He is their Creator and He alone sustains them in being. Man as one of his created beings is rightly amenable to His laws and should give cheerful and loyal obedience to the Divine Will. 2. By direct commission from Jehovah, as a father over his child. 3. By consent of the governed, as in a Republic or Democracy voluntarily formed by the people. 4. By right of conquest over those who have forfeited their rights to self- government by infringing upon the natural rights of others. No other conceivable grounds have ever existed or can ever exist which will give one or more persons, just and equitable right to govern others. No such thing as mere bigness, force, ability, or even majorities, can ever rightly govern any person or any number of persons. No such thing as precedent, as custom, as good intent, or even well meaning can justify any man or any men assuming authority where one or more of the preceding grounds are nor present and dominant. But more, the right to continue a government once begun, or to exercise authority once rightly obtained, depends rapon a fair, just and equitable administration of the powers belonging to, or conferred upon the recojnized authority. As no man •has perfect knowledge, infallible judgment, infinite power or love, so no man can FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 15 be an absolutely safe or perfect guide to other men in all truth, and therefore need not be implicitely followed or obeyed, neither is the will of any man the final authority in the realm of truth. But if no man is perfect, neither yet is a plan, system or government of any number of men perfect, for it is formulated by imperfect beings, and no matter how great the number of imperfect beings which are added together, their skill and wisdom will never make a perfect thing, but it must ever remain imperfect, like its maker. And yet, if men have a perfect standard toward which they are all striving as an ideal, they will work together more successfully and reach a higher stage of excellence than if they all have the same lower standard. And further, if they have many standards, varying in excellence and worth, some high, some low, some indifferent, it will make their efforts more difficult and far less effective. To illustrate, if we have a thousand voters in a city and we have five different standards of right, live different ideals of what the city should do in business and morals, each having two hundred strong adherents, do you not see how utterly impossible it would be to make any advance or effective plans? Absolutely nothing could be accomplished so long as each division insisted upon having its own way. A compromise might be at last effected with which none would be perfectly satisfied. So that in any form of society, large or sm.all, as well as in the formation of a city government, if all of its members could have the same high ideals, the same worthy objects to be accomplished, the same exalted standard of excellence in morals, business and civilization, it would greatly simplify and expedite its formation and development. This is why those who believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God, and sincerely strive to follow Its teachings, should agree in the main upon a plan of society and government. Having faith in the same infallible standard there ought to be a general agreement upon the fundamental things in faith and practice. And it is only because sin has entered into the world stirring up pride, envy, bigotry, hate and selfishness, that such oneness of purpose does not prevail among men. And it is because of every man's fallibility, and yet every man's privilege, as well as his duty, to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and because of his own individual accountability to God, that absolute freedom in religion is granted by the Almighty himself, and ought to be given by every civil government amon<^ men. II Samuel 23:1-3. ° And they agreed with that very wise and kindly man who said "No man is good enough to govern another without that other's consent. "The people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts, not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the constitution. u'^^j^l"^^ 's anything that is the duty of the whole people to never intrust to any hand but their own, that thing is the preservation and perpetuity of their own liberties and institutions. "Gold is good in its place but living, brave and patriotic men are better than gold. Labor is superior to capital and deserves much the higher consideration. Ihe working men are the basis of all governments, for the plain reason that they are the more numerous. "Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital has its rights which are as worthy of protection as any other rights nor should this lead to a war upon property Property is the fruit of labor. Property is desirable, is a positive good in the world. Let not he who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own stiall be safe from violence when built." In other words, they all wanted a democracy in which every man should have an equa share, in which all should be equal before the law, in which the rights of all should be equally sacred and faithfully protected. They believed that all men were created free and are equally entitled to a fair opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in any and all ways not inconsistent with or infringing upon the like rights of others. 5. They believed they could better work out the large possibilities in the development of this island, and therefore secure for themselves and their posterity Hi EQUITAXIA, OR THK LAND OF EQUITY the greatest freedom and safety by uniting under one government to form a democracy in which all their rights would be safeguarded and their privileges suitably guaranteed. Therefore they decided to formulate and adopt with the approval of their several companies a constitution in harmony with the foregoing plans and agreements. Having thus come to a fair and full understanding among themselves they parted and each set of leaders went to their respective companies to bring them without delay to this chosen spot for mutual discussion, interchange of thought and expression, for final decision and definite action. A few days later all were camped upon this chosen site and they had quietly settled down to get acquainted and pass upon the questions of so much importance to them all after thoughtful, intelligent and mature deliberation. Suffice it to say that due consideration being given it was agreed upon all hands that the ten leaders of each band had acted wisely and their recommendations were unanimously adopted and the Jews and Mohammedans located upon the east bank of the river while the Christians and Buddhists built upon the west bank, the respective locations being chosen by lot, and thus the city was founded at the mouth of the river upon both banks, and was divided therefore into four equal parts and one thousand persons in each. The Jews occupied the southeast quarter, the Mohammedans the northeast quarter, the Christians the southwest quarter, and the Buddhists the northewst quarter. Sylvester — That is a wonderful story, but tell me now about their government, and how it is managed. Horace — I shall be delighted to do so, but it is late now, and if agreeable, you may come over tomorrow night and I will give you an account of that; but here is a copy of their constitution, which you may read in the meantime. CHAPTER 11. . THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT A DEMOCRACY, AND THE CONSTITUTION. Horace — Come in, said Horace, the next evening as Sylvester knocked at his door in the hotel, I am glad to see you again and hope you have read the constitution and are more interested than ever in this ideal land. Sylvester — Yes, I have read and have been astonished at what I find in this fundamental law of Equitania, but there are some things I can hardly realize about it, and am anxious to have you explain the workings of this plan in the every-day affairs of men, and tell me, please, how they brought it about? Horace — That is indeed a most interesting part of the whole story. You see, it having already been determined to form a Democracy, and a general agreement as to the results to be attained having been reached; and a clear line of distinction already having been drawn between the civil or material interests of the people and the religious or immaterial matters which concerned them, the committee on constitution had its course very definitely marked out for it. Each community or section of the city chose the ten leaders already mentioned as its representation on the constitutional committee, which was instructed to draft a suitable constitution and submit for approval to the entire body of citizens in the four districts of the city. The committee was thus composed of forty men representing equally the interests of all parts of the city, and they came together upon the day appointed and organized for work by electing a chairman and secretary; after suggesting various plans for action, both to expedite the business and to secure the best results, they adjourned until the next day. It appeared at the following meeting that each company while at sea had formulated a general plan for its government, and so had pretty clear ideas jotted down in definite form as to what they wanted and what they had expected before discovering this beautiful isle. Accordingly these plans or outlines of constitution were now brought forward, and whilst in some points, especially on religious and moral questions, they were quite different, yet it was extremely interesting and instructive to see how very much alike they were in so far as they related to the material or civil welfare of the people. Still it should not seem strange nor need it cause wonder, for the physical needs, the bodily necessities, and the material wants of all men are very much the same; indeed, their mental, moral, and religious needs are more nearly alike than most people realize, and their desires for eternal peace can only be met by coming into harmony with the great Author of the Universe and source of their being. After careful discussion of all points, and wise elimination of all unnecessary verbiage and things of doubtful utility they adopted the following preamble and constitution, which we might glance over together. PREAMBLE. Whereas the Supreme Being whom we worship and adore, "In whom we live, and move, and have our being," has so graciously brought us to this good land in answer to our various petitions; And whereas in His Infinite Wisdom and Love He has led us in ways that we know not of, and has shown us by new proofs that "He has created of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth ; " And whereas He has brought us of so diverse faith and race from the ends of the earth to meet one another face to face and unite in forming a government of freedom, of justice, and of opportunity among men; And whereas by this special Providence He has shown us the way and granted (IV) 18 EQUITANIA. OK TIIK LAND OF EQUITY us the privilege of demonstrating to the world the possibihty and the benefit, as well as the wisdom of dwelling together in mutual good fellowship, helpfulness and peace; Therefore, Be it resolved that we. the undersigned, representing and speaking on behalf of Jews. Christians, Mohammedans and Buddhists, hereby express our profound gratitude to the Author and Upholder of the human race for His guidance and leadership, and beseech Him to grant His good favor, blessing and help, to us and our successors, while we adopt and endeavor to carry out the following constitution : ARTICLE 1. The name of this island shall be "Equitania," or "The Land of Equity," and we, its discoverers and first inhabitants, all of whose names are hereunto attached, if they have reached the age of twenty-one years, both male and female, with our descendants and all whom we or they accept as citizens, or subjects, are, and by right ought to be the owners and proprietors of it, and shall forever be known as "Equitanians." ARTICLE II. The form of government shall forever be a Democracy in the interests of the inhabitants, and no laws shall be enacted or promulgated, except for the mutual, civil and material welfare of all, except such as shall be necessary to safeguard the religious liberty of all. ARTICLE III. The following is and shall be the accepted code of public morals for the Equitanians: 1. Human life is sacred. "Thou shalt not kill." 2. Property rights are personal. "Thou shalt not steal." 3. Human character and reputation are personal, and individual assets, of value. "Thou shalt not lie." 4. Parental authority, sanctity of the home and proper training of children are essential to the welfare, prosperity and perpetuity of the state. "Honor thy father and thy mother." 5. The sacredness and the purity of the home, together with chastity of the individual is essential to peace and equity among men. "Thou shalt not commit adultery or fornication." 6. All men being created free, and endowed by nature with certain equal and inalienable rights. Thou shalt not infringe or trespass upon the natural and acquired rights of another. 7. Selfishness being a great and widespread evil in the world, producing much distress, hardship and strife, it is desired to overcome it by making love or unsel- fishness the ideal motive power among men. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." ARTICLE IV. The home which is sacred and inviolable is the unit of power and safety in city and state. ARTICLE V. All Equitanians, male and female, are subjects of the government, by consent, birth (native born) or by naturalization according to law. ARTICLE VI. All Equitanian subjects are divided into the following classes: Citizens, which includes only male voters; Counsellors (mothers); Associates (wives); and matrons, all other women who have theoir independent living and therefore may occupy places of power and influence in the community; Defectives and Degenerates, which include all who have been duly shown to be incompetent. Criminals and offenders, including all who have been duly convicted of crime or other offense. ARTICLE VII. Any person living in Equitania, and not a subject, is a visitor, and is amenable to the laws for transients or visitors. ARTICLE VIII. No person shall become or remain a citizen of Equitania except males who have reached the age of twenty-one years; have an independent living; and are free from IDEAL CONSTITUTION 19 criminal or grossly immoral acts, as drunkenness, adultery, bribery, etc., and discharge with reasonable fidelity their obligations to their fellowmen. ARTICLE IX. All Equitanians are amenable to the call of government for service in every emergency for the public welfare. ARTICLE X. No Equitanian shall be deprived of any natural or legal right, but by due process of law. ARTICLE XL The English, Hebrew, Arabian and Indian languages shall be official until the year 1883, after which time the EngHsh alone shall be the official language of Equitania. ARTICLE XII. The liberty of the press shall be granted and maintained, but defamatory, slanderous and libelous writing shall not be permitted; nor will open advocacy of violation of law or destruction of the government, or its constitution be allowed. ARTICLE XIII. All Equitanians are equal before the law, and punishments can only be inflicted according to law. ARTICLE XIV. All civil and political rights are wholly free from and independent of religious beliefs and practices, but the duties of Equitanian subjects shall not be abridged' nor interfered with by any religious services or rules. ARTICLE XV. Marriage is a civil contract, and in the interest of the state must be performed according to law and with due regard to the welfare of the state; but having complied with the law of the state nothing herein shall prevent any religious sect making the ceremony sacred, according to its tenets or beliefs. ARTICLE XVI. The state shall provide for suitable education of the youth, and shall confine itself to teaching morality and the things of this, our earthly life, making the instruction practical and helpful in building useful subjects for the Democracv. Nothing in this act shall prevent the various religions having schools for the training of their young in their particular beliefs, provided only they do not omit to teach also the things required by the otate. = -i j ARTICLE XVII. The right of petition shall not be annulled. ARTICLE XVIII. All land, water power, and natural resources belong to the government. ARTICLE XIX. All public utilities shall belong to and be controlled by the government in a manner most conducive to the public weal. ARTICLE XX. The expenditures of the government shall be met from a fund provided as follows: I. Income from lease of public lands, mines, forests, etc. I. Income from profits of all public utilities. 3. Proceeds from export customs and import duties. 4. By one per cent inheritance tax above $100,000.00, and by tax on yearly mcome of one per cent for $3,000.00 and up to $10,000; two per cent for annual mcome over $10,000.00 and not more than $50,000.00, and three per cent on all armual incomes over $50,000.00. ARTICLE XXI. Every Equitanian may settle in any part of the Island, or move from one part to another, at his or her discretion, provided only he gets a certificate of discharge from 20 EQUITAMA, Oli THE LAND OF EQUITY the proper officer in his district, and a letter of acceptance from the proper officers of the district into which he proposes to move. The privileges of removal, and requirements to be met shall be uniform in all parts of the country, and no severe or unusual test shall be applied by any section as against another. ARTICLE XXII. The civil status of all Equitanians is under federal supervision and records of all shall be kept by the proper authorities in each center of population. ARTICLE XXIII. All legislative power in Equitania shall be, and the same is hereby vested in The Assembly, which shall consist of a Senior and a Junior House to be constituted as follows: Sec. 1 . The Senior House is composed of Seniors elected by the voters every six years from their own number, one for each District, who shall be a man of affairs, not less than forty-five years of age, and who shall have proven his abiHty and probity by a successful and honorable career, and shall have been a resident in the District which he represents not less than one year. Sec. 2. The Junior House is composed of Juniors, three from each District, chosen by the voters every three years from the electors who have attained the age of thirty years, and who being themselves voters, have a clean and worthy record. As the Districts increase in population, a careful census of which shall be taken every ten years, beginning in 1870, there shall be added one Junior for each 100.000 population. Sec. 3. Each House shall choose its own officers, be the final judge upon election of its members, and shall keep its own records. Sec. 4. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum in each house, and each shall have power to compel attendance of the members at all sessions. Sec. 5. The Seniors and Juniors shall receive compensation for their services out of the general treasury as may be determmed by them in open joint session, said compensation not to be changed durmg their term of service. ARTICLE XXIV. Sec. 1 . The executive power of this Democracy shall be vested in a President, who shall hold his office for six years, and together with a Vice-President chosen for the same period, shall be elected as follows: A primary election shall be held in each District upon the same day at which the voters shall be given an opportunity to express their preference for President and Vice-President. If any person has received a clear majority of all the votes cast, the same having been certified by the proper authorities to the Assembly, then the Assembly shall declare such persons duly elected as President and Vice-President respectively. If no person has received such majority, then the Assembly shall proceed to choose a President from the two candidates who received the highest vote, and the presiding officer of the Assembly shall have no vote, except in case of a lie, when his vote shall be the deciding one,' The Vice President shall be elected in the same manner. Sec. 2. No person shall be eligible to the presidency unless he has attained the age of forty-five years, is a native born citizen, a successful man of affairs, able, upright, and honorable in his dealings with his fellowmen, as expressed in the moral code. Sec. 3. The President and Vice President shall receive such compensation as the Assembly may determine. Sec. 4. The President shall before induction into office make the following declara- tion before the Assembly on the first Monday of June following his election: "In the presence of this, the highest legislative body of the Equitanians, in the presence of all the witnesses here convened and before the Supreme Ruler of the universe to whom I must one day give account of all deeds done in the "body, I promise to faithfully execute the office of President of Equitania to the best of my ability, in equity and fairness to all the people, and that I will support, defend and protect its constitution." IDEAL CONSTITUTION 21 Sec. 5. The President shall appoint as his privy council such heads of departments as the Assembly may deem wise to authorize. ARTICLE XXV. The Assembly may offer rewards, confer honors, and bestow dignities upon any Equitanian for highly meritorious discoveries, inventions, or any distinguished services or deeds on behalf of the- commonwealth. ARTICLE XXVI. Man being an intelligent, religious, moral, accountable or responsible, and social creature, must and will develop or progress along all these lines, and will have the following fourfold duties. Sec. 1 . Religious duties, or those pertaining to his relations and duties to his God. With these the state need have no concern, since religion is wholly a personal matter between the individual and his God. So that in Equitania its subjects shall forever have liberty of conscience and freedom to worship or not as they please. Save only this, their religious beliefs and practices shall not be allowed to interfere with their duties as faithful and loyal subjects of the common- wealth. Sec. 2. Mora! duties, or those pertaining to man's relations to his fellowmen and all lower animals, because of his kinship with the former and his God-given authority over the latter. With these duties the state need have no further concern than to see that his outward actions toward his fellowmen and all lower animal life conform to the public code of morals cited above for the observance of all Equitanians, since that is the sole basis for all public, moral instructions and legislation in this commonwealth. Sec. 3. Selfish or personal duties to himself. The duty of choosing and working out his own character and destiny. With these the state has nothing more to do than safeguard him in his rights and afford him suitable opportunities for the development of character, and for reaching his chosen destiny, in connection with his duties as a loyal and faithful subject. Sec. 4. Civil duties, or those he owes to his government, or the society of which he is a part. Man's social nature leads him to the formation of families, tribes, nations, and governments, with all their social, industrial, political and economic questions, the supreme object of which is to secure to all its adherents or subjects their natural rights, promote equity, establish justice, insure domestic peace, safeguard the general welfare, and protect them from all domestic and foreign foes. Therefore all legislative enactments shall be formulated, all judicial decisions rendered, and ail executive functions shall be discharged with these ends in view, and limited only by the distinctions made in the four sections of this article. ARTICLE XXVII. An ideal city, community, or government might well be one in which all of its subjects are secure in their natural rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and in which their needs are adequately supplied. Sec. 1 . The right to life is inherent and inalienable, to be used at the subject's own discretion, so long as he does not trespass upon like rights of another, and is not to be taken by any one, or by government, unless forfeited by having taken that of another. Sec. 2. The right to liberty in use of time, talents and possessions in any manner the subject may please is inalienable and not to be curtailed, so long as he does not infringe upon the rights of others. Sec. 3. The right to the pursuit of happiness, or, satisfy the subject's desires in any manner he pleases is inalienable and not to be suppressed or curtailed so long as he does not infringe upon or trespass the rights of others. Sec. 4. The needs of all human beings in civilized countries are much the same, and may be included under the following: (a) Life and Health, (b) Food, (c) Clothing, (d) Shelter, (e) Proper education, (f) Suitable employment, (g) Rest, (h) Recreation, (i) Entertainment, (J) Opportunity for religious culture. It shall be therefore a proper function of 22 EQUITANIA, OK TllK LAM) OF KQUITY this government by wise legislation to attain as far as possible these desirable ends as set forth in this article, and its several sections. ARTICLE XXVIII. Sec. 1. The Judicial power in Equitania shall reside in one Supreme Court of not less than three nor more than seven members, and in such other courts as the Assembly may from time to time determine. Sec. 2. The Judges of these courts shall hold their office during good behavior, or until they have reached seventy years of age, a majority of whom in each court must be men not connected with the legal profession; they shall be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senior House, and shall not be under forty-five years of age. Sec. 3. The Judicial power shall cover all cases which shall arise under the Constitution, treaties with other Powers, and all controversies which may arise between Equitania and other nations, or questions arising between different Districts, or the subjects of different Districts. The interpretation of the constitution is reserved to the citizens themselves. ARTICLE XXIX. No subject shall be imprisoned or despoiled of his freedom, or liberties, outlawed, exiled, or otherwise destroyed; neither shall he nor his, be passed upon except according to law. And it shall be unlawful to sell, deny, or delay to any subject justice or right. ARTICLE XXX. All voters must be duly registered in the place designated, at least fifteen days prior to every election, and the books of registration shall be open to all voters every business day in the year. ARTICLE XXXI. Unusual, excessive, or unjust punishment shall not be inflicted upon any Equitanian, society, organization or corporation; but in so far as possible, the penalties prescribed and inflicted for violations of law shall be equitable, humane, commensurate with the offense committed, and promptly executed. The adequateness and justice of the punishment, together with the certainty and promptness with which the penalty is visited upon the violator of law being effective deterrents and preventives thereof. ARTICLE XXXII. The Assembly shall meet annually on the first Wednesday of May at the seat of government, and when called together by the President, or upon a call signed by a majority of the members of each House. When the houses meet in joint session the Vice-President shall be the presiding officer, unless for good and sufficient reasons in any given case the Assembly may see fit to choose one of its own members to preside. ARTICLE XXXIII. The Assembly being a body representing all the people in their diversified interests, there shall at no time be an undue proportion of its membership in either House from any one calling, business, or profession, but each District should see to it that the different lines of industry, labor, business, calling and profession are fairly represented in the District legislatures and in the Assembly. Should such undue proportion at any session occur, it must be overcome by casting lots for those who are to remain, while those who go shall have their places filled by an immediate election in the localities from which they come. ARTICLE XXXIV. The Assembly shall make such laws for immigration as shall be in the interest of Equitania. While we recognize our relations and duties to all mankind, since "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin," still we are specially responsible for our own, and can in no way jeopardize their interest or welfare by any sentimental effort to do for the outside world anything that would bring injustice or disaster to those for whom we are directly responsible. Standing for the rights of individuals, we could not allow others to trespass upon the rights of our own, merely to grant immigrants privileges. IDEAL CONSTITUTION 23 ARTICLE XXXV. All legislation may be initiated directly by the people if five per cent of the voters petition for any particular legislation; and a petition of ten per cent of the voters shall require any proposed law to be referred to the voters for their approval or rejection. Any law upon which the Supreme Court and the Assembly may differ shall be referred to the people for final decision. ARTICLE XXXVI. Simple justice to all concerned being a prime object of government, it is urged that in so far as possible all personal differences of subjects, society differences, and those which arise between corporations, or between corporations and individuals, be settled by arbitration. To promote this end, it shall be the aim of government to thus adjust all of its differences of every kind and nature as being the ideal method. ARTICLE XXXVII. All officers may be impeached and deposed, if found guilty of bribery, gross injustice, or notorious immorality, or for betraying the government to any foreign power. The President, Vice-President, m.embers of the Supreme Court are subject to impartial trial by the Senior House. The members of both houses are subject to trial by the other members of their respective houses. All other federal officers are subject to trial before the Supreme Court. All officers may be removed without cause by a majority vote of all the citizens, which vote must be speedily taken when requested by ten per cent of the citizens. ARTICLE XXXVIII. The taxes in Equitania for support of government in all its departments, Federal, District, Provincial, Town or City, shall be assessed, collected, and distributed in the following manner: Sec. 1 . There shall be a poll tax of ten dollars annually upon all subjects not otherwise directly taxed, except wives, dependents, and degenerates, together with a tax upon all visitors who remain in Equitania six months. Sec. 2. Income from lease of public lands, mines, forests, etc. Sec. 3. Income from profits of all public utilities. Sec. 4. Proceeds from export customs and import duties. Sec. 5. By one per cent inheritance tax above $100,000.00, and by tax on yearly income of one per cent for $3,000.00 and up to $10,000.00; two per cent for annual income over $10,000.00 and not more than $50,000.00 and three per cent on all annual incomes over $50,000.00. (A) The taxes named in sections 1 and 5 shall be assessed and collected in the town, city, or province where the subject has his permanent home, or where the visitor chiefly visits and shall be divided as follows: 1 . Sixty-five per cent shall belong to the City or Town where it is collected. 2. Ten per cent shall go to the province in which it is collected. 3. Fifteen per cent shall go to the District in which it is collected. 4. Ten per cent shall go to the Federal Government. (B) The taxes named in section 2 shall be assessed, collected and divided as follows : 1. The land tax shall be assessed by the Federal Government and may be collected and divided upon the basis above mentioned. 2. The tax upon natural resources, mines forests, waterways, and all others, shall forever remain under Federal control, but their assessment, collection and distribution, as above indicated, may be delegated temporarily to the town, city, province or district in which they are located, or may be delegated to individuals or corporations which shall be under Federal supervision, and open to publicity and control of the Federal Government. (C) The taxes mentioned in Section 3 on public utilities, shall be assessed, collected and distributed as follows: a. All public utilities whose operations are confined to a town, city, province or District shall be assessed, collected and distributed by the town, city, province 24 KQL'ITAN'IA, OK TlIK LAND OF KgUlTY or district to which its operations are confined, and shall be divided as above mentioned. b. All public utilities which may be operated by the Federal Government in the interests of all the people, and between two or more Districts, shall forever remain under Federal Control, and the revenue therefrom shall belong exclusively to the Federal Government. (D) The taxes mentioned in Section 4 shall be forever under Federal control and used for the expenses of the General Government. (E) When the budget of the Federal or General Government as represented by the Assembly, is fully met without the ten percent fund before mentioned as coming from towns, cities, provinces or districts, then the Assembly shall refund said ten per cent to the original sources from which it came, and these each for itself may determine by a majority vote of its citizens whether to use the said ten per cent for public improvements, or reduce its taxes by so much per annum. ARTICLE XXXIX. The Federal Government, through its Assembly shall have power to supervise, regulate or direct any and every business which may be carried on by private individuals, corporations, organizations or combinations of capital in all parts of Equitania. The committees, boards, or commissions thus appointed by the Assembly shall have full power of investigation, publicity and direction in the interests of justice and equity to all concerned, including the public, the employer, the employee and the proprietors or stock-holders. ARTICLE XL. It shall be the duty of the government so far as possible to protect her subjects from all fraudulent schemes and wild-cat speculations. To this end the government shall. Sec. I. Hold to strict account all persons who publicly advertise their goods or wares. Sec. 2. Hold to strict account all willful impostors and malicious promotors. Sec. 3. Guard the mails and other public agencies from their use in these mischievous dealings. ARTICLE XLI. Sec. I . The Assembly shall divide the Island into fifteen Districts, making No. 1 to include the first settlement at the mouth of the river. It shall have the Island carefully platted, showing all points of interest and importance together with streams, lakes, mountains, valleys, forests, and so forth, so that the other fourteen districts may be as nearly equal in size and opportunity for development as possible. Sec. 2. The Districts may organize into provinces, cities and towns, whenever the population so desires by a majority vole of its citizens, if deemed wise by the Assembly and such provinces, cities and towns shall form governments, enact laws, and elect officers at their discretion, so long as their respective governments are democratic in form and their constitution and laws do not conflict with the Constitution of Equitania, which is the supreme law of the land. Sec. 3. District No. I shall at once have four Seniors and eight Juniors elected as already provided, and each of the Districts as soon as they can show a total population of 10,000 shall have one Senior and two Juniors for the Senior and Junior Houses of the Assembly. ARTICLE XLII. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by either House, and when recommended by a majority vote of both Houses, shall be referred to the citizens for final action when a three-fourths majority shall be essential to its adoption. Amendments shall also be submitted by the Assembly to the voters upon a ten per cent petition of the citizens. The Equitanians say in defense of this Constitution and its various provisions: As it is with the human body so it is with the body politic, whether city, state or nation. When all the organs of the body are working together harmoniously in proper environment and in obedience to their natural laws, then physical health IDEAL CONSTITUTION 25 is the necessary result. When these laws are disobeyed, or discord occurs in the working of these organs, then physical disease follows. When man as a moral being lives in harmony with and obedience to the laws which belong to him in this capacity, then he has moral health. If he lives in disobedience to the laws which should govern his moral nature then there is discord and moral disease. We may carry this simile further and say, as with the individual so with the community; when a group of persons large or small, individually or collectively are obedient to the laws which should govern rational beings, there is harmony, peace and civil happiness. When disobedience occurs with one or more of these individuals, to one or more of the laws which should govern these rational beings in their highest and best interests, then discord follows, there is disease in the body politic and suffering, disturbance and unhappiness result. As to what these laws should be and are to govern rational beings for their highest good and best interests, it may be safely said that they should be such as in principle are applicable to all, possible for all, and if followed and obeyed by all would result in universal peace and happiness to all. The desires of all would be satisfied, there would be equity for all and favors to none. In other words, no law or principle which in its ultimate analysis or results, necessarily works an injustice or unreasonable hardship upon one rational being can be good or right; on the contrary, every law, in equity, must give equal rights, privileges, protection and security to every subject for like services. One great difference between men and beasts is that the former have intellect, reason, judgment, and will power, and are to be led to choose and do the best thing for their highest interests by education, training, culture, and persuasion; rather than by force, this being the essence of moral character. They are to learn what the best things are and then by an internal choice and determination (not by some outward or external compelling force) do the best thing and rise above and superior to their mere animal being. They are to be governed by their own will power based upon choice, made after judgment has been formed, through information conveyed to the mind by means of the various senses and the imagination. While beasts are governed by instinct, without reason or judgment, amenable to the inexorable laws of their organism, without power to change their environment, or ascertain the laws of their being or rise above their animal nature. The best course in life is that which fills the destiny of man, which attains the object of his being, which reaches the goal for which he was created; therefore if we can ascertain the object of his creation, it will be easier to learn the laws which should govern him in pursuit of his rightful destiny. Obedience to the natural laws of our being is the only rational way to health and happiness. Therefore the mere edict of the church or would-be reformers that this must not be done, nor the other left undone, will have but little effect upon rational minds, escaped from superstitious fear; but the demonstration of facts enables one to wisely choose the best course, or unwisely and supinely follow the evil. And, I think you must agree that majorities have no more right to change a fundamental law of agreement upon principle than individuals. Majorities have no more right to usurp authority and do an injustice than individuals have. The end and aim of human existence, or of rational beings, is abiding happiness, therefore the highest and most sublime mission of man on earth is to aid mankind as individuals and en masse to achieve this end by any means needful thereto, either by religion, education, legislation or force. Anything then which will contribute to this end is right and legitimate; and on the other hand whatever is opposed to or obstructive of this aim and object is unwise, improper and wrong. So long as one's desires are all satisfied he is happy, contented and at peace, therefore the constant satisfaction of all desires as fast as they arise is the only means of giving permanent and abiding happiness. All desires which may thus be satisfied without present or future harm to one's self or any one else are legitimate and right and may be indulged or gratified in 26 KQIITAXIA, OK TIIK LAND OF EQUITY any manner not harmful to one's self or some one else. And on the contrary any desire which when gratified does work injury to the person so indulging, or to any one else, is wrong and should not be gratified, but such desire should be displaced by a good one. Since every human being desires happiness, and since abiding happiness can only come from the permanent and constant satisfaction of all desires, and since rightly, justly and equitably no desire can be gratified which will do injury either to one's self, or another, therefore it should be our duty, aim and pleasure to find what are legitimate desires and how they may be properly gratified. Surely no one but is at least willing that all, even the poor, the outcast, the downtrodden should be happy, and that they should have right desires and have them gratified. And if it can be shown that the real happiness of all, even the rich, the highly favored and the educated can be permanent only upon a fair and equitable basis where all alike must have desires and gratify them in such manner as shall work no hardship or injustice upon any one else, then surely we can agree that such is a wise, humane, and feasible plan, and then we can vie with one another in bringing it about so that the greatest happiness may accrue to all. We must as wise, judicious, well-wishers of humanity agree upon a common, fundamental principle from which to work before we can intelligently proceed to any practical good end for man as man, or for society as a rational body. Every normal human being is born with an inate or inherent sense of justice, as truly as he is born with a conscience whose universal cry is "I ought to do right." Whenever this sense of justice is violated or outraged there is a deep revulsion of spirit and an outcry of horror against the wrong. Especially is this true and the greater is the injury done when such injustice is done by the state; for its right to govern depends upon its justice to the subjects under its control. Who can look upon the hardships of the laborers and many of our wage earners and note the apparent inequality in the comforts of life between those toilers of long hours and severe burdens year after year, and those of less toil, great leisure, and few hardships, whose ease, and wealth and luxury are largely produced by these same hard worked employees, without a deep concern and feeling that an injustice is being done, and that the desires of the rich, the well-to-do, and others are being gratified at the expense and injury of others) It is not right, it will not last, it cannot endure! There must be an adjustment when equity will prevail, and when each will consider the welfare of the other, and the desires of each must be so modified as to include the other. It is one of the glories of man as above the brute creation, that he can learn by experience and observation to see the course of events, that he can reason from cause to effect, and when he has certain established premises or determined facts, know that certain conclusions must be drawn and then definite and inevitable results must follow. And then as a rational being it is his province to act upon the evidence before him and choose his way accordingly. He who with the causes and consequences all before him chooses most wisely is of course the wisest man; or he who chooses the course that will give him the greatest permanent happiness is the wisest man. And here we must remember that universal law already given, namely, that one to be perfectly and permanently happy must have all his desires constantly satisfied; and that no desire can be thus justly satisfied which works an injury to one's self, or to another rational being. Selfishness (which means self-interest without regard to or at the expense and injury of another) is wholly incompatible with permanent happiness. It may give a temporary satisfaction and therefore an apparent happiness, but such cannot be abiding, because it is unfair, inequitable, unjust and wrong. A true, and therefore a broad conception of human life with all of its possi- bilities here and hereafter is essential to right views of man's relations to the race and to all intelligent beings, and therefore to the rules and regulations, or the laws which must necessarily prevail among all of these related rational beings before per- fect harmony and its consequent abiding happiness can universally prevail. In other words, if there be such a thing possible as universal peace, harmony and happiness FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 27 among a class or classes of intelligent beings, then there must be knowledge of and obedience to the laws governing such beings. If there be discord, jealousies, envyings, strife and contentions then there must necessarily be absence of peace and happmess among some, at least, of these; for desires of some are not satisfied else there would be peace, which of course cannot prevail while any have unsatisfied desires. If there be in reality a possible universal peace, or even in imagination such a place or state exist; then it must be upon the basis of all its members, every one, being satisfied, contented, and therfore happy in their lot; for if even one of the number properly belonging to this class be dissatisfied, discontented and unhappy, then of course it is not a universal peace or happiness to this community, society or class, and thus the theory must break down, and then you are forced to admit that a universal peace and happiness does not exist; and further if conditions are eternally such as to preclude the possibility of ever having all desires of this class of intelligent beings satisfied, then we are driven to the inevitable conclusion that no such thing as universal peace and happiness among intelligent beings has ever existed, nor can ever exist; that discord, unhappiness, and selfishness has always existed, and will ever continue to exist so long as intelligent beings exist, and that there is absolutely no hope for such condition ever to prevail, and hence all effort and work in that direction are vain and futile. If then we are driven to this conclusion we must go a step further and say that there is and can be no perfect, supreme being in all the universe, and that the Greeks were doubtelss right who believed and taught that there were many Gods, and among them were jealousies, envy and strife, like unto that among men, and that one was supreme only until another should arise who by some fate or other unknown power should overthrow the first and supersede him for a time, until he in like manner should be overthrown, and thus in endless procession the cycles of eternity roll in ever changing turmoil of rulers. For if the one whom we think of and choose to call the Supreme Being, is not perfect in all the attributes with which we naturally endow an intelligent benig, then he is not perfect. If he be not perfect in knowledge of course there is a defect. If he be not perfect in power, though all other attributes were perfect and infinite, he would have a defect of vital importance. Hence a being, to be and remain supreme among intelligent and reasonable or rational beings, must be perfect, or have all of these attributes which essentially belong to intelligent beings, in perfection or to an infinite degree. An unselfish act must be one done primarily for the good of another and without thought of self or personal benefit. A truly charitable, philanthropic or altruistic act must be done for the good of another and must work no hardship or injury to anyone, except it be the sacrifice of time, comfort and effort on the part of the doer, in which case it becomes in addition a self-sacrificing act and meritorious in itself, because the price paid is a voluntary sacrifice of one's time, money, effort, energy or other valuable service m the interest and welfare of another without thought, consideration or hope of personal benefit therefrom. . Every noble, self-sacrificing, charitable, philanthropic act, however freely or willingly done, returns to the doer of it some compensation in the consciousness and satisfaction of an act well done; and therefore in a sense every such act has its own reward or pays the doer thereof in the manner he most enjoys, and gives him value received for his service of love in this satisfaction, or in the gratification of this desire for the consciousness of an unselfish act well done. But if he does the deed or performs the service for the mere gratification of such desire, or with this end and aim in view, then the act or service is at once taken out of the realm of the altruistic, the true philanthropic or unselfish class, and becomes a selfish one. So far as the deed done, or the service rendered, is concerned, it may do the person who is served just as much good, and give as great relief, but it tends to cultivate a spirit of selfishness in the doer of the deed, and hence is not in the class of the wholly unselfish and altruistic deeds. The spirit of self-sacrifice, of unselfishness, of doing good to others, or as the Scriptures say, "Look not every man on his own things, but on the things of 28 EQUITAMA. OK THK LAND OF EQUITY others;" "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ," is the spirit which wins the hearts of men and triumphs over obstacles and opposition of every nation and among all peoples. Sylvester: Yes, I see the point you have made and believe it well taken by these people, but now tell me about these delinquents, and others, and how they manage their cities. Horace: Very well, but as it is late perhaps we had better take up that and other questions again. Come over tomorrow night and I will be glad to go further into detail with you. Sylvester: I thank you very much, and will be here promptly tomorrow night. Good night. Horace: Good night, old boy. CHAPTER III. CITY GOVERNMENT AND SOME OF ITS PROBLEMS. Sylvester — Good evening, Horace, meet my friends, Robert and Mr. Smart, who were so much interested in this new land from what I told them, that they persuaded me to bring them along to hear the discussion tonight. Horace: How do you do; I am delighted to meet you and especially glad am I to know you are Sylvester's friends who are interested in Equitania. Please sit down in comfortable chairs and we will proceed, for there is much to tell. Robert: I thank you for the kindly greeting and now pray go on, but please allow me to ask questions as they occur to me. Horace: Yes, indeed; stop me at any point and ask whatever questions occur to you in order to give you a clear idea of this unique country. A weakness of most governments among men is the permission of personal dishonesty or the non-fulfillment of contracts, or failure to do what one agrees to do. In this new land they overcome this defect in the following manner: Give all a fair chance and then make men pay their debts, their voluntary obligations, whether it be assumption of a contract to pay money or its equivalent, or whether said contract calls for other consideration. For every man can or cannot discharge the voluntary obligations which he assOmes; and if he can, but will not he should be forced to do so. If he cannot it is either because he is mentally and physically unqualified and is therefore a dependent, or he has assumed an impossible or unreasonable task from which he may be excused upon proper conditions by rightful authority; or finally, he has not had a fair chance, and this, his government should give. As an illustration, I may refer you to the following case which I knew to occur in the United States: Miss B. aged 20 married Mr. P. a young man with qualifications for and filling a good position. After they lived together for some months with apparent satis- faction and happily, the wife became pregnant, and in a few months, without warning, and for no known cause, he leaves his home, ignores his wife, and assumes no responsibility for his wife, nor his child which is shortly to be born; but goes his way, careless, free, unconcerned about the one to whom he has pledged faith and support, and now with the oncoming child more dependent on him than ever. Both the child and the mother are wards of the state, and it should be the duty of the state in its own interests, and in justice to its subjects, to hunt that man down and make him provide for his own. Simply require him to carry out the obligation which he voluntarily assumed. That would be right, it would be fair, it would be just. More could not be asked, les.i| could not be done and equity established. The knowledge that justice would be required and secured at all hazards for the subjects, would act as a check, a safeguard and a protection to all. This woman now has a babe and herself to care for and is without the means for self-support, but must go back to her family to bring an extra care, an unjust burden upon them. And a little later, possibly, go into the market for wages and compete with others who already are in an overcrowded market, and thus help to keep down the wages, for where the supply in any community is greater than the demand there is reduction in price. The husband in the case has not only done his wife a wrong and his baby an injustice; but more, he has grossly wronged the family and imposed a hardship and an injustice upon the other workers with whom his wife must now come into competition. And if allowed to run at large, he will not stop at this, but will keep as mistress or marry temporarily some other innocent girl and make her possibly a similar victim, or bring up children stamped with his own impure life or grievously perverted ideas of manhood and justice, which will be a menace to the state and a disrupter of society. (29) 30 KQUITAXIA, Oli TIIK LAND OF KQl'lTV In Equitania provision is made for all such cases to bring the man to discharge his obHgations to his family and thus protect the state as well as serve its weak subjects. Now when it is shown that one cannot meet his obligations from mental and physical defects, he becomes a delinquent, or a dependent, and is taken in charge as such by the proper person provided for this class and helped at the point of defect and in just such measure as will enable him to meet and discharge his obligations and care for himself and those dependent upon him. In the meantime he is not eligible to hold office or vote in the commonwealth, these rights being reserved wholly for citizens, all of whom must be self-supporting. The right of citizenship is taken from these dependents not as a punishment, for they have not committed a crime, but for the good and sufficient reason, that he who is unable by his sad and unfortunate mental and physical disability to care for himself, is not capable of helping to care for the much larger interests of others. Being himself a dependent, his advice, counsel, and government of others would but tend to make all, dependents like himself and therefore would be injurious to the state, and would work even more injury to himself, because of the inadequate laws which he and his kind would enact, and because of the injustice and cruelly which he and his kind would unwittingly impose upon the state. Hence in his interests, as well as for the welfare of the whole state, the affairs of state should be managed and controlled by those who are wise enough to manage their own affairs equitably, honestly and successfully. If any being, corporation or government had rightful and adequate authority to govern a rational being, or group of such persons, then he or it should issue or promulgate such rules and regulations as may be deemed right and best to have the subjects in harmony with the authority, and he may also enact such penalties and punishments as will equitably and adequately meet the ends of justice. - This is the primary end of punishment; that is, the penalty inflicted should be just, right and equitable and in harmony with, as well as adequate to the offense, crime or disobedience. When Jehovah placed Adam and Eve in Eden he gave them one command, the violation of which was to be punished with death. That is to say, continued obedience and perfect submission to the Divine will, meant peace, happiness and continued life; while disobedience and refusal to submit to the Divine will, meant strife, sorrow, death. In the first case it would be harmony and connection with the Divine will, in the second case it would be discord and severance from the Divine will. Or, finally, obedience and harmony meant connection with the Source of Life and therefore the enjoyment of life; while disobedience and discord meant separation from the Source of life, and therefore the loss of life, or death. This was perfect justice, and the punishment was adequate to the offense, and hence Divine justice was satisfied. But Jehovah in his infinite wisdom saw fit to add in mercy an opportunity for this punishment to work repentance in man and by the provision of a Redeemer permit man to again come into willing subjection and obedience to the Divine will, and by regaining harmony and connection once more with the Source of life, he might have the more abundant life, even life everlasting. So that in mercy this may be a secondary object of punishment; or, justice and equity having been satisfied, Mercy may permit reformation to be a secondary consideration whereby the offender may have another chance for obedience and harmony with the authority which he has violated and impugned. Hence we should bear in mind these two objects of punishment, and their respective relations, namely: 1. Punishment must be meted out to the offender in such measure as will be adequate to the ends of justice. Prov. 25:5 and 16:12; Ps. 88:14; Ps. 97:2. 2. Justice having been satisfied in equity, the voice of mercy may be heard in order to bring about the reformation of the individual who has committed the offense. But it should always be remembered that the primary object of punishment and the infliction of a penalty for violated law is of right and ought to be the execution and establishment of justice; and that only secondarily can the question of reformation of the criminal offender be considered. OBEDIENCE, HARMONY; DISOBEDIENCE, DISCORD 31 Moses gives in the following passages, the grounds upon which he insists the children of Israel should obey God, or the reasons why Jehovah can rightly and justly demand obedience of them. See Deut. 1:6-8; Deut. 3:1,4; Deut. 5:1,5,23,27. He then proceeds to plead for equity and justice among the Israelites as follows: Deut. 1:16; 11:18-21; 16:18-20; 17:2-11; 25:13-16; 30:11-16. 19,20; 31:6, 7, 8; 32:1,4. Socrates said, "What is in conformity with justice should also be in conformity to the laws." Aristotle said, "Justice is to give to every man his own." Cicero said, "Justice consists in doing no injury to men; decency in giving them no offense." Rosseau said, "An honest man nearly always thinks justly." Voltaire said, "The sentiment is so natural, and so universally acquired by all mankind, that it seems to be independent of all law, all party, all religion." Addison said, "To be perfectly just is an attribute of the Divine nature; to be so to the utmost of our abilities, is the glory of man." Bacon said, "Judges ought to be more learned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue." Daniel Webster said, "Justice is the great interest of man on earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized nations together. Wherever her temple stands, and so long as it is duly honored, there is a foundation for social security, general happiness and the improvement and progress of our race." Gladstone said, "Justice delayed is justice denied." I have seen somewhere the following which illustrates very clearly to my mind the wisdom and basis of the Equitanian government. The question is asked, and as you will see, is answered by a Christian writer: "How is rightful proprietorship in, and authority over intelligent beings, animals, or things always acquired?" Only in one of four ways : 1. By creation. 2. By make or manufacture. 3. By gift or consent of the rightful owner. 4. By purchase from the rightful owner. MAN'S FOURFOLD DUTIES. First: Religious duties. Relations and duties to God. a. Recognition of His Authority. Gen. 1 :1, 27; Acts II : 22-28. b. Obedience to His law. Eccles. 12:13-14; Matt. 22:36-40; Ex. 20:1-17. c. Adoration, praise and worship. Matt. 4:10. d. Service, loving and faithful. Rev. 2:10. Second: Personal character building. Duty of choosing and working out a personal destiny. a. Recognize personal accountability. Rom. 14:12. b. Choosing wisest destiny. Jno. 3:16; Rom. 2:1-11; Joshua 24:15. c. Make daily duties tributary. II Cor. 5:10. d. All pleasures should contribute. 1 Cor. 10:31. Third: Moral Duties. Those which he owes to his fellowmen and all lower animal life, because of his kinship to the former and his God-given authority over the latter. a. Duties of husband and wife. b. Duties of parents to children. c. Duties of children to parents. d. Duties of brothers and sisters. e. Duties of master and servant. Col. 3:18-23. f. Duties of employer and employe. Col. 4:1. 32 EgUITAXIA, Oli TllK LAND OF EQUITY g. Duties of employers to one another, h. Duties of laborers to one another. Col. 3:25. i. Duties of man to man. Matt. 22:40. j. Duties to all lower animals, domestic and wild. Prov. 12:10. Fourth: Civil duties, or those which man assumes when he becomes an integral part of organized society in town, city, state or nation. a. Recognition of the Supreme authority of that government in all civil matters in which he is concerned. Rom. 13:1-14. Book of Daniel. Micah 6 : 8 b. Recognition of his rightful place in that government, whether as subject or officer. c. Obedience to its laws. d. Doing his fair share in making the laws just and equitable to all its citizens and helping to fairly execute them. e. Endeavor to have his government deal fairly with all other governments and peoples. f. To do his fair part in making all the citizens safe in person and possessions, and in securing for them their rights and the largest possible liberty in the pursuit of happiness, consistent with the like freedom of others. g. Duties of officers to the people, h. Duti'es of people to the officers. i. Duties of subjects to one another, j. Duties of keeping contracts. Man has neither the authority, nor the power to make another be religious, or moral, because both are elements of the soul in its internal and Divine essence, in its voluntary attitude toward God and man. The internal or mental attitude of the soul toward God is the very essence or basis of religion, while this internal mental attitude toward mankind and the lower animal creation is the very essence or basis of morality; and the outward daily life in each case is the expression of the two, or religion and morality. The deliberate choosing of a definite religious and moral aim in life to develop a certain kind of character and destiny, or refusing to make such choice is intelligent voluntary character buildmg. The duties which I assume as a part of human society, whether Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or Mohammedan, obligates me to help secure to all, their natural rights, and protect them in their lives, possessions and liberties, upon the sole condition that they do the same to me and mine. We may not agree at all in religion; we might not agree in morals, nor in character building, and yet we might be one in our civil demands. a. The Christian wants protection in all his natural rights, safety in life, possessions and liberty in his religion and morals. b. The Jew wants protection in all his natural rights, security in his life, possessions and liberty in religion and morals. c. The BuddhhU wants the same. d. The Mohammedan wants exactly the same. The Book of Daniel gives a most perfect concrete example of Godliness and Christian morality of citizens in a foreign country. Micah 6:8. We may thus follow with profit so wise and just a plan as the foregoing, namely: 1. The grounds upon which authority rests, or the right of authority to claim obedience to its laws or edicts, and 2. The laws laid down by said authority, and the rules of equity thereby enunciated. Bearing these principles in mind, we may now proceed in this "Land of Equity" to note the laws made for the people; because the rightful authority elected by the voluntary act of the members has been properly established and they have enacted equitable laws for all the people, and provided for just penalties for each and every violation of such laws. HUMAN RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS 33 To this end it will be necessary to know where the people belong with whom we deal. Every person in the "Land of Equity" is by birth or adoption a subject of this country, or he is a visitor from some other country, and each is carefully registered as to his exact residence, pedigree, calling, or occupation and means of identification. And in case of a foreigner, his object, destination, and time of sojourn in the land. Thus each one is given his proper location and is assigned to his chosen work or duty, and can always be traced to his origin for any future needed reference. Every human being, no matter how insignificant, has, and by natural right ought to have, a status of importance, and worthy of recognition in society wherever he may be as citizen, subject or visitor, and in this way only can he be given due and proper recognition. Then, too, every member of the community should pay his share of the expense of government from the local up to the highest or general government under which he lives. Every visitor who spends as much time as six months in any one year should pay personal tax toward the total government expenses for that year. In the United States we prepare hospitals to care for the sick and the insane. We provide jails, houses of correction, reformatories, penitentiaries, and policemen to arrest, guard and punish the criminal classes, but what do we to help prevent any and all of these needing such care? My contention is that not only is it wiser, more economic and more humane to so care for these people that they will not need policemen for their arrest, jails, reforma- tories, penitentiaries for their correction, and asylums as well as hospitals for their ailments; but that it is a very important part of the government's duty to make such provision, and this is the plan in Equitania. In short if it were possible for the government by any reasonable means to prevent all need for such places and such officers, would it not be well for it to do so, and would not the people demand it> Then why not go as far as it can in the matter of prevention? And this it can do by giving all of its subjects an equal chance, helping all who may need it in getting suitable employment, improving or making tolerable their environment in living and in work, in seeing to it that the strong do not unfairly impose upon the weak, nor the learned and shrewd take undue advantage of the ignorant, and that every one shall have a fair chance to earn a living and get food, shelter and clothing for himself and those dependent upon him, and that he have opportunity for rest, recreation, amusement, and instruction aside from the time necessarily required for his employment. If the twenty-four hours of the day were divided into three equal periods of eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep and eight hours for recreation, amusement, instruction and religious exercises, all necessary work could be done well, and everybody could have time and opportunity for such training, education, culture and personal improvement as would be greatly helpful to the state as well as to the individual. That, too, would give all a chance to more fittingly observe the Sabbath day as a day of worship, and such sacred rest as each might desire. By improving the environment, the hygienic conditions, the education, the health of the masses who now live and work at tremendous disadvantage and with an almost insurmountable handicap, we in the United States would at once elevate the entire citizenship to a surprising degree, and make for the happiness of the whole common- wealth; and the Equitanians have skillfully brought these things to pass. Take for example non-fulfillment, or violation, of contract. Here the penalty is commensurate with the evil done, and the offender compelled to discharge his obliga- tions, or in lieu thereof, indemnify the injured party, and is deprived of his liberties and privileges as a citizen most equitably in keeping with his shortcomings. Again, drunkenness is a crime or offense not often punished with any degree of equity, or in harmony with reason and sound judgment. The Scriptures say, "The drunkard shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." "The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty." "Be not drunk with wine," and "Woe unto him that putteth the bottle to his neighbor's lips, and maketh him drunken also," "Be not among wine- bibbers," and many other warnings against excessive or improper use of alcoholics, and the abuse of any of God's bountiful gifts which are intended for man's good. But wath this phase of the question our highest and best duty is done when we warn, educate, train and persuade our fellowmen along these lines, and by word as well as by our individual example teach them God's truth and urge by the loving persuasion of words :n p:qu[tania, ok tin; laM3 of EguiTV and life to individual acceptance and practice of these precepts. So that in civil affairs we rightly have nothing to do with the question of what a man eats, drinks, or wears until his course in some very definite way interferes with or transgresses the equal rights of others. Even if a man eats, drinks, or takes drugs to excess the state could not rightly suppress it and punish him for that action until he had in some way, done injury or threatened injury to some other citizen or person whom the state is bound to protect. So that if a man were to take his whiskey jug and go to some wild and uninhabited region he might revel with his cups to his heart's content and no man could justly interfere by any physical force with that inalienable right. But when he comes into society and by his cups trespasses upon the rights of his fellow citizens, he at once becomes amenable to any laws of equity which the society of which he is a part may see fit to enact. Suppose by his over-indulgence he deprives his family of the work and money needful to their support. Here he violates a fair and voluntary contract which he entered into when he assumed the marriage relation and which he should be made to keep, because he can keep it, and in equity he ought to keep it, and the state is justly and fairly bound in its duty to the wife and children who are its dependent subjects to compel the enforcement of the obligations which it has allowed him to assume when he married the wife. Therefore if he does not provide for his family, but wastes his time and money in drink he should be deprived of his citizenship, put to work under a suitable guardian, and his earnings used for his own and his family's needs. The monstrous practice of fining the drunkard, end perhaps putting him in jail for 30 or 60 days is a most absurd and unjust practice, for here the state takes from the fellow money which his family needs, and time for useful work which would be for his good as well as for the good of the state and the family. The punishment should be adequate to and fully compensatory of the injury done, and the offended party should get the benefit of the penalty which in this case is the wife and family first, then whatever ill is done the state will be fully atoned by depriving the criminal of his citizenship, to be restored only when reformation has been accomplished. Suppose the man be single and has no one rightly dependent upon him, then deprival of citizenship and compulsory useful employment would be ample and yet a just punishment. Of course I do not forget that the influence of the drunkard upon society is bad, and the influence upon his children by heredity is bad and can hardly be overcome, so that in hopelessly incurable cases the operation of vasectomy in men and resection of the tube in women to prevent reproduction of their kind is not only just and wise, but humane and necessary in the interests of posterity for whom in a very important respect we are responsible. Another advantage to the young and rising generation of such laws would be their educative value as a stimulant to sober citizenship and a preventive of drunkenness. We owe it to our boys and girls to teach them the truth about these things, and then our legislation should be in harmony with our scientific knowledge of the facts about which we enact laws. One of the most useful things to teach children and lead them to a desirable citizenship is, the importance of self-mastery, self-control and the possibility of such personal development, because we belong to the intelligent human race, and not merely to the animal kingdom. It is bcause of this possibility of our being controlled by reason, judgment, and will that we can claim superiority to the lower animal life around us, and the matter of food and drink are only parts of the great world about us in which we need to exercies intelligent control of ourselves; but if we once appreciate the principle and put forth the will-power, to govern, then it only remains for us to broaden our knowledge of things that are good or bad for us, and we at once have our reserve power and our defensive armour ready for any emergency which may arise, and we act at once with vigor, precision and success. The will is the citadel of manhood and until it be overthrown the man is not subdued nor can all the devils in or out of hell overcome him so long as a right will is intact. Regarding the question of drunkenness and the saloon, the use of tobacco and the running of tobacco shops in this "Land of Equity:" Any one is allowed to make, sell or use all kinds of alcoholics and tobacco just exactly as any other things of luxury, as coffee, tea, guns, knives, swords, and so forth, and upon the same basis, making the one vvho sells responsible only for two things: IMPORTANCE OF SELF-MASTERY 35 First — A genuine, or pure article, as called for, and Second — Selling or giving only to responsible persons. And for any violation of these requirements, they mete out to him an adequate and effective penalty. In the next place the one who buys, or receives, and uses them being a responsible person he must be held accountable for any injury or harm he does to another through the use of these agencies. Whenever he harms his family, his friend, acquaintance or stranger, he must be brought to quick justice, and no excuses allowed that "he didn't know it was loaded," or he "didn't know what he was doing," or he "couldn't control himself," or he "couldn't help it." If this be his plea and it be true and well established, then he is at once taken out of the responsible class of citizens and treated accordingly. You can never develop strength of character, force and moral worth in the boys and young men of a community, but by requiring it of them, and making them stand the test of life by resisting the evil and doing the good voluntarily. Neither can we make them see and appreciate the value of the one and the uselessness and harm of the other but by putting a suitable premium upon the first and a mark of disapproval and stigma upon the second. Exalt the one because worthy, and penalize in a suitable measure the other because it is just and right, and further because of its educational value. Teach the young the truth about these things as fast as we know it, and when old enough let them choose for themselves whether or not to indulge at all and hold each responsible to the community for any damage he may do it, or any member thereof. So long as he sells or uses any of these, and like commodities, in the proper manner, it is his personal right and God-given privilege, and no government has any right to say to any of her responsible citizens you shall not use them in this manner, for when it does it usurps authority and by so doing is teaching its citizens false doctrine and sowing seed which is bound to bring forth a fruitage of evil deeds. Teaching the truth along lines of personal accountability and individual responsi-t bility, and emphasizing the fact that man is and by right as a free moral agent, ought to be, the builder, the artificer of his own character, will add strength to any appeal to mankind which comes to the youth of the community, and real worth, will-power, and moral strength can come in no other way. If it be true in any important sense, "He can, because he thinks he can," then it will be equally true that he cannot, because he thinks he cannot, and he is whipped in the fight before he has begun. You develop weaklings; boneless, nerveless, and insipid youths by teaching them to be dependent upon surroundings, favorable circumstances, conditions void of temptation, and leading them to believe they cannot stand when tempted, and that they are really excusable any way when they fall, as it was the fault of their tempter, or their conditions, or their companions, or their heredity, or some other equally foreign or foolish thing, and they themselves are not to blame. You make sport of every man's well-known experience and you make a travesty of human intelligence and human responsibility when you teach such false abominable doctrine, and you hold up to derision the plain teaching of Scripture which says, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." That is to say you must give an account of your personal actions and thoughts toward God and toward your fellowmen, not how they acted toward you, towards your teachings or influence, nor yet how they acted toward God and truth. They will give that report, and you must give your own individual report for yourself. The earlier the children learn and act upon this truth, the better for the men and women which they become. I am sure that in our modern civilization there is too much blame laid upon others for the faults, shortcomings and sins of the individual, and too little recognition of personal ability to do or not to do the right, and therefore of personal responsibility, and it comes from the Devil himself suggesting this false doctrine to people and they take it as a soothing panacea, and lull themselves to peace, and even to sleep in this erroneous justification for their evil deeds and wrong-doing. PROHIBITION AS TAUGHT BY THE PROHIBITION PARTY AND ITS ADVOCATES IN GENERAL, IS UNJUST, IMMORAL AND UNSCRIPTURAL. First — It is unjust because it undertakes by false doctrines and sentimental argument to coerce a majority to yield a harmless and pleasant indulgence for the sake of an insignificant minority who abuse this privilege and enjoyable pastime. Because It seeks to forbid, condemn and make criminal a perfectly innocent, harmless and 36 EQUITANIA. UK THE LAND OF EQUITY legitmate act (making, giving and selling alcoholics) by tacitly or inferentially excusing the improper use or abuse of these drinks which is the real evil or wrong. It is absolutely certain that no course can ever permanently triumph or benefit the human race which is based upon injustice, as Prohibition most certainly is, for we read^- "Justice and Judgment are the habitation of Thy Throne." Second — It is immoral because it seeks to take away personal accountability in the building of character. It seeks to make the individual a victim of temptation and of circumstances — a mere puppet or automaton in the hands of the tempter; because it magnifies the power of the Devil and minimizes the power of God; because it makes the power of man in collusion with the Devil greater than the power of God; because it magnifies the power of men En Masse in making laws for the moral government of men by outward external agencies, and minimizes the power of God over the individual man by an internal agency — The Holy Spirit, who can enable the man to choose the right and make him efficient in doing the right; because it implies an imperfection in the work and plans of the Creator. It seeks to substitute Satan's plan in the moral government of the world, for God's plan, that is to say — Satan would make us believe that the only way to have man live a good life is to surround him with such laws and conditions, make his environment such that he cannot go wrong. While God's plan is to place men in the world, give them the power of choice, create within them the desire for holy living and give them power to triumph over circumstances and build worthy characters in spite of and thru the help of adverse, external conditions. It is an effort to substitute allegiance to Satan for allegiance to God. It is the same old trick he played in Eden when he got Eve to choose obedience to Satan rather than to Jehovah. He now comes back as an Angel of Light in these days and asks us to obey him on the Temperance question, rather than God and so he proposes Prohibition as a substitute for temperance and lo! a host rise up and follow his leadership. Third — It is unscriptural because it seeks to condemn and penalize the maker, giver or seller of alcoholics while it condones and excuses the user and abuser of these drinks; because it seeks to forbid, condemn and make criminal the maker, giver, or seller of alcoholics, while it excuses, pities and in a large measure exonerates the drunkard. The Scriptures nowhere condemn the making, giving or selling of alcoholics but they most emphatically condemn their improper use or abuse. "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess." The scriptures teach the personal accountability of the individual to God for his every act and deed and in no wise excuses him, for it is wisely and justly said — "So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God." But according to the Prohibition principle applied in like manner to other moral qualities it would make the absconding bank cashier a poor unfortunate victim of circum- stances, not so much guilty of any crimes, as are his employers who did not keep temptation out of his way. As the highwayman who knocks down and robs the night pedestrian of his watch, diamonds and money, is not so much to blame, for said pedestrian ought not to have been out alone after night with watch, diamonds and money. The temptation was too great, the highwayman was helpless in the face of such great odds and society, forsooth, must remove these temptations out of the poor robber's way. Or. the married man who leaves his wife and children to run off with another man's wife, is not so much to blame, for the other man should have kept his more attractive wife out of the way of the deserter and not let such great temptations overtake his neighbor; or perhaps his own wife is wholly to blame, or surely society is to blame for not makmg it impossible for him to sin in this way and transgress the customs and good forms of society. Surely the poor man is not to blame for losing interest in his own wife and children and becoming infatuated with another man's wife. Poor fellow, how could he help it? Society is to blame for having such customs and laws as will interfere with his freedom and he should be freely excused because there was the temptation and he could not help yielding to it. As the preacher, priest or bishop who has a wild escapade with a charming young woman of his flock, cannot be blamed so very, very much, for the beautiful and fasci- nating young woman should have kept out of his sight, she should not have been in his way, the church ought to have made it impossible for him to have been tempted by her presence and charms which he had not the strength to resist. Society is guilty, the IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONTROL 37 church is gulhy or she is guilty, but not the poor preacher, the priest or the bishop! Oh! No, he poor fellow, could not help it, therefore he is not to be censured too much, just enough to pacify public clamor, but really we do not feel that he is so much to blame as the girl, the church or society, which failed to make it impossible for him to be thus tempted! ! ! Then too, we must reverse the divine and even common verdict against profanity. For when a man uses profane language and takes the name of God in vain, he has become angry, he has lost his temper, somebody or something, has annoyed him or he has grown careless; and unthoughtedly he uses the oath and of course is not to blame for how could he help it? There was the provocation, the carelessness or thoughtlessness and he was a victim of circumstances and Lo! the oath is uttered, the divine command is broken, the sin is committed. Now surely the person or thing that annoyed him, the thing that caused him to lose his temper, or make him thoughtless, was to blame for if that had not occurred, would he have uttered the profane word? Or perhaps it was his unruly tongue and this member was to blame for if he had not had a tongue, or if deprived of the power of speech, he would not be profane; therefore, it must be his tongue that is at fault, or his temper or his surroundings or his vocation which makes it easy for him to give way to his temper, or habit by profanity! But listen-^"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain." No apologies here, no excuses accepted, no extenuating circumstances allowed. Again applying the Prohibition principle to murder, a man feels himself aggrieved by another and goes out to hunt him down with his gun; or two men get into an argument over a game of cards or some other small matter and one kills the other, or two men get into an altercation over a woman and in the quarrel one is killed. Now surely the man who could not control his temper and happened to prove the best and quickest shot is not to blame; the other man should not have provoked him, the woman should not have let herself be a temptation, the man should not have aggrieved his fellowman in any way; the man killed should not have been in the way, in fact all of these conditions were at fault and they, or surely society at large, should have made it impossible for this poor fellow to kill his fellowman. Surely if there had been no revolvers, guns, swords, knives or other death-dealing agencies, then no murder would have been committed. In other words, there was the opportunity, the temptation and agency by which the murderer could commit the act and he, poor fellow, could not resist the temptation and so, was not much to blame, if at all. But hark you! "Thou shalt not kill." No soft words here, no flimsy excuses allowed, no laying blame or guilt upon one's tempter, surroundings or other frivolous conditions. Suppose you take another example, lying or bearing false witness against your neighbor. Now according to the Prohibition principle, your neighbor ought not to make it possible for you to he about him. He ought to so humor you, or keep out of your sight and knowledge, that you could not lie about him. Both he and society should make it impossible for you to bear any false witness by tongue or pen about him. Here again; if you were dumb and could not write or make signs, you could not bear false witness against your neighbor, or, if you had no neighbors, or other fellowmen in the world, you could not lie about them, so of course it must be the fault of your neighbor or of society that does not make it impossible for you to bear false witness against your neighbor. Poor man, there is the neighbor, the opportunity, the temptation which he cannot resist and he must be excused; and the neighbor, for being in the way, or doing something that arouses his envy or jealousy, must be condemned. The real culprit is excused, condoned or exonerated because he could not help it. But what of this specific command — ^"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." You must resist the tempta- tion, you must conquer the evil within, you must control that evil tendency, that bad disposition, or you are the guilty party. Finally, take the question of Sabbath observance. Poor man! He doesn't want to keep any day Holy, he wants the days of the week, month and year, to do as he pleases; he wants freedom; he wants his own way; he doesn't like to be tied down to rules and regulations. He has his own ideas and wants to carry them out. Now if there were no day set apart for a Holy Day, of course he could not dishonor it, he could not desecrate it; therefore, better just remove the day out of his way; there is the opportunity to disobey, the temptation to disregard the day, and poor man! He can't 38 KQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY restrain himself, he can't help wanting his own way, he can't resist the temptation, so he is not to blame so long as both the opportunity and temptation are before him; therefore, remove the temptation out of his way, make it impossible for him to disobey and he will not do it. You must abrogate the Sabbath Day and no longer have a Hoiy Day, because forsooth! This poor helpless man in the midst of such temptation, cannot resist it and hence there must be no day set up to command his allegiance. "Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy," is too hard for man and he is not to blame for desecrating the Day since the temptation being before him, he is not able to resist it. Thus we find the Prohibition principle for temperance applied in like manner to all moral questions, that is, the duty of individuals, the society or the state to make it impossible for men to do \vr0n2, to transgress or violate all moral laws, does away entirely with personal accountability or the building of moral character. It is right and proper, and we owe it as a duty to our fellovvmen, to improve both the heredity and the environment of our fellowbeings, for they, and especially the latter, do work a hardship upon mankind and the overwhelming difficulties of environ- ment often make it exceedingly hard to rise above them into one's greatest possibilities and overcome these grave obstacles; and we who put the stumbling-block or environ- ment of vice, ignorance, poverty and all evils in the way of our fellow creatures, or having the power to remove them and do not, are guilty in a high degree of doing a wrong to one who has a right to our help and co-operation for mutual growth and progress, and for the failure, wrong, or sin, we must one day give an account. We shall not be called to account for his sin, but for our own neglect of a privilege or duty which may be our sin. He will give account for his own sin for himself, no matter what his environment nor how much some one else may have contributed to or abetted him in his sin. Just as the one who is surrounded by a most desirable and helpful environment shall get credit for his upright and righteoous life, so the one who leads an evil life in bad and vicious surroundings must be rewarded accordingly. That is to say, the reward or commendation of the good, goes to the individual and not to his surroundings, and so the punishment or condemnation goes to the individual and not his surroundings. The personality, the individual and not the surroundings and environment, is the responsible, the accountable party. It could not be otherwise in reason and justice toward rational, intelligent beings. I have my weakness, you have yours, each has his own peculiar tendency to evil, wrong-doing, or sin and therefore each has his own battle to fight, his own honors to win, and you cannot in the nature of things' be responsible for mine nor I for yours. I am responsible for and must give account of my actions toward you and toward my fellowmen in every walk of life, but I am not responsible for the attitude which you assume toward those actions. My responsibility ceases where yours begins. They do not cross nor conflict. I might attempt to do you a great injury with malice aforethought and that thing used rightly by you might turn out to be highly creditable to you, would I therefore be entitled to praise and worthy commendation? By no means! I would be censurable for the wrong attempted and all credit and praise would be due you who took a bad matter in a right sense and made good use of it. I might in all good faith endeavor to do you a kindness, a favor, a service, for your highest and best interest, you might receive it in a bad spirit, and make havoc of those interests, would I be responsible for the havoc and injury done? No, indeed! You would be to blame for making a bad use of a good thing, and I would be given credit for an honest and faithful effort in doing good. Each would be rewarded according to his individual merit, from the motive back of the effort or deed done. Just so it is with environment, which is only in every case the outward, external influence creating opportunity for choice, for motive, for the development of power to rise above or create a better condition than that in which we find ourselves. Environment is but the stepping stone, either good or bad, upon which to rise. Experience shows so many examples of those in apparently good and helpful circumstances and favorable environment who go wrong, and on the other hand so many in the most unfavorable environment who come out triumphantly in useful, clean and successful lives, that we cannot doubt the ability of hurnanity to rise above or sink below environment. Nor can we fail to believe that there is a something inherent in man by which he may rise above, or sink below his IMPORTANCE OP' SELF-MASTERY 39 environment. He may succeed in life in spite of surroundings, however vile or he may fail in life, no matter how good his environment. This something within every child, boy or girl, and adult, man or woman, is the Ego, and that it is which gives character to the individual, makes him an intelligent, reasonable and moral beng. The Ego is made up therefore of the mental and moral faculties and constitutes the soul or the real human being, as distinguished from, and far above all of the mere animal creations. To illustrate this point. You remember the temptations of Christ in the wilderness and how he overcame the evil one. Why would it have been wrong for Christ to accept any of the three propositions of Satan? Christ himself gave the Scripture texts to refute the devil most effectively and nothing can be added for they show conclusively that it lay wholly in the matter of who controlled the will of Christ. So long as his will was submissive to that of God, then he was obedient to God, and to have surrendered or submitted to Satan's will would have been transferring his allegiance and obedience from God and right, to that of Satan and wrong. It would have been voluntarily giving up allegiance to God and choosing allegiance to Satan. It would have been bowing down the will to Satan instead of God. It would have been taking Satan as master instead of God. It would have been doing just what Adam and Eve did in Eden, and it was giving their wills into Satan's control and keeping rather than to God, that constituted the Fall of Man, and it is just that which makes and keeps every man a sinner, and it is getting the Will back into submission to and harmony with God's Will that puts a man right. Is it right and proper for all people to strive for happiness, contentment and satisfied desires? I answer yes, only upon one condition; and that is, that the means need and the end achieved must not perforce require an injury or injustice done to ourselves or to any one else. To illustrate. If I cannot be happy without seeing or having some one else in torment, then that is not a right kind of happiness. If my desire can only be satisfied in the orgies of a drunken revel with bacchanalian companions, then it is not a right desire and should not be gratified. To put the matter in explicit terms: No desire is right in any intelligent being which would work injury to any other intelligent being. No happiness is real, genuine and abiding which has a present or future bad effect upon the individual or upon another. A happiness or desire can only be right and worthy of gratification when it works no harm or injury to another, and when every other person might justly under like circumstances have the same happiness and like desire without present or future injury to one's self or to another. Then we must train, educate and induce all people to have right and worthy desires as a means of abiding happiness before we can hope to devise ways and means to satisfy them. Let all once have right and worthy desires, and the battle is much more than half won, for we can much more easily meet the demand, when that demand is right and based upon the scientific moral principle inherent in the eternal welfare of the race. If old and young can all be once convinced that nothing can give permanent peace, contentment and happiness to them which works injury, harm or injustice to them, or any one else, then it will be more easy to get them, to desire and strive after such things as are best and right, for the real desire of all is happiness; and it is only because they have been erroneously taught that these false and evil, things will give them happiness that they seek so strenuously for them and endeavor both by fair means and foul, good devices and evil means to attain them. People have not yet learned that they are chasing an ignis fatuis, a myth, an impossibility, when they seek for happiness in so false and improper manner as getting it at the expense or injury of some other human being who is equally entitled to happiness with themselves. And it is just as true in morals as in any other realm of science that the sum of all the parts equals the whole, and you cannot have the whole until all the parts (no matter how small any one part may be) are brought together. To illustrate, take an apple and divide one-half of it into four equal parts, and the other into thirty-two equal parts. Now the apple as a whole has been separated into thirty-six unequal parts, and it can never be a unit or a whole apple again until all of those parts are brought together and not even one of the smallest pieces can be left out. So with happiness in the entire human race. It is when complete, a perfect unit, and though composed of many unequal parts, yet each part or individual no matter how small his part may be, is an essential in the whole, and is perfect and complete as an integral part of the whole; but cannot by 40 EgUITAXIA, OK TIIK LAND OF EQUITY reason of his very nature fit into or become a part of this perfect or completed whole while at conflict or at variance with another part which has equal rights and a place in the whole as well as himself. Hence while doing a wrong or injury to another who has right to a place here, he cannot himself form part of that perfect harmonious and complete whole. Hence we say, no happiness is perfect, complete and therefore abiding which is gained by injustice, or wrong done to ourselves or another. The Equitanians seem to have acted upon these principles in a very practical way. It is very interesting to see how Equitania has dealt with tramps, beggars and other dependant idlers. These are an unfortunate and inferior class of people to be pitied and dealt with fairly, justly and rationally. They come from homes where the training and education has been poor and inadequate many times, hence while they are not to be excused and petted, yet they are not to be dealt with too harshly. The usual custom in the United States of simply giving them a little food and clothing as they go about from door to door, or driving them from the city or town in which they may be found, is both inhuman and irrational; because it neither gives them what is best for them nor does by them the best thing for the community. They have certain powers and abilities, even if of an inferior grade, which may be utilized by the community to its own higher interests and they may themselves be made a better type of humanity. Let them be put to some useful employment, by the person whose duty it is, in each community until such time as more suitable work can be found for him or her in another locality to which he may be sent when information has been received from the employment officer of that place, that such dependent can be satisfactorily accommodated in his vicinity. By having these employment officers stationed in all parts of the land they can easily keep such records and such knowledge of all dependents, as that the demand and supply for work and employment of all kinds may be easily adjusted, then there will not long be an over-plus or superabundance in one locality and a dearth or lack of labor in another. There is work enough to be done that all may have some reasonable occupation, if the workers are wisely distributed; and then too there are workers enough if they be fairly apportioned to the wide field of usefulness, that none be over-worked and all may have food, clothing and shelter with the other real needs of life for such service as they are able to perform, and there will then be an abundance left over to supply those who are rightly real objects of charity. On our present basis in civilized lands the difficulty simply is, that the demand and supply, the work to be done and the workers to do it are not properly distributed, rightly apportioned, and properly paid. In this "Land of Equity," these difficulties are overcome as hereafter suggested. So that while the state must needs deal with the tramps, beggars and idlers it does not treat them as criminals until they commit some punishable act, but it treats them as dependents, and by suitable preventive measures, tries to keep them out of the criminal class towards which of themselves they voluntarily drift. In the present state of civilization the government in the United Slates almost nowhere makes suitable provision for any of its citizens to help them against becoming criminals and dependents, or gives adequate preventive measures against the origin and development of these undesirable members of society. It does make large provision to arrest, convict and punish the offender; but little or none to prevent the offense. It has an elaborate, intricate and expensive system of courts, lawyers, sheriffs, constables, policemen, detectives and soldiers to arrest, try, convict, and punish the criminal, and many hands are outstretched to aid the government in its endeavor to find and punish the guilty parties but where are the hands and other agencies of the government to assist the individual in his struggle not to become a dependent or a criminal? It is true in the organization and conduct of government, as in many other things, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and the government is not considering its own best and highest interests unless it makes and uses every possible preventive measure rightly within its reach, to guard every member of society from becoming a burden upon the state either as a dependent or as a criminal. In this new land, therefore, they have established schools, colleges and universities, and appointed officers and enacted laws primarily to aid and keep the subjects from WORK OF OVERSEERS 41 becoming dependents or criminals, and only secondarily to find and punish them when they become offenders or care for them when they become dependents. Schools, colleges and universities are established within the reach of all and attend- ance at school is obligatory from eight years of age to sixteen, or until the High School diploma has been secured, and in this compulsory term such instruction as will adequately fit one for all the ordinary duties of life is provided. The instruction is intensely practical, so that upon it as a foundation one may engage successfully in the ordinary pursuits of life, or build an education for special vocations or professions at the technical schools, or in the colleges and universities. All are taught early about themselves, whence they came, how they are constructed, what their purpose and object in life, and what their destiny. Their education is built upon these fundamental thmgs and every one trained and fitted for those duties in life to which he may be adapted. Take as illustration this case, which I personally knew in the United States. Fannie R. aged seventeen years, the oldest of seven children, father in poor health, only able to do light work, and not well enough to work steadily, but must have a good many days off and mother in fair health, but needed in the home to look after the family, so that the earnmg of the real necessities of life seemed to depend at least in part upon what the daughter can earn. Therefore she was taken out of school before she had passed the eighth grade, and put to work in a store earning $4.50, or at times $5.00 a week. And now at this age, a bright, active and pretty girl is tied down to a position in the store at a mere pittance because she feels the duty of helping to support the family. And yet she said to me, "Oh how I would like to get an education!" "Or even if I could go to business college and learn stenography and typewriting so that I could earn more, but papa is so anxious for brother to go to school and get a good education for you know," said she, "how much more important it is for a boy to have a good education, and it is better for me to work and help keep the family so that he may go to school and learn, than for him to quit school and work." Here in the language, tone and manner of this charming young lady was no offer of complaint, nor resentment, or feeling that she was unjustly treated, or that she was in any way being imposed upon. She took it as a good omen rather that she was fortunate in being able to help thus much her dear papa, and mamma and the children. A sweet and gentle submission to what seemed to her only an unfortunate condition in which she was placed which there was no possibility of overcoming as nobody was to blame and she must cheerfully submit to the inevitable, although she could not help longing for an education. A wisely planned government should, as does Equitania, make it possible for a girl like this to get the coveted education for its own sake, if not directly for her sake. It is a part of the Overseers' or Employment Officers' work in each district to look out for such cases and arrange for the help needed in a case like this. The self-sacrificing spirit of this girl, her willingness to serve, shows her worth and value to the community, and any reasonable means society can use to preserve and enhance her value should be employed. When I read that in mid-winter season there are 150,000 men in Chicago, and 500,000 in New York who are out of work and unable to find employment, and when I am assurred of the widespread suffering throughout the country on this account, and that these figures are but fair indications of what obtains all over this rich and wonder- fully productive country, I cannot but reflect upon the vast difference here and in Equitania where these conditions are precluded by wise preventive measures. Robert — Why is it so many are unable to find employment who have nothing laid up for such a contingency? Sylvester — Yes, I would like to know that, and how do the cities in Equitania meet this question? Horace — In regard to the first question it can be answered directly by saying that they are persons who are. not very provident, not good managers, not good financiers, not very industrious, not quite dependable, or have not had a fair chance and possibly some have not been paid a truly living wage by their former employers. Now, one or more of these conditions may have entered into the cause of this unfortunate, deplorable and sad state of affairs. Drinking, gambling, smoking, idleness, laziness, incompetency, and general worthlessness as well as lack of a worthy ambition enter into the case very 42 KgUlTAXlA, OK TIIK LAND OF EQUITY many times, but all of these are fairly included in the list of causes above given. It is all very well in time of great distress, in an emergency for the public charities and even the city or government to take special pains to meet the need temporarily, by large donations and extraordinary measures; but how much better to devise ways and means to avoid, to prevent, this spasmodic effort which comes to meet a condition which might have been averted, which ought to have been provided against. Is it a wise and judicious thing, is it doing the best thing, nay, is it doing the right thing by these our fellow crea- tures to do nothing for them until they are in dire distress? Are we showing them the true humantarian spirit (to say nothing of love) when we give them no kindly thought, nor offer them any of the sympathetic help which could easily have kept them from this suffering and this humiliating dependence? If we are in any manner bound, (and I grant that we are) to aid these distressed ones when hunger gnaws, cold bites and storm shivers the needy, how much more are we constrained to preserve their honor, manhood and dignity, by giving just that wise and kindly help needed before want pinches and total dependence degrades? This brings us to the second question, what does the city or government in Equitania do in the prevention of these deplorable cases? It is not assumed that all poverty can be overcome, that all people may be made thrifty nor that all suffering immediately ceases where the plan now adopted is reasonably well carried into effect. But this is a practical method. It minimizes the suffering, enables those able bodied and willing, to care for themselves, encourages thrift, and is therefore what can be done, and ought to be done in the interests of all the people. Every Province is divided into as many sections as may be necessary, and Super- visors or Overseers are appointed for the Sections whose duties are to keep a careful and complete record of all persons in his Section, so that he may know their conditions and needs. He must know when new people come into his Section and when tliey move out. He must know their occupation, their exact residence and their surroundings. The Overseers of each Province elect one of their number as chief to whom the others must report, and he must have complete records in his office. The chairmen of the several Provinces meet once a year at the District Capital for conference, and select a suitable man as District Overseer, who has jurisdiction over the several Provinces of the District, and to him a summary of all reports are sent. Having thus all Provinces prop- erly organized and the men, women and children properly tabulated from the remotest corner of the District to the darkest nook in the great city, it is easy then to know the exact physical, mental, financial and civil condition of all the residents in the District. It would not be essential to know the exact income of any over $1,000.00 per annum, for presumably all such could care for themselves and their dependents. But as soon as there appeared evidence of want or seemed to be need in any home, then inquiry could be made and all material facts secured, no matter what the income yearly. These Overseers are men who can wisely advise, direct and encourage thrift and means of getting ahead. They make reports to the chief in each Province, and they have power to compel (if necessary) obedience to reasonable economic and industrial rules for the guidance of their dependents. That is to say every man is given perfect freedom and independence in the choice of work or occupation so long as he faithfully meets his obligations and cares for those rightly depending upon him. He is also allowed to spend his earnings as he pleases so long as he fulfills his obligations; but when he becomes derelict in these and does not perform his duties and meet his obligations, then the advice, sympathy, help and coercion (if need be) of the chief Overseer, is to be used to enable him to be a man. By careful records in each Province it is easy to learn what kind of labor, male or female is in demand, and in what part of the city or District, and also to find where the surplus and unemployed labor is located, so that it can be transferred to the place where it is needed. In addition to this it is necessary for the District, Province and City to have some public work at which it can employ men at living wages when no other avenue is open to some of its subjects, who may temporarily be unemployed. This system stimulates men and women to do their best, lest they should become dependents and be forced to work for the District in some place or employment not wholly congenial. It also enables people who are honest, hard working and yet not mentally very competent, to avail themselves of the Overseers' good offices and get PRACTICAL HELPFULNESS 43 just the amount of help required to tide them over hard places so they need not come into the totally dependent class. They are often wisely helped or directed in educating their children, or getting them into good positions when ihcy are ready for them. It in this manner helps in improving the morals of the children and young people. The Overseer thus not only knows and sees about the homes in which his people live, but knows about their places of labor and amusement. He in a measure is a good health officer, and sees that the homes, the shops, the stores, factories, streets, alleys, parks, music halls, etc., are kept sanitary, and there is a commendable rivalry between them for doing valiant service in their respective Sections. Suitable honors are conferred upon those who attain a certain standard of efficiency. Thus, too, data are accumulated by which to ascertain the actual needs for a man to properly maintain himself in the civil condition to which he belongs, the like needs for a family of one or more children and thus learn what a living wage is for the different kinds of labor, whether male or female, so that the individual may have adequate and proper food, clothing, shelter, opportunities for amusement, entertainment, education, and recreation without working on an average more than eight hours out of twenty-four, and also with the privilege, which is his right, of one day in seven for worship, meditation, religious study and works of mercy and charity. Every one also has certain time in holidays for rest and recreation. Now when these data are brought together and the matters in evidence discussed in the monthly meetings of the District Overseers, and when further discussed by the Chiefs in their quarterly and annual meetings, the social and industrial conditions become so well understood that it is not difficult to see where many of the weak places are which can be remedied by publicity or legislation, or both, so that equity is done to the common people and no injustice comes to corporations, and thus both capital and labor are benefitted and greater peace and happiness come to both. Thus the Oevrseers become helpful in promoting the health, the intelligence, the morals, the obedience to law, the peace and happiness of the members of their respective Sections, whether rich or poor. In the United States many of the places where human beings are now huddled together in what they must needs call a home for lack of a better place, would be condemned as nuisances and inimical to health, morals, and therefore to the public welfare. No city of even five thousand people in the United States, but has some of these degrading and injurious places which should be eradicated and the inhabitants helped to better conditions and surroundings for their own sake and for the public good. Of course the larger the city, the more dense the population, the more of these places there are, and the more people affected by them. Overcrowding, lack of air, light, and sunshine are important factors in crime, vice, immorality, disease and death in our American cities, which can and ought to be overcome by some adequate plan ; and the one used, as above suggested, would set in motion the necessary wheels of progress. More, a careful tabulation of all and the record kept daily up to date help to keep the lawless, the thieves, murderers, and all thugs either out of the city, or under very close and wise surveilance. The city, town and county has a right, and ought to know who and what kind of people its subjects and even its transient guests are, as a matter of self-protection, so that no honorable citizen or visitor could rightly object to the fullest and most exact report, while all others are the more urgently needed for the peace and welfare of the community. Therefore as a preventive measure against the commission of crime and the breeding of vice and criminals the Overseers are most helpful adjuncts, as it proves in Equitania. The "white slave" traffic which is confessedly growing more and more in all of our American cities would thus be brought more easily under control, if a carefully tabulated system of this kind were adopted, and reasonably intelligent and faithful Overseers were in charge of every section. Preventable suffering, ignorance, vice, crime, and immorality can be successfully abolished in no other way from a human standpoint than by adequately and efficiently organizing forces to carry out a system whereby every person in the community is fully known to the government. That is to say, the forces in the community which are responsible to all the people for the peace and safety of all, must know in a detailed manner the name, antecedents, business and condition of every citizen, subject, guest or visitor within the bounds of their jurisdiction. 44 EgUITAXIA, OK THP: LAND OF EQUITY An accurate, and complete report for every City. Province, and District, kept up to date each day, gives a working basis of incalcuable value for controlling the individual and combined forces of evil in any community, or in the country. These Overseers are officers of the state and all are working together for a common end in the city, province, district, and nation. Each is anxious to make his section a model of peace, safety, thrift, and happiness, but it is in co-operation with others and not at the expense or to the detriment of others. That is to say, each is in an important sense responsible for all the residents of his section, and he is not allowed to turn any of them over to some other Section, without making a proper accounting therefor; and if it be a dependent in his section he is not allowed to send him to some other, without having first made the necessary arrangements with the new Section, to which said dependent is going. This always prevents hardships and injustice, while at the same time it economizes funds and energies, which would otherwise be dissipated. This does away with one Section, Province or District foolishly and unjustly shipping its cripples, defectives and dependents to another. This does away with the beggars upon the streets, the decrepit, deformed and unsightly specimens of humanity haunting the highways, streets and public places, asking alms both worthily and by fraud; for all such are properly looked after by the Overseer in the Section to which they by right belong. They are put to such useful employments as they are best fitted for, and their needs are adequately supplied. These Overseers are primarily officers of prevention, but secondarily of relief and punishment. Ihe question of punishment for violation of law and the development of respect for law is very nicely handled in Equitania. They seem to go upon the theory that laws should not be too numerous. They must be plain, easily understood and clearly equitable and just. They must pertain strictly to civil life. The punishment must be adequate to the crime committed and it must be promptly and certainly executed as the best cure and preventive for crime, and the most efficient means of eduacting the young as to the real guilt of such acts. Let us now take some of the crimes and offenses, and discuss their penalties in order one after another, according to their merits. The Betrayer of Public Trust. What do they do with him? Make him ineligible to vote or hold office, and keep in servitude until all damage has been fully repaired. Reinstate to full citizenship afterwards only for works of merit and honor performed. Now take the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, what do they do with the offenders against these? Well, the first four and the last have to do only with each man's personal account- ability to Jehovah, and we are neither authorized to enact nor enforce them in the civil state, for two very good reasons. 1 . We have no right to try to compel any man to observe them, since it is each man's privilege to worship whatever God he may choose. 2. They are obeyed or broken in spirit, and no human being can tell when another person obeys or breaks them. Hence the folly of attempting their enforce- ment by fallible beings, who are also finite. We do well to teach them to all men as their duty and obligation to Jehovah, and so far as possible persuade men to choose a voluntary and intelligent obedience to them, since this will bring them into harmony with the Divine Will, and enable them to enjoy the highest possible felicity of which human beings are capable. The enforcement of Divine Laws, and the punishment of their violation which is sin, is not now, and never has been (except for a time under the Israelitish rule) com- mitted to men. Man is not capable (except under special Divine inspiration and leader- ship as was Samuel) of making, interpreting and executing laws for Jehovah, and you will search the Scriptures in vain for any such authority. And if we review both sacred and profane history we will find that the corruption of the church and the tyranny of rulers in attempting to govern men's consciences by force and compel their allegiance to one form of worship or another, and their assuming dictatorial authority as to what God we must adore, and how He must be worshipped, has been the result of such false doctrine, and has produced untold wars, bloodshed and misery. So that we ought by this time in the progress of civilization to be fully alive to THE LAW OF LOVE 45 the importance of personal liberty, and the accountability of each individual to the Almighty. Every man ought to be a believer in and a willing subject of Jehovah, but no man has yet any command or authority to force another into such obedience. When any man has voluntarily chosen this service it is his privilege, yea, a duty, and often a pleasure to persuade others to choose the same obedience, and become worshippers of Jehovah, and observers of His laws. Herein consists the highest service of any man to his fellows. There is no place for physical force in this splendid work, only the com- pulsion of love which can rightly win to true worship and Christian discipleship. Now proceedmg to consider the other five commandments of the Decalogue which pertain to man's relations and duties to his fellow men; these require obedience for the good of men while living upon earth in the state of human society, and their violation brings discord among men and is injurious to society. You may recall the interpretation which Christ himself put upon these two phases of the ten comm.andments, when the lawyer asked Him, "Master, which is the great commandment of the law?" to which Jesus responded, "The first and great commandment is. Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it, namely. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." That is, the first four call for love supreme to God, and a practical application of how to show it; while the last six call for love to man and its practical demonstration in daily life. So that any failure to discharge these two obligations of man toward God and man is sin and will be dealt with by the Almighty directly, and each human being is and will be held to account before that perfect and infinite tribunal where Justice shall be done, and yet where it may rightly be tempered with mercy. So that v/hen we enact and enforce laws in harmony or identical with the five of the Decalogue, it is not because we expect or hope to punish their violations as sins against God, which we have no authority to do, and which we could not do if we would. Note to illustrate this, Christ's interpretation from a religious standpoint of the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." "Verily I say unto you, whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Who is there but God alone can punish this sin? And so with the spiritual, or religious or Divine interpretation of all these ten commandments. Man as man has to do only with their relation to him as a member of the civil state, human society, so far as enforcing their observance is con- cerned; it is the mere outward, external conformity to them that he may and ought to enforce, and compel compliance therewith. If once he has come into a conscious accept- ance of their spiritual truth and is himself endeavoring to obey them from this point of view, he may, yea he ought to go further and persuade his fellowmen to see the beauty of this higher and better relationship and seek with all his God-given powers of mind and soul to get his fellowmen to see this truth and choose it for their own daily course of action. Here again he may use the constraining and compelling power of love, but not any of the physical force which belongs wholly to the lower animal and material nature. Taking now the fifth of these ten commandments in order we may wisely and properly enact and enforce by any means right and needful laws in harmony with them. This would make the third of our series by taking the fifth of the ten. Fifth — "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord, thy God giveth thee." Now this is the first commandment relating to man's duties to his fellowmen, and teaches first filial duty, and is fundamental to the home and vital to society and the state. If there were no hereafter, no such thing as religion, and this life were all, that command would be a wise one to enact and enforce. The state should take an interest in educating and training the children and all of its citizens in the social, economic, humanitarian and civil advantages growing out of a careful and universal observance of this law. The state for its own sake, to help in establishing respect for authority, may very well require obedience in outward form to this wise injunction, for unless the child is early taught to obey and treat with due respect its parents, who are over it in rightful authority by nature, it cannot easily be trained later to be obedient or respectful to the civil authority. And the adult who has no proper regard for rightly constituted government under which he lives, is a constant source of discord and a menace to society. M\ EQUITAXIA. OR TilK LAND OF EQUITY So that the Interest of the state demands that children be taught from the beginning, obedience to authority, and respect for government. The penahy for disobedience here may justly be fixed at physical punishment by the whipping master appointed by the state, curtailment of certain liberties, privileges and honors, which the state confers upon obedient children and those who show proper honor and respect for parents. 4. "Thou shall not kill." This command they justly enforce by a penalty of depriving the offender of his life, and in suitable cases tempering with mercy because of mitigating circumstances a sentence of imprisonment and servitude. A man's life is sacred and to protect this life and make it more secure, is one of the reasons why men join together in commonwealths. Hence laws for the protection of life are imperatively demanded. The prevention of accidents which may cause loss of life is proper and legitmate legislation. The prevention of disease which may cause death is also legislation well within the province of government. But more, shall not there be laws enacted and executed which shall prevent men, and women committing suicide? For lack of work, poverty, chronic maladies, bad environment, etc., often cause this. 5. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Adultery, fornication, and rape may be included. This command or law they well enforce by inflicting a penalty, by compelling the persons thus offending to live together and bear the responsibility of their act, and also indemnify the injured party by a reasonable sum of money, while for oft repeated offenses, deprivation of rights of citizenship, and even castration may be required in notorious cases. This is a good law which they adopt and enforce because its violation tends to destroy the home, the sanctity of marriage, the purity of life; puts a premium upon immorality, it breeds disease, it produces divorces, breaks up homes, leaves children both motherless and homeless as well as fatherless; it makes more dependent upon the state than is its due, and through those means it undermines the very life of the state, for the perpetuity of the government depends in no small degree upon the purity, the intelligence and the happiness of its homes. In rape, which is especially heinous, both castration and amputation is the best punishment, as a just measure, and as a preventive of such crimes, and a debt owing to posterity, lest the breed should be continued. 6. "Thou shalt not steal." Every citizen of the government is entitled to the pro- tection of his estate, whether real or personal property, and the stability and efficiency of any government may be gauged in part by the fidelity with which it protects its citizens in their property rights. No government can be permanent which cannot and does not serve its citizens in this capacity. He who steals takes from another that to which he has no right, and may rightly be punished by requiring the refunding of all that has been taken, the payment of additional money or other equivalent, and is restrained in his liberties and privileges, and in serious cases kept in servitude, or even deprived of the rights of citizenship, to which he is afterwards restored only for deeds of special merit or worth. 7. "Thou shalt not bear false witness." This includes all kinds of lying, slander, libel, etc. This is punished by public proclamation of the guilt found, a monetary indemnity, and in severe cases, deprivation of liberties and rights of citizenship, tem- porary or permanent. This law should be enacted and enforced because a man's good name is his own personal asset of great value, and who wrongfully assails it is doing an injustice to the state, because the strength, unity, harmony, and success of the state depends upon the hearty good-will and co-operation of its subjects, and if there be telling of tales, false reports, and lying about the members of the commonwealth there cannot be the strong bond of good fellowship and mutual helpfulness that gives effectiveness. Then, too, since a man joining the state gives over to it the protection and honor of his name rather than defend it alone, the state owes it to him that his name shall not wantonly be sullied by a fellow subject. 8. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that IS thy neighbor's." This like the fifth and the seventh are moral laws rather than civil, and need to be given by instruction for the moral elevation of the young. "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL" 47 Here is the spirit of envy condemned, which breaks out into overt acts of wrong doing to one's fellowmen. Robert — How do they prevent or control gambling? Horace — By teaching the truth upon this evil and holding both the wrong-doer and the injured to account for their part in the evil. That is to say, let the one who inveigles another into his net, and thus steals from him, pay the penalty of the theft as in other cases of stealing, making degrees of punishment according to the circum- stances of the case and the amount of injury done. But we must not forget that often the injured party was just as anxious to steal from the other as the first was to steal from him, and that in fact he was not better in his motive than the first, and therefore is not entitled to the public sympathy, but must be condemned for his part in helping to carry on and maintain this form of robbery in the community. Both are guilty of trying to get something for nothing, or of planning and attempting to steal, but one succeeds and the other fails in the effort, and therefore both should be held up to public gaze as thieves, and suffer penalties in due proportion to their attempted crimes. The one who is beaten and "squeals" is no better than the other. The one who is always successful in his gambling ventures may not only need to be punished, but may need a guardian to put him to some useful employment, where his shrewdness and abilities may be used for the public good; and the one who habitually squanders his money in this manner may, besides suitable punishment, need a guardian to conserve his energies and wisely direct his work and his earnings for his own good, and that of the state. Robert — How do they prevent wild-cat speculation? Horace — By teaching the truth about legitimate and safe investments, as well as unsafe ones; but more important still, is that of holding the promoters of all these schemes accountable for their claims and for the fair and legitimate inferences to be drawn from their advertisements, promises and guarantees. The perpetrators of these outrageous frauds are, as a rule, shrewd, sharp schemers, who deliberately, knowingly, and with evil intent, catch the unwary, and with the technical protection of the law rob the poor and innocent of their hard earned savings by false and unscrupulous repre- sentations. Of course it is many times done in open violation of law, and sometimes these criminals are brought to punishment, (I do not say to justice) but in the United States too often they are allowed to escape under a technicality, or by the connivance of an evil Judge, or the rascality and help of a scalawag attorney. If the parties who organize, promote and stand sponsors before the public for these irregular schemes were all to be held accountable at the bar of justice, and each to bear full responsibility until the damage done to innocent parties was wholly repaired, there would be few calls for wild-cat speculation. The certainty of an adequate punish- ment meted out to all such would be a most healthful and forceful deferent to the forma- tion of such companies and enterprises. This is another case which shows the importance of requiring all parties to fulfill their contracts and meet in full their voluntary obligations. When these promoters organize their schemes they do so voluntarily and they give their glowing accounts of success and promise large returns and offer special inducements to investors, all of their own accord, and make these alluring assurances voluntarily, and often cunningly with intention to deceive and mislead the public, apparently promise what they know they cannot do; therefore if all such knew they would be held to strict account for their dealings with the individuals, they would be more cautious in under- taking such schemes, and less daring in their methods, and some might even choose rather to earn an honest living than take chances, where conviction is sure and punish- ment most certain. Here, as always, the punishment must not only be sure, but it must be adequate to the offense. And hence in Equitania these ideals are maintained and little of such promotion schemes are known. The will of a community, city, state, or nation, is the combined will of the individuals which compose it. Or, as we say, the will of the majority rules or should rule, and this will is made up of the wills of the individuals of that majority. Does the will really rule the individual, and does it rule in the community? If the will does not and cannot be made to rule the person, neither can the combined wills of the units of the com- munity rule or be made to rule it. The individual then is ruled by circumstances, environ- ment and conditions, and likewise must society be so ruled for it is composed only of the individuals. If then man as a person is only a creature of environment, so too is the ace 48 EQUITAXIA, OK THK LAXD OF EQUITY city, state, or nation, and we though counting ourselves intelligent, rational and respon sible beings are mere puppets in the whirligig of time and human machines upon the fac< of the earth, and only high grade automatons in the animal creation. Experience, science and revelation all teach us that this is not and cannot be true, for we are responsible and answerable to each other, but chiefly to Jehovah for our doings here upon earth. And whilst we may admit the force of heredity, the power of environment, and the influence of circumstances upon the growth of man individually and collectively, still we cannot be true to humanity, to science, history, experience, nor Revelation, unless we see that above and beyond all of these is the Ego, the Will, the man to shape and mould and make character and destiny in spite of the best or most adverse environment. Man is not an involuntary piece of mechanism bound by inexorable law to obey the will of another without preference or choice in the matter, else it were folly to hold him accountable or responsible for his acts and doings. Otherwise all of our laws in civil government which in any way hold men accountable for their acts, are wrong and unjust. A man is not responsible for doing what he cannot help doing. A man is not accountable for doing a thing which he must inevitably do, and over which he has no control. We are not responsible, nor accountable for anything we do if we cannot help doing the thing; and therefore could not justly be punished for doing any sach thing. We can only be punished for doing the things we ought not to have done, and which we need not have done. Upon this basis is all civil or human and Divine legislation and judgment founded, so that if we deny the justice of the basis we at once take away the right and need for legislation and the infliction of penalties for any violation of law, custom or precedent. If man cannot help profanity, why the third command of the Decalogue? If man cannot help desecration of the Sabbath Day, why the fourth com- mand? If man cannot help stealing, lying, adultery, and so forth, why the command, "Thou shalt not?" To say that the Almighty Jehovah who made man and knows the innermost of his being, his powers and possibilities, would issue such commands to a being which was a mere automaton, without power of choice, and a mere mechanical device, is to insult the Divine Majesty; and to say that man cannot help doing the things that he does, and is compelled by heredity, environment or conditions over which he has no control, to do certain acts, makes him at once irresponsible for those acts and not amenable to punishment; and any penalty inflicted is both unjust and wholly unwarranted, therefore civil law is a farce and our pretense of justice a travesty. As an illustration, therefore, we are stating the truth when we say that cohabitation outside of wedlock is a purely voluntary matter, and both men and women can indulge or refrain as they choose, and hence it is an act for which they are responsible, and if such act be detrimental to man's civil welfare, or his highest and best, or spiritual interests, then that power which is rightly in control of these respective interests may justly and it ought in equity to enact or issue suitable laws against this injurious or harmful act and mete out an adequate penalty for its performance, or for the violation of such laws. It is not reason- able to suppose that Jehovah issued the command, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," as a mere whim of an autocrat; but that it was done for the highest and best interests of man, and that its careful observance would redound to his good. And he would be a rash and illogical man who would affirm that adultery is even a good thing in civil society and should be encouraged for more general observance among all classes. And yet it is either a good thing to be promoted and encouraged, or it is a bad thing, and ought to be suppressed in the most successful and effective manner. And here, as upon every other question relating to man as a rational, responsible being, nothing can be needful to him, or best for him, which will work an injustice to another, or finally be an injury to himself; and further, whatever is right, equitable and best for one human being would be equally so for every other human being in like circumstances. Smart — Are there any other means used in this remarkable country to prevent crime and evil doings? You may know that it is held by many in the United States that crime and vice are often produced by allowing too free use of our country to foreigners. C. V. Collins, Superintendent of State Prisons of the state of New York says, "A census of 4,320 prisoners in Sing Sing, Auburn, and Clinton prisons showed that 1,091, or 25 per cent were aliens." Senator Overman from North Carolina quoting from letters of New York state GOVERNMENT SHOULD HELP 49 officials said, "It costs New York state in the neighborhood of fifteen to twenty millions of dollars a year to maintain the foreign-born, or rather, the alien inmates in New York state institutions — that is, prisons, asylums, alms-houses, etc. That is about one- fourth of the taxes raised in New York are raised for the purpose of supporting foreign born deficients, dependents and delinquents." John Mitchell, President United Mine Workers of America, testified at the Labor Conference, "A man who starts out for employment is at first a respectable, high-class man, but he has no place to work and no money to buy food, and just as surely as mingling with depravity lowers a man step by step until he no longer wants to associate with honorable men, so it is that unemployment and beating your way from place to place and associating only with those who will associate with you lowers you down until you forget the condition in which you used to be. They are tramps, bums and finally hoboes, men who no longer want work. So that instead of these immigrants pushing men up to better planes of society, they push them out." Mr. Patten, before the committee on Immigration and Naturalization said, "These proceedings contain expressions of similar opinions by labor leaders and labor repre- sentatives, all in accord with Mr. Mitchell's experience. It seems to be their opinion that the present foreign immigration of from 900,000 to 1,400,000 aliens annually has the effect of making tramps, hoboes, criminals, and drunkards, etc., of those already here — that it pushes them down and out or aside." The following resolutions among many others were presented to the committee as an expression of feeling, sentiment, and opinion from these deeply and directly interested: "Therefore, be it resolved. That the Farmers' Educational and Co-operative Union of America in fifth annual convention assembled at Birmingham, Alabama, representing over two million of farmers, re-iterate and re-affirm the immigration resolutions adopted unanimously at Memphis and at Fort Worth, calling upon our state and particularly our federal officials to exclude the present foreign influx by means of an increased head tax, a money test, the illiteracy test, and other effective measures." "Resolved, by the Medical Council, Order United American Mechanics, in its sixty-third annual session, at Providence, R. I., that we urge upon Congress the enactment of additional legislation, strengthening existing laws and further restrict- ing foreign immigration by means of an increased head tax, a money test, the exclusion of alien adultsunable to read in a European language or dialect, the fining of the foreign steamship companies for bringing here deportable immigrants, and such other measures as will exclude the present influx of foreign undesirables, protect^ the country's welfare, preserve its institutions, and maintain its present high ideals." Stephen A. Douglas said, "It is the duty of government to coerce men to perform their obligations to their fellowmen." Gladstone said, "It is the duty of government to make it easy for the people to do right and hard for them to do wrong." In the preamble to the Constitution of the United States we find these words, "We the people of the United States in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility • promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our pos- terity do ordain and establish this constitution of the United States of America." Hence we may say briefly and truthfully the object of civil government is to secure to Its subjects their rights; and further, the government which most perfectly does this, is the highest form of government. And more, the government which does not achieve this object is a most woeful failure. Among the inalienable rights of every human being are "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 1. That every one, young or old, rich or poor, high or low, weak or strong IS naturally entitled to all the necessities of life; provided only that he does what he can to secure them for himself, will hardly be denied. 2. That the necessities of life include food, clothing, shelter, occupation, recreation, education and the exercise of the religious instinct no one will question. 3. That there is food, clothing, shelter and work enough to be done in the United States for each person to have a sufficient portion if only they were equitably r,0 KgriTANIA, ()l{ TIIK l.AXD OF EQUITY distributed, will not be denied by any thoughtful person. And that there are enough people to do the work to be done, lor each to have time for recreation, education and the practice of his religious functions is self-evident. In 1880 of persons in the United States engaged in all occupations, more than 1,000.000 of them were under 15 years of age. The Illinois Commissioners of Labor Statistics report that one-half of the intelligent working men of the state are not even able to earn enough for their daily bread, and are forced to depend upon the labor of women and children to eke out a miserable existence. Surely these are striking and most suggestive facts. On many accounts child labor should be abolished. Heads of families should receive living wages, and homes should be maintained at all hazards, as the bulwark of the state. Herbert Spencer gives as his first principle or formula of justice. "Every man is free to do that which he will, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man." And in his more recent work he says further. "When we assert the liberty of each bounded only by the like liberties of all. we assert each is free to keep for himself all those gratifications and sources of gratification which he procures without trespassing on the spheres of action of his neighbors. If therefore, one obtains by his greater strength, greater ingenuity, or greater application, more gratification or sources of gratification than others, and does this without in any way trenching upon the spheres of others, the law of equal freedom assigns him exclusive possession of all such extra gratifications and sources of gratification, nor can others take them from him without claiming for themselves greater liberty of action than he claims and thereby violating the law." Another has truly said (Henry George), "The right to Hfe and liberty, the rigbt of the individual to himself, presupposes and involves the right of property, which is the exclusive right of the individual to the things his exertion has produced." "That the state is not an individual, but is composed of individual members, all of whom must be affected by its action, is the reason why its legitimate sphere is that of securing to those members equal rights." "It is the duty of the state to secure equality of rights." It is not too much, then, to say that one of the functions of government is to secure equity among men. The ideal state or government as you have shown is that in which every one does as he would be done by. But that man in his present state of depravity will not do this by choice, is evident. Hence it is that the state or government is formed, and a compact entered into by which the members thereof must be coerced to give to each his rights and by which each is protected in equity from both internal and external foes. Comte's idea that, "There can be no society without a government," is undoubtedly true and the nearer the government approaches the ideal, the better is society. The only Igeislative basis ol civil society or government according to Rosseau is "Each of us puts in common his goods, his person, his life, and all his powers under the supreme direction of the General Will, and we collectively receive, each member as an individual part of the whole." Graham, an authority in political economy says, "It (the state) has to make just and beneficial laws respecting property. It is its duty to enforce contracts. It is its duty to help the more helpless, if it can." Of the 100,000 criminals today behind the bars in the United States it is safe to say that not 75 per cent of them had proper homes, instruction and useful employment. Of the 100,000 tramps or more, who are now abroad in the land, the greater proportion would today be in useful occupations if their early training had been ideal and an opportunity furnished them for honorable employment. Of the millions now in dis- content and idleness, the large, yea, the very large majority would now be happy in useful industry if only a reasonable chance were afforded them. As you say they have provided these things fairly, and they are working well in Equitania, is proof of their practicability and further evidence that we in the United States should do likewise. Oh! the tragedy of it, that multitudes who labor in the most exacting spheres of life for many weary years at last must come to want and penury, the alms house or the asylum! That a vast army of our countrymen toiling day and night in the mine, the DUTY OF MEETING OBLIGATIONS 51 shop, the mill and the factory, excessive hours, with little or no recreation or day of rest, after all these cruel hardships do not receive enough wages to afford themselves and those dependent upon them the necessaries of life! It is monstrous; and it is infinitely worse when we remember that others of our countrymen who for less work, less hardships, live in extravagant luxury ?nd erse. Is this equality of rights? Is this our boastful freedom? Is it for this our fathers laid down their lives? Was it for this purpose the All Wise and beneficent Creator peopled this world and established govern- ments among men? This is a travesty upon justice and will not last. We are one people and are entitled in equity to equal rights and privileges. The rich and the poor, the high and the low, the learned and the ignorant, while citizens of the same govern- ment are entitled to the same consideration. No man, nor combination of men because of wealth or position, have any right to interfere with these similar privileges. In fact we consent to be of those constituting the government upon condition that our rights shall be preserved and equity shall be meted out to each by the strong arm of the government, so that any other course is subversive of and destructive to the government. The man or corporation who employs labor at less than living wages is an enemy to the race, a traitor to the country, and should be coerced to do justly. He who employs another in any capacity is under obligation by contract to pay for the services rendered, and if he fails to pay he is a robber, and no amount of apologies or excuses can pay that debt. Nothing but the fulfillment of the contract can liquidate the debt. Equity will not have been done until the debt is paid in full. The carpenter who contracts to work for $2.50 a day, and when the job is done, only gets $2.00 per day, has been robbed of 50 cents a day, and if he must needs go to law to secure his rights, then equity demands that he should be allowed his necessary expenses in making the collection. If a seamstress contracts to make a dress for $10.00, then when the employer accepts the article she is indebted to the seamstress $10.00 and should be compelled to pay that amount and whatever else is necessary to cover the cost of collecting the same. If a man buys $25.00 worth of groceries, then he owes the grocer $25.00, and should be compelled to pay it. If a poor woman deposits her hard earned savings in the bank, and the bank breaks, then every officer of that bank together with the stock-holders should be held accountable by the government and made to pay her every penny due her, and that without a single dollar of expense to her. Equitania is right when she insists on the government requiring her subjects to fulfill their contracts or forfeit their right of independence. From the absconding treasurer of a great state to the man in the humblest walks in life, let the universal rule be that citizens must meet their obligations to their fellow- men. "Owe no man anything," is Scriptural injunction of universal and world-wide application. That rich men and corporations in this country can and do employ help without paying it in full, simply because it cannot afford to fight for equity, not having the means to command suitable assistance, and hence that in countless instances injustice is tolerated by our government, is a foul blot and reeking blemish upon it. The man or corporation who does not pay his bills, either will not or cannot, and the creditors are in just so much robbed. Now if he can, but will not, he should be com- pelled by government to pay them. If he cannot, then he should be given just such aid as will enable him to do it; but mark you, that man or corporation should be held accountable and kept at it until every bill is paid in full. No man has any right to contract obligations he cannot fulfill, neither has a corporation. The state is therefore under obligation to coerce all of its subjects to perform in full their contracts. Every honest, capable man and corporation can fulfill his contracts if only he be given a suitable chance. The man who has steady employment at a living wage can meet all of his obligations, if mentally competent. He should be afforded this opportunity and allowed to succeed. If mentally incompetent he should have a suitable guardian. Thus it is true that every man can under proper conditions provide the necessaries of life for himself and those naturally dependent upon him, and he can meet all of his obli- gations. Therefore he should be compelled to do so. Once more, the man who does not pay his obligations when he is given a fair chance 52 EQUITANIA, OK THE LAND OF EQUITY either cannot or will not. If he cannot, neither should he be allowed to vote or hold office in a government when he is incompetent to justly conduct his own affairs. Sudh an elector and office holder is a detriment to the government and works a hardship for the people. If he will not meet his obligations he should be compelled to do so, nor should he be allowed to vote or hold office in a commonwealth of free born citizens, for if he is not honest in his personal affairs how much more dishonest will he be in the matters of state? Such influence is and must always be pernicious in the state, and extremely detrimental to the citizens. The man who will not deal justly by his fellows in the smaller and personal matters will not do the equitable thing as an official or an elector. He that is not just himself need not be expected to demand or secure justice for others. Therefore all such should be refused as electors and officers. As American citizens it is our boast that we are safe in any land the world over if the stars and stripes float o'er us; that no nation dare trespass upon a single right of the humblest citizen of this great republic. It is indeed an honor to be a subject of so great and glorious a nation. But what care 1 for a foreign foe if I be crushed by an enemy at home? What matters to me protection abroad if corporations at home may starve me. Of what use to me is the American flag abroad if it does not at home afford me labor at living wages, protection from the man who withholds from me my just earnings, the tyranny of trusts, the cruel oppression of corporations and the iron heel of monopolies? If that flag does not secure to me my natural rights at home and make it possible for me to obtain the necessaries of life for myself and those naturally dependent upon me, by putting forth a reasonable effort to secure them, then I care not for its protection abroad, I glory not in its victories, I rejoice not in its triumphs, neither will I weep when she is trampled under the feet of rebellion at home or trailed in the dust by enemies abroad. I am glad that no foreign power dare come here to molest me or to take from me a single natural right; but I have a right to demand that my fellow citizens as individual members of this government, or as cofporations, subject to the government, be compelled to keep their obligations with me and refrain from doing me an injustice, no less hurtful and injurious because done at home rather than abroad. Every socalled honest (?) bank or mercantile failure is due to people who have borrowed the money and failed to return it, or bought the goods and failed to pay for them. These in turn have loaned money or sold goods or labor to a third party who has failed to pay for the same, and thus a multitude of people failing to meet their obligations, ere long financial stress, hard times and great failures come. Whereas if each from the highest to the lowest were compelled to meet his obligations, money would be loaned without security at lower interest; goods would be sold cheaper, and there would be fewer failures in the business world. The state which guarantees to me protection in my rights must see to it that I get my own. When I have earned a dollar, or sold a dollar's worth of goods, or deposited a dollar in the bank, that dollar belongs to me, and the state cannot release the debtor until that is paid to me in full. If the bank breaks, hold every officer and stockholder responsible until they have returned to me the money deposited. If the cashier absconds, hold the officers and stock-holders responsible as before, but hunt down the defaulter if you must traverse the known world to do it and make him refund every dollar stolen. The security of the state and the perpetuity of this government are dependent upon the intelligence, purity, justice and loyalty of the citizens and all of these are dependent upon the home. It must be intelligent, pure, comfortable, and orderly to produce such citizens. Therefore it is essential for the state to lend its best eff^orts to secure the ideal homes. You cannot make a strong patriot of an unfed father, and unsheltered husband whose little ones cry for bread. Poverty, ignorance, lack of good morals and religion, vice and idleness are the most fruitful sources of crime and from these things our nation has more to fear than from all other sources. One of the Supreme Judge! said. There is a large class, I was about to say a majority of the population of New York and Brooklyn who just live, and to whom the raising of two or more children means invariably a boy for the penitentiary and a girl for the brothel." Honorable Chauncey M. Depew pointedly says, "After a young man has been HELP FOR THE UNEMPLOYED 53 launched into the world, to win his way as best he may, the state takes no further care than to furnish a poHceman to arrest him in case he goes astray." If voluntary idleness breeds crime, disease and vice, how much more when idli^ness is enforced and the would be honest toiler is driven to hunger and his loved ones to bitter want. He looks about him and knows that he has not a fair chance, and his instinct tells him that he is by rights entitled to the necessities of life for what he is able to do; but alas! no opportunity is afforded him to do anything however humble to supply his needs? In 1863 there were four million blacks in American bondage and under the task-master's lash, when the immortal Lincoln issued his famous proclamation, that set them free. Today we have a more cruel slavery and a more widespread serfdom in our midst, for it saps the loyalty and independence of our white population and includes millions of our laboring and middle classes; in that labor does not receive its just reward, is worked over time, has no Sabbath, little recreation and no independence. Men must work for soulless corporations and often at dishonorable employment, or take the alternative of starvation. Sec. 10, Article I, of the United States Constitution declares, "No state shall pass any bill of attainder or law impairing the obligations of contracts." The Fourteenth Amendment, Sec I, declared, "Nor shall any state deprive any person ot life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." How do these declarations comport with the practice in this country of permitting men and corporations to deprive citizens of their just earnings. Every honest man wants to pay his debts and will do so if he can. The dishonest man should be made to do it. Why is it that in this country of unlimited resources and comparatively scattered population, the husband and father must be clothed in rags, the wife unsheltered and the children cry for bread? Simply because there is no demand for his labor and government which is in honor bound to do its duty by him will not furnish it. I insist that from the very compact of the government every citizen is justly entitled to all the necessities of life, if only he will do what he can to secure them and that in case of failure on his part from any cause whatever, the government is in honor bound and for its own safety should supplement his effort in the best manner possible to secure this result. And that best method is to provide him with suitable employment, in exchange for which the necessities are furnished him. I want food, clothing, shelter, prosperity and protection for every American. I want the man who works in the ditch, on the farm, in the mill, factory or mine to be paid for his labor just as good a dollar as that paid to the banker, the President of the United States or King of England. I want the American government to throw its strong arms of protection about every citizen, the weakest as well as the strongest, the poorest as well as the richest, the humblest as well as the highest, guaranteeing and securing for each equal rights, justice to all and special favors to none. Yes, I stand squarely upon the constitution of the United States in making these demands. I stand upon the Word of God, the Supreme rule for man's direction, and insist upon equity being done to one and all. It is only because we have departed from the plain declaration of these documents that rank injustice prevails, tyranny and oppres- sion are in the ascendent, while discontent, unrest and suffering are so widespread among our countrymen and fellowmen. It was Carlyle who said, "For the unemployed generally, the government should provide employment, exacting work in return, if need be by punishment." Some one will say that is all very well but it is not possible for government to employ or secure labor for all of its citizens. Here then is a practical question. Can government exist and afford work of proper kind and in return therefor furnish the necessities of life to all her people? I answer yes, and the marvel is that she has not gone down ere this simply because she has failed in this respect. If John Wannamaker can supply the needs of all his many employees, which he does if he pays them living wages, how much more easily can the government do the same for those dependent upon it, because its resources are as much greater than his, as are its dependents more numerous than his. With our present population, immense wealth and exhaustless resources, it is easy to see that there is work enough for all and bountiful provision to supply the fullest needs of all our citizens, if only reasonable distribution were made. The Malthusian 54 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY idea that increase of population is greater than the possibiHties of supply of necessaries, does not and for generations cannot apply to this country, however applicable it may be to foreign countries. Once more, if the government as now existing can give employment at living wages (as it does) to such a vast army of men and women as are now filling government positions, how easy a matter is it to enlarge its powers in the direction that it may fur- nish occupation to many more. Who can look upon the toiling masses, over-worked, under-paid, oppressed, down- trodden, and in as abject bondage to corporate wealth as ever the black man was to his master, and not be moved with longing and intense desire to in some way alleviate his distress, better his condition, and relieve his want? Show me a man with heart of steel unmoved by human woe, untouched by the weary toilers' need, no pity for the idle suffering multitude, and I will show you a man unworthy the suffrages of a free born people, a traitor to his country, and an enemy to his race. Whilst it is true that "one touch of nature makes the whole world kin," it is also true that "man's mhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn." The world's motto is, "Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost." Blaine said, "I wish to speak for the millions of all political parties, and in their name to declare that the Republic must be strong enough, and shall be strong enough to protect the weakest of its citizens in all their rights." Again he said, "A nation is a home in theory." Once more he said, "As with a family, so with a nation, the same instinct of self-preservation exists, the same right to prefer the interests of our own people, the same duty to exclude that which is corrupting and dangerous to the Republic." The words of ex-President Harrison come to us at this juncture with appalling force "A government is made strong and effective both for internal and foreign uses, by the intelligent affection of its citizens. A true allegiance must have its root in love." Now, the man who, from misfortune, incompetency, or other cause, cannot provide himself and those dependent upon him with the comforts, or even the necessaries of life, is not in deep or overwhelming love with his surroundings nor with the country in which he lives, especially when he believes that government might help him in his condition, but sees that no positive effort is put forth in his behalf. Such a man cannot be expected to be much of a patriot. Judge Trumbull said in Chicago, "The existing conflict between capital and labor has its foundation in unjust laws enabling the few to accumulate vast estates and live in luxurious ease, while the great masses are doomed to incessant toil, penury and want. What is needed is the removal of the cause which permits the accumu- lation of the wealth of the country in a few hands and this can only be brought peace- ably about by a change of the laws of property." .A recent work on criminology states that the United States expends an annual sum of $59,000,000.00 on judiciary, police, prisons and reformatories, and that crime is on the increase out of proportion to the increase of population. The ratio of prisoners to population was 1 to 3,442 in 1850. and 1 to 757 in 1890. It further states that 52.6 per cent of the inmates of the New York State Reformatory come from homes which are positively bad, while 7.6 per cent come from homes which are positively good. In 1910 the population in the United States was 91,972,266; the same year the criminals were 5,000,000, or I to 183. While the population of Saxony, Belgium and England amounts to more than 400 to the square mile, and while that of Italy, Japan, and Germany is more than 200, and while France, Austria, India and China are very much more than 100 per square mile, the United States of America is only 32 and Mexico only 12 to the square mile. It is said, too, that seven-eights of our arable lands are not under culti- vation, and a much larger portion of our mineral wealth is undeveloped. You will excuse me for saying so much, but your faithful and enthusiastic presen- tation of the splendid things being done in Equitania led me to this outburst concerning our own country, which might so easily do these things, and yet neglects her magnificent opportunities." Robert — Mr. Smart's remarks are only too true, and I am very glad to hear that the plan you have outlined in Equitania is working so well there where these principles are put to a practical test, for that after all is the only way to ascertain whether or not a fine and beautiful theory is well founded. HELP FOR THE UNEMPLOYED 55 But now what about their use of the ballot? We hear a good deal in these days of universal suffrage, or the injustice done to women by withholding from them the right to vote. What is done in Equitania upon this question and why do they take such stand? What is the basis of their action in a country which prides itself upon equity for all and injustice or favor to none? Horace — This is rather a large question, and perhaps it is too late to enter upon its discussion tonight; but I may say very briefly and for your encouragement, that they have settled this question in what seems to me a very satisfactory manner, and in such a way as to give peace and happiness to the Equitanians as a whole, and if you will come to me again one week from tonight, after my return from a little trip I must take to an adjoining city, I will give you in detail their plan and their line of argument. Sylvester — I cannot say good night without assuring you of my pleasure with this interview and hoping that we shall have the privilege of pursuing the inquiry further at the set time next week. CHAPTER IV. WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE, WHO SHALL VOTE AND WHY, WITH OTHER ALLIED QUESTIONS. Sylvester — Good evening, Horace, meet my friend. Rev. David Jones, whom I have been telHng about Equitania, and he urged me to bring him along and present him to you with the hope that you would allow him to listen and make some inquiry about this country which seems so ideal. Horace — I am pleased to meet you Mr. Jones, and hope you will be seated and feel free to make such inquiries, suggestions or criticism as may occur to you. What has become of your friend Robert? I thought he would surely be on hand tonight. 0! here he is now. How are you, Robert. Glad to see you again. Meet Rev. David Jones, who has come to join our party for the evening at least. Robert — Good evening, Mr. Jones. I am delighted to meet you as a friend of Sylvester, and as one interested in this strange land, which seems like a dream or fairy land as I hear of it. Horace — I promised to tell you about the question of suffrage, and allied subjects, with the basic principles upon which the Equitanians conceive them to rest. They say, in answer to the question. What is and should be the highest aim and the noblest ambition of every human being? It is to fill the place in life for which he was intended It is to fit properly into the place he was designed to fill. It is to achieve the object of his creation. If therefore the universe is governed by law in its minutest detail, and if all of these laws are emanations from, and direct expressions of the will of Jehovah, the All-wise and Infinite Being who rules the universe as its Supreme Intelligence, then it must follow that He has a plan for each and every human being. And not the less, but rather more that we are intelligent beings, the more truly are we governed by law, than even the inanimate world about us; but differing from all lower forms of life and the insensate things of the universe, rocks, etc., we may learn the laws of our being and choose to be governed by them, and thus bring our lives into harmony with the plan of our creation, and hence with the entire universe, or we may choose a different course and be antagonistic to and out of harmony with that plan, and therefore out of harmony with the universe. Obedience to law brings harmony with the law-giver and with the system in operation under those laws. This is not only true in mechanics and science, but in politics, gov- ernment and morals, as well as religion. The more perfect the machine, the science, the government, the society, and the religion, the more perfect is the harmony when every part is obedient to the laws of such machine or system; and per contra, the greater the discord, where disobedience to such laws prevail. Now equity and justice mean adequate punishment to those intelligent beings who willfully keep up discord and prevent harmony between the rightful law-giver and his subjects. Is it not the duty, should it not be the pleasure and aim of every citizen to promote equity and justice between his fellows and the Supreme Authority? From the laborer in the most menial service, up through the skilled mechanic, artisan, business and professional man, on to the statesman and ruler, it ought to be the aim of every one to promote justice and fair dealing among all classes of men. It is legitimate, right and proper, yea, even obligatory, upon each to make an honest living for himself and those dependent upon him, so that they may live with the necessities and comforts of life to which they are rightly accustomed. Whatever effort goes beyond this in providing for one's own is selfish and may be wholly wrong. So that we may rightly say that every man should first seek to earn an adequate and honest living for himself and his dependents in any legitimate calling he may choose, after which he may rightly use his time, talents or money, in any proper manner he sees fit; but the more (57) 58 EQUITAXIA. OK TIIK LAND OF EgUlTY he uses these to promote the welfare of his fellowmen the more marked will be his philanthropy, and the more will he be a benefactor to the race. On the other hand we cannot allow it to be a legitimate claim that a man must live, and therefore that is his first concern; to live, no matter by what means, either fair or foul; for this assumption is false, and therefore any argument based upon it is false, and its logical conclusions are equally false. True, a man ought to live, and earn by proper means his sustenance; but it were better to die than live by wrong, and at the loss of honor. Let us have life, and peace if possible, with honor, right and justice; but better war and death, if honor and virtue must be sacrificed to avert these. Every human being of age, and intelligence sufficient to be accountable for his acts, is daily building character, and this he must do whether he chooses it or not; but to live or make a living is not obligatory, and one can even refuse to live, or make a living, unless they can be gained with honor, integrity and uprightness. And this is a vital principle in the make-up of human character which must not be ignored, or we can never have a genuine basis upon which to build a character that will stand the test of eternity. To die right is better than to live wrong. To die rather than do wrong is better, grander, more heroic, and more divine than to live by doing wrong. Few of the race have been called upon to face so trying an ordeal as this, but those who have, and have stood the test, are given the martyr's crown by a willing humanity, and I doubt not all such have their names written in the Lamb's book of life. Let it then be admitted once for all, that the most important thing in every man's life is to do the right; or to put it differently, to live in obedience to the supreme law, to obey God, to live according to the laws of his being as ordained by God. "Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." Nothing can take the place of obedience, nothing can be a substitute for, or just as good as obedience. Obedience to God is harmony with Him, and harmony with His plan and with His universe; while on the other hand, disobedience to God brings inevitable discord with Him, His plan, and with the universe, which is all under His control. He is the center of all power, and to be out of harmony with Him necessarily makes one a misfit, a d isco rd and a cause of offense in his plan and in His universe. He Himself acts according to law and well settled fundamental principles, and He promulgates the laws of the iniverse according to which all things are done in the minutest details. Therefore to learn what these laws are and then observe or obey them, brings its own reward, which is peace or harmony, or abiding happiness. 1 . All law to be effective must be founded upon justice and have back of it the necessary physical force to ensure its enforcement, in any and every emergency, and therefore women should not be called upon to vote, hold office, nor take a public part in the affairs of state; as they have not the physical force necessary to, and because they are not intended for, the physical enforcement of the laws which may be essential in civil government. 2. Woman has a special and honorable sphere all her own, and protected by natural, insuperable barriers which precludes the possibility of her rightly filling this place, if she takes upon herself the duties of state, and that is wife, motherhood and home-maker. 3. Not only have these natural physical barriers been raised and the Divine architect has apparently fitted woman peculiarly as the mother, home-maker and builder of men; but He has said by Paul, Eph. 5:22-24. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church; and he is the savior of the body. There- fore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." Col. 3:18, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as it is fit in the Lord;" and Titus 2:4, 5, "That ye may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children," and through Peter, 8 Pet. 3: I, 5. 6, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; for after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands. Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord; whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement." Which ought to be WOMAN'S TRUE PLACE THE HOME 59 conclusive enough for those who beUeve that these men spake as divinely inspired, and gave us the plan of the Almighty for woman's sphere and place of greatest usefulness and highest honor. Of course those who think a sneer a sufficient sub- stitute for an answer to an unanswerable argument, as so many do who try to make it appear that Paul was only a crabbed old bachelor and didn't know at all what was best for either man or woman this will not do, and with such I have no further contention. 4. Since woman is to be the helpmeet, or help-mate of man, she should not in any sense become his competitor; and the moment she branches out into the realm of politics, business and state-craft, she perforce assumes this role, and there- fore she should neither seek nor have it. 5. People do not pay taxes for the privilege of voting, making laws, or holding office; but for the support of government in order that the subjects may be pro- tected in their property, their rights, and their lives, therefore the argument that women pay taxes and hence are entitled to vote is based upon a false assumption and has no foundation in fact. The right, privilege and power to vote is based upon the fact that those who do vote are empowered to and assume the obligations of making and enforcing all laws necessary for the proper conduct of government, and the equitable protection of the rights of all the people who live under the government, without regard to sex, age, or condition. To say that many women who have large property interests and pay heavy taxes, but being women are not allowed to vote, and are not duly considered in the making of laws, and their property interests, therefore, are not adequately protected, is no argument in favor of their suffrage for they are not discriminated against as a class of female property holders, for many men of equal or greater wealth, although with the power of voting, find the very same difficulty and few men there are who feel that the laws are always fairly made and equitably administered, even toward themselves, and yet men make, interpret and execute them. So that such a line of argument would obtain against all voters. But so long as man is fallible and selfish, this state of affairs will obtain whether women vote or not. Two recent writers of note have so well said some things in support of this position that I take great pleasure in quoting from them. The first is that by Mrs. Aymie Martin- dale, of Hamburg, Germany, an English woman of unusual ability in an article in Leslie's upon the subject, "Women in the World's Market," who very wisely says: "Worst competition of all is that which has recently crept into the market between men and women. It is the most fatal mistake for woman to enter the world's market, only to try and rival man in his financial speculations, mechanical inventions, scientific investigations, industrial occupations, artistic creations, abstruse studies, navigation, agriculture, commerce or anythng in which man is bound to excel her. "Woman's failure to take and keep the post assigned to her (not by man, but by nature) is really the sole cause why the world market today is a place over which men and angels may well weep. Woman is to blame for its moral contagion, for the vast multitudes of criminals, lunatics, imbeciles, diseased, deformed and incapable persons that overcrowd every portion of it and poison the whole atmo- sphere; for its hideous traffic in white slaves and the equally abhorrent matrimonial sales (though the latter may be legalized by the consent of parents and ecclesiastical benedictions), for the frightful thriving of Mrs. Warren's body-and-soul-destroying profession, for the cruel martyrdom inflicted on Httle children and helpless men, for the abominations revealed in divorce courts, for the fiendish inhumanities of war, for betraying the kingdom of home into the hands of its enemies, for the degrading wrangling in the market place between the sexes, for the absence of health, peace, joy, self-reverence and self-control throughout the market. "It is woman's potential motherhood which practically gave to her, and not to man, the sovereignty of the market. The succession is strictly confined to the female line. And woman stands in the market not to pander to her own or any man's lusts, not to amuse herself in Vanity Fair, not to degrade her womanhood by (K) EQUITANIA, OH THE LAND OF EQUITY countenacing either directly or indirectly Mrs. Warren's profession, but as a maker of men. "Let men make ships, aeroplanes, houses, gardens, pyramids, or any of the wonders of the world; it takes a woman to make a man! For nine months, minute by minute she must continue her work, consciously or unconsciously, by night and day; and, though hundreds of outward influences are brought to bear upon her work, she carries it on without halt or hesitation, in silence, in stillness, in darkness. And all the time that she is actively moulding, by her thoughts, words, and deeds, the mind, the body, the heart of a man, she is unable to see or test the value, or the worth- lessness of the being she is producing. She is 'socially responsible for her choice of a right father for her child' — much will depend on him for the success of her task; but the task of making a human being strong, healthy, perfect inwardly and outwardly, morally and physically, is hers alone and cannot be deputed to any man. "The sore evils that exist in the world market are due to the women who are guiltily blind to the infinite possibilities, the awful responsibilities, the inalienable rights conferred on them by potential motherhood. It is they who cheapen the price of really good work in the market by disdaining what is most useful to mankind and by tempting men to squander millions in purchasing the meretricious and tawdry things that most women covet. Such women surely operate as 'a most deadly check to true industry and true art.' It is women themselves who place woman's work on an entirely wrong basis and encourage the foolish idea that women come into the world as paupers and beggars, entirely dependent on men. They are, in fact, too richly endowed by Nature to be either the one or the other. A woman can and ought to earn her own living as truly and independently as any man, but not by becoming a wife, a concubine, a harlot, a child bearer, or that plaything of man's which is so expressively described in the German language by the word 'Genussmittel.' "A woman is left by nature as free as man to choose her own vocation and sphere of labor, with this limitation, that she neither forsakes her kingdom nor irreverently ignores her potential motherhood. For the latter involves the prob- ability of her being asked to willingly undertake the fashioning of a human being, to improve the whole race. It will then be her holiest and happiest task — over- shadowed by the power of the Highest — to work out a little more of man's ape and tiger ancestors, to elevate humanity and eliminate from it all that is vile. For this task she needs, first of all, a strong, healthy, beautiful body. As Tennyson sings: " *If she be small, slight-natured, miserable, how shall men grow?' "This body can be hers only if her own mother has obeyed Nature's laws of health and reproduction. From the day of this body's appearance in the world, the work of developing, training and educating all its faculties must be carried on for at least two years by woman, and surely this work should represent a value in the market second only to woman's pre-natal work. As the first and final educator, she outwardly molds what she has inwardly made. "But what becomes of this work while women are endeavoring to ape men in the market? The enormous percentage of infant mortality and the diseased, deformed state of mankind answer this question. Finally, for the flourishing growth and development of children, a healthy, beautiful home is indispensable. That also needs the best creative skill of a woman. There is practically no field of woman's labor that covers such an extensive and diversified area as the kingdom of home. It affords scope for the exercise of every womanly energy, so that the limitation of woman's work to the kingdom of home is purely nominal. Practically it gives her the most cosmopolitan tastes in the world and inexhaustible sources of interest and occupation all over the surface of the globe, for woman's kingdom embraces the whole earth and all that is therein. But she must reign in it as queen — never, never, sink to be an eleemosynary, a hireling, a dependent on man's bounty. "Nothing has wrought more mischief in the world's market than the untrue, mistaken supposition on the part of man that the giving of his name to a woman, the making her the mother of his children, gives him a right to all she can do or be, without giving anything in exchange except what his own will or caprice suggests. She has a right to have her exchequer royally filled not with alms, not with wages, but with the full marketable value of the work she does for man — work he cannot WOMAN'S TRUE PLACE THE HOME 61 do for her or himself or his children. A girl properly born, brought up and educated to be a queen-mother, the sovereign of home, is made to stand in the world's market and beg man to let her do his work, and for a wage he himself scorns to accept. "But if women, called to exercise sovereign rights over mankind and really holding the characters, the virtues and vices, the health and disease of all men in their power, will allow vice to be paid for more highly than virtue, and will join with men in allowing mothers, nurses, governesses, teachers, cooks, housemaids, seamstresses and all other bona-fide female workers to be worse paid than court- esans, who is to blame but woman herself?' The second is from the editorial page of the Ladies' Home Journal, as follows: "She was a dashing young modern mother of three children, and she said: 'Really, I don't see why a mother should be so terribly concerned about her children. Their development is mostly a matter of heredity anyway, and what I do won't make much difference. My real life is with my husband, and their real lives will be with their husbands and wives. I think people ought to live their own lives. It is very foolish for a mother to sacrifice herself too much for her children.' A dear old lady who had lived a very 'real life' of sacrifice such as the speaker knew not of, who had reared four splendid, successful sons, rose from her chair and sat down beside the younger woman. " 'My dear,' she said in a gracious tone, 'You say your children's development is mostly a matter of heredity; tell me, who is responsible for giving them that heredity?' " 'Why — I suppose,' she hesitatingly replied, 'I suppose we are, their father and I.' "'Exactly,' said the older woman; 'and let me tell you something about that same heredity. It is nothing in the world but clay out of which you are to mold your children's characters. Faults and weaknesses are only heredity gone wrong; virtue and strength are merely heredity gone right. It takes but the turning of a hair in the beginning to determine whether a trait shall go right or wrong. Your real life is, as you say, with your husband; but the only real life for either you or your husband is in your children. In endeavoring not to sacrifice too much take care my dear, lest you sacrifice everything.' " 'And your plan hcs been?' asked the young mother, for she well knew of the standing and character of the four fine sons of this old lady. " 'To put heredity out of my thoughts on the day that each of my children was born, and to pin my faith solely on environment. For, believe me, there are few traits of character that cannot be traced with a little careful study to some environ- mental condition as a cause, and there is almost none that cannot be modified and corrected by skillful management of the child's surroundings." Another editorial in the same number of the Ladies' Home Journal is as follows: "The woman who deliberately chooses a public life, who stands before audi- ences and speaks eloquently of 'woman's broader sphere' who sometimes seems to the domestic woman to be 'doing things' in the great world, in comparison to which her own world seems restricted, may for the moment win our applause, and by her arguments, cleverly phrased, make us wonder. But one fact remains Divinely potent: few human beings — men or women — deliberately renounce the blessedness of normal life. Most women, nearly all women, are at heart mothers; an inscrutable Providence has made them so. While they have youth, or while ambition remains later in life, they may be able to hide the fact. But one experience is the confessed experience of all such women; that as the years pass life loses many of the interests which once were deemed potent, and the childless woman finds it fear- fully hollow and empty at the end. Then it is that she looks back and envies her sister who accepted a woman's normal life, and who, with a womanly spirit, has found, deep planted in her mother-heart and growing with her mother-love, a capacity, that makes the most glorious career seem a mere triviality. " 'Yes,' said Frances E. Willard, only a few months before she passed away, to a friend who was complimenting her on the work she had accomplished in the 02 EQUITAXIA. ()l{ THK I. AND OF EQUITY world, 'and if I had it to do over again I would exchange it all for a pair of baby arms. That,' she concluded, as her eyes filled, 'is normal for a woman.' "Why, then, I say, should vvomen even want to vote, for already, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." Augustine in his "City of God" gives the following as an illustration of the ancient idea of the futility of woman's suffrage, and indicates the proper place of woman in society. "Of the name Athens, Varro gives this reason: An olive tree grew suddenly up in one place and a fountain burst out as suddenly in another. These prodigies drew the king to Delphos, to know the oracle's mind, which answered him that the olive tree signified Minerva, and the fountain, Neptune, and that the city might elect after which of these they pleased to name their city. Hereupon Cecrops gathered all the people of both sexes together (for then it was the custom in that place to call the woman into consultations also) to give their voices in this election, the men being for Neptune and the women for Mmerva; and the women bemg more, won the day for Minerva. At this Neptune being angry, overflowed all the Athenians' lands (for the devils may draw the waters which way they list) and to appease him, the Athenian women had a triple penalty set on their heads. First, they must never hereafter have a vote in council. Second, never hereafter be called Athenians; third, nor ever leave their name unto their children. Thus this ancient and goodly city, the only mother of arts and learned inventions, the glory and luster of Greece, by a scoff of the devils in a contention of their gods, a male and a female, and by a feminine victory obtained by women, was enstyled Athens, after the female's name that was victor, Minerva." Sylvester — Do you mean for us to infer, then, that women are inferior to men, and that for this reason they should not vote? Horace — By no means. It is not a question of superiority or inferiority, but of doing the work to which one is assigned by nature's laws. It is the question of filling the place in life to which one is essentially fitted by nature. You would not say the canary bird with its brilliant plumage, its charming, inspiring and thrilling song, is inferior to the lion and thus decide for the King of Beasts! Each has its own sphere in the animal kingdom, and in its place is supreme. Each in obedience to the laws of its being fills its place best. Any attempt on the part of one to occupy the place of the other and assume prerogatives by usurpation belonging peculiarly to the former must result in dismal failure, because in violation of nature's supreme law." Robert — How about the men who vote? Do they have any particuliar standard of excellence, or special requirements for them? Horace — Yes, I have previously referred to that, but I may here make it plainer. 1. All voters must be men, and each voter is entitled to vote, as follows: 2. They must be citizens by birth or naturalization. 3. They must be twenty-one or more years of age. 4. They must not be criminals nor dependents. 5. They must be able to read, write and speak intelligently in the English language. Of course in the very beginning of this country, in fact until 1870, the four languages were recognized as official, but since that time all have agreed to these conditions. To enlarge a little upon the question before us, let me read you part of an address given before a graduating class of nurses at one of their hospitals, by a well-known citizen there, which address was widely quoted by the papers as expressing an opinion generally approved by the people: "Mr. Chairman, Superintendent of Nurses, Young Ladies of the Graduating Class, Ladies and Gentlemen : "We used to hear a great deal some years ago of the call of God to men who entered the ministry. But I want to assure you that whilst I believe that God calls young men to enter the ministry, I do not believe that, any stronger than I believe that he calls every human being to some definite and useful place in life. In short MOTHERHOOD THE SUPREME DELIGHT 63 there is a mission for every one, and it is our duty as intelligent beings to find the place for which we are fitted and then fill it. "Every flower that blooms in the valley; every tree that crowns the hill tops; every fish that swims the sea; every bird that flies the air; every beast that roams the forests, and every man that treads the earth, has a place to fill, has a mission to perform, is a part of the divine economy, and is under the care of the All Wise and loving Father. This is not a world of chance or accident; but was brought into existence and is sustained, by the intelligent being whom we call God. He holds us in the hollow of His hand, and has a place for every human life. " 'Behold the lillies of the valley, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more shall He clothe you, 0, ye of little faith!' 'Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered, and not a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father's kindly notice.' Therefore have no fear, but as intelligent, responsible beings find the place assigned you, and fill it, whether it be humble or exalted; for the place designed for you is worthy, useful and impor- tant, because of Divine appointment. "If you look for a moment to the fine organization of our Government, you will notice there is a mint for making money and by authority of the government stamping with a certain value. The same authority and place that makes and stamps a penny also makes and stamps a twenty dollar gold piece. The same authority makes a one dollar bill, and each is made for a specific purpose and has a very definite place to fill in the business world, and neither one can take the place of the other. "So in this great universe, it is planned with greater skill and more Infinite wisdom than our government, so that each intelligent being may be more certain of a place designed for him to fill in this world and the universe, than you can be that the penny, the twenty dollar old piece, or the one dollar, or the one thousand dollar bill, has a place in the business world today. "Have you ever seen a great ship sail out of her harbor with all its crew, its cargo and its precious human lives to go across the sea and land in some foreign port? Have you ever stopped to think who is it (humanly speaking) that makes that majestic vessel ride the storm and plow the main, until after the strife and stress of a boisterous voyage of ten or twelve days, she rides safely into port with all on board? Is it the Captain, the Pilot, the man m the Crow's nest, the engineer or the stokers at the engines? No, it is no one of these, nor yet all of them combined; but they with the many others, the entire crew, each in his place and at his post of duty, co-operating the one with the other, and all working together, that brings the happy result. "And whilst the Almighty is not dependent like the Captain of the ship, upon each man doing his part, still it is no less true that He has a plan for the universe which just as certainly implies a place for each of us, as has the Captain of a great vessel a place for every man in his crew. "Therefore let me say to every one here tonight, find the place designed for you in order to do your part in the world, and as a necessary preliminary to being happy, which is the proper end and aim of every human being. No one should ever choose a calling or vocation in life that would unfit him or her for their highest mission. And no girl should ever choose a work or engage in any calling that would unfit her for the real mission or sphere of her sex, the highest ideal of womanhood. "This leads me to speak of some of the proper spheres for women; and I mention. First, Motherhood. "When in Italy a few years ago I visited the famous Uffizi Gallery at Florence and saw in a room set apart, and specially designed for the purpose, the world renowned "Niobe Group." The Greek mythological legend is that Niobe was wife of Amphion, King of Thebes; that she was the proud and happy mother of fourteen children; seven sons and seven daughters; but that she aroused the anger and jealousy of Leota, who only had two children, Apollo and Artemus, and they deter- mined to allay their mother's rage through the slaughter of all Niobe's children. G4 EQUTTANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY This cruel and monstrous deed was done by shooting them down with invisible darts, one after the other, before their mother's eyes, until in bitterness of soul and anguish of heart she turned into a veritable statue of stone. The Greek sculptor, (probably) Praxitiles. has tried to depict this awful scene in these wonderful marble statues. So here in the gallery we have the Roman copies of the original, and ranged on; either side of the room are the life sized marble statues of the children of Niobe as they seek to flee in terror from the shafts of the angry Gods. While in the end of the room is the statue of Niobe herself, as in agony of soul she attempts to throw the drapery of her marble veil over the youngest child who kneels at her mother's feet for comfort and protection. Here stands the mother fearless, undaunted, and undis- mayed, though helpless to defend her own. "But again, you have all seen one or more of the Madonnas. Every great gallery in the world has one or more of these famous original paintings as an impor- tant part of their collection. Almost every master of canvas has painted one or more of the Madonnas. No other subject probably has been so frequently used, and perhaps no other picture is so widely distributed in the world as this, and all for what? In honor of motherhood, to pay tribute and reverence to motherhood. Sculp- ture, painting and poetry have vied with one another to honor it. Therefore we do well to pay it the highest regard. "Is her child sick? The mother's strength, endurance, and untiring devotion know no bounds, but seem when needed to be almost infinite. Is the child in danger from fire or flood? The mother flees not from the terrors of the one, nor the raging of the other until her child is safe. Is her child in danger from wild beast, or more savage man? Still she knows no fear, but calmly folding the child in her arms, and pressing it to her bosom, she bids defiance to them both. "The gentlest and the strongest, the tenderest and the bravest, the most self- sacrificing and the most endearing term ever applied to any human being in all languages, in every age and clime the wide world round is that which stands for mother. "It is therefore but natural and right that every woman should aspire for this high ideal, because nearest the Divine. "In passing, however, I cannot refrain from saying how much I honor those wives, who for good and sufficient reasons never become mothers, but whose lives are filled with usefulness and service to the world in other directions. Nor would I be true to my convictions if I failed to commend in the highest terms those noble women who all their lives remain single and fill other useful places rather than marry a man who is unworthy to be the father of their children, or a fit example for their sons to follow. "In the next place let me speak of Teaching, as another useful and most honor- able sphere for women. The teacher because of her position and her work in molding the citizenship and training the minds of those who are to control the destinies of the nation, and because of the importance of the lives and souls of those whom she teaches, holds an exalted and responsible position for which she should be held in high esteem, and be counted worthy of great honor when she faithfully does her duty. "When a boy I remember how we anxiously waited to see our new teacher, and upon one occasion there was almost a startled groan as she appeared, for she was extremely and painfully homely. At recess we all agreed that she was the ugliest woman we had ever seen, and we wondered how she could bear to look in the glass, and marvelled that the glass itself did not break in rebellion. "But my friends, before that term of school was over we had all forgotten her homely face, and were profoundly ashamed of our early remarks and thoughts about her, for she had won our deepest admiration and respect. Her very character, her real worth, her spirit of sympathy and helpfulness shone with radiance in her face and made it glow with a beautiful charm to all who knew her. Thus it was that she stamped her character of excellence upon that school as no other teacher had ever done. "I come finally to speak of the useful sphere for women of Nursing. "The trained nurse is the doctor's assistant, the mother's expert assistant, the DUTIES OF THE NURSE 65 wife's expert assistant. She is exepcted to be a living example of cleanliness in habits, manner and dress. She is expected to be an expert housekeeper and cook, and is supposed to know how to keep her own counsel to know and mind her own business. "When the child is sick, the mother calls the doctor, and when he deems it wise, he calls for the nurse, who now comes into the house not to take the place of the mother, but to add her skill and expert knowledge as an aid or assistant to the mother in carrying the little one through this trying ordeal, and restoring it to health under the directions of the physician. "When the mother or wife is sick and the nurse is called into the home, she becomes the docor's chief assistant, and the general manager of the husband, as well as supervisor of the affairs of the household, while she skillfully nurses the sick one back to health. "When the husband or father is sick and the nurse is called in, it is not to take the place or supplant the wife, but she is now called as an expert assistant to the wife, and under the instructions of the physician, who may be in attendance. "So that the real thing for which the nurse is called into the home is to be the doctor's assistant, to carry out his orders and help restore the sick one to health. And yet if she has done her work well, she leaves the home better in its sanitary conditions, better in its ideas of the rules for health, and more efficient in its influences as a home and center for the promotion of health in the individual, the home and the community, than it was before she entered it. "It may be well for us to know that besides all this the trained nurse stands for and represents some very definite things. "I. She represents the great army of nurses which now encircle the globe in all civilized lands, of which Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton are both striking and noteworthy examples. "Whether, therefore, she serves in the ranks, or as leader in the battle against disease, she should not dishonor the service. "2. She represents her class, and all the Alumni of her school of graduation. Surely she would not desire to discredit any of them. "3. She represents the school and hospital of her graduation. This means that her Superintendent and the doctors under whom she was trained will be judged somewhat by the character of her work, and the school itself will be praised or con- demned in a measure by her skill as a nurse, and her character as a woman. "4. She is an example, a living illustration, or an epitome of the rules and regula- tions of health for the individual and the home. She ought therefore to be cleanly in person and dress, hygienic in her habits, and practices, as well as sanitary in her place and manner of living. "5. Finally, she stands as every other responsible human being does, for her own personal merit and worth; therefore her ideals should be high, her standard should be noble, and her aim to fill to the best of her ability the place for which she was designed. "Thus you will see. ladies and gentlemen, how and why it is that motherhood is the ideal of all mankind for woman, and you will also observe that neither teaching nor nursing need detract from nor unfit those faithfully engaged in these Hnes of service for motherhood, if they are so fortunate later in life as to be promoted to this ideal sphere of their sex. "And now young ladies of the graduating class, allow me to congratulate you upon your choice of vocation, and your present achievement. Let me urge you to recognize to the full your powers for good, and your splendid opportunities for usefulness. Hold firmly to the loftiest ideals, build noble and worthy characters, while daily giving valiant, skillful and efficient service, so that you may at last hear the Divine commendation, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord,' " Let me illustrate further by reading you this address by one of our physicians, given at the request of a young ladies' class: CO EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY THE NATURAL FRUITS OF IGNORANCE. POVERTY. SICKNESS AND UNHYGIENIC CONDITIONS FROM A PHYSICIAN'S VIEWPOINT. *T must needs turn this question about a little, and being addressed to young ladies alone, it must also be discussed with special reference to them. "I. The natural fruits or results of sickness and of living or working in un- hygienic conditions. "Every person requires for perfect health, plenty of fresh air, abundance of sunlight, good ventilation under, within and around any place where she is required to spend much time, either waking or sleeping. Note what careful provisions the well-to-do make for their fine horses, cows and even for their dogs, lest they be contaminated with filth, and become sick or decrepit from the miasms of impure conditions and surroundings. How much more a human being, endowed with almost infinite powers and eternal possibilities. We ought never forget that every human being, no matter how humble, or poor, or ignorant, is by nature endowed with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which of course must include the right to health and healthful conditions. "It is interesting and profitable to observe how much money is spent annually by the cities, the slates, and the nation to insure the health of the people, to prevent those wide-spread epidemics which we know to be preventable, as cholera, typhus fever, and typhoid, as well as others. These are wise proceedings and augur well for much which still remains to do. "The unhealthy, stuffy, dark, overcrowded tenement house, the dug-out and shanty in the low and miasmic districts along the rivers, sloughs, without drainage, without sunlight, without proper air, are constant sources of ill health and must breed disease direct, as well as produce sickly and delicate children. The factory, the shop, the store, without light, ventilation, and in the midst of filthy and unclean surroundings, where one during working hours must needs breathe these obnoxious or poisonous vapors and air, are not only destructive to the best service which the employee can give, and therefore very expensive from an economic point of view; but are sources of disease and early breakdown of vital energy. "To do one's best work, to do justice to one's self, to preserve one's health, vigor and economic usefulness, healthful surroundings while at work are necessary, as well as where one lives and sleeps. "The supply of abundance of good pure water for drinking purposes should be adequately provided to all as a most important factor in the health of a community, and for the individual. Most people do not drink enough water for their own highest good and best physical condition, but all drink some, and this, whether great or small should be the best obtainable and wholly free from danger of carrying disease into the human body. Then, too, plenty of good water for bathing purposes should be provided as a means for promoting health. "Now it so happens, that when the above conditions are not adequately or reasonably well met, then gradual weakness, disability or disease are brought on and the person is unable to discharge his highest duty to his fellow beings, and further is more easily discouraged with life, with the outlook of the present, and gets gloomy forebodings of the future, and therefore is in the frame of mind to originate or combine with others in executing some evil designs upon himself or others. Suicide may result, or some crime be committed against the state or society. In other words the mental attitude of such becomes a verdant soil for vice and crime. All moral actions come from a voluntary choice of any given course; and all thoughts of every kind come from the bodily sensations which being transmitted to the brain set up an action which is properly called thought, and when thought develops into desire and will once decides or choice is made, the action which follows is good or bad according to whether or not it harmonizes with right and truth. So that if these sensations which go to the brain be obscured or distorted by disease conditions, or reach a disordered brain, then how can you expect a perfect, a natural or a true and right result? If the receptive organ, the brain, or the trans- mitting organ, the nerves, or finally the various organs or tissues of the body from which the sensations spring, are out of tune with the music of health and the perfect FRUITS OF POVERTY 67 harmony which ought to prevail among the constituent parts of the body is replaced by discord, no wonder that we often have the judgment giving wrong decision and the will directing persons to perfoming wrong actions. "We must look well to the soil, the brain, we must be extremely careful of the seed sown, the thoughts, as well as the sensations produced and the kind of tissues and bodily organs from which these sensations come, if we would have a good harvest in actions, deeds, lives, characters, and destmies. "Hence I hold the importance of securing and maintaining good health is a strong factor in good morals, lessening of vice and crime, and producing better economic conditions for the individual and therefore for the state, so that our conclusion on this first heading may fairly be, the naural fruits of living or working in unhygienic conditions are the lowering of the vital forces to resist disease, and the more easy acquirement of disease, and the more readily will the person so engaged take on vice or crime, and the economic conditions will be made worse just in proportion to the badness of the conditions, and happiness less easily secured. "2. The natural fruits of poverty. The wise man by inspiration spake these truths for our learning, 'The destruction of the poor is their poverty.' "'Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full and deny thee and say. Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.' "It almost seems to be the very nature of girls and women to like pretty things, dresses, shoes, hats, jewels, rings, etc. True the standard of beauty differs widely among the people of different nationalities, as well as among the various classes of society in every country. But for the things that go to make a girl or woman happy are all those ornaments in dress and other finery with which she decks herself to be attractive to the boys and men, or even to the girl companions with which she desires to associate. In short her standard of beauty is made largely by her friends and those with whom she wishes to be friends. "Every normal girl or woman wishes to indulge more or less freely too in those games, parties or other entertainments which belong to her set, or to the circle in which she chooses to move. She is not satisfied, her life is not contented unless she can have a fair share of the recreations and temporal pleasures which are common to the society in which she aspires to have a part. "Neither can it be denied that every truly normal girl and young woman ultimately desires to be a wife, a mother and a home-maker if the proper conditions shall come to her. I would not for a moment undervalue the high character, moral worth and splendid womanhood of those who for various good and sufficient reasons never do marry. Nay! I say all honor to those splendid women who carry themeselves with dignity and independence and will not marry for money, for position, for mere social reasons or merely to get a home and have some one to lean upon or make their living for them. Aye! better remain in single blessedness than live in double cursedness with an impure man, or where no love is. After all, the real truth is that girls and women do and by right they ought to aspire to this holy relation, and here they may properly do their best and divinely appointed work. Therefore it is natural and right for them to form attachments to boys and men and cultivate their society, their friendship and their admiration, and they do this by making themselves attractive in person, in dress, in ornamentation, and going with them in recreations, to entertainments, to parties, and in anything that will add to the fascination of the boy or man for them, limited only by right, a boundary line, it must be confessed, which is often vague and visionary. In other words, they strive to please, and many times are not too careful about the means they use, if only it will accomplish their object, namely, please the boy or man they admire. "If you have read Goethe's Faust you may remember the character of Margaret who was caught by this man who had sold himself to the devil's messenger for twenty-four years, provided only that during this time the devil would give him anything he wanted. Now in his rounds he met this young, and innocent, but poor girl, and after bestowing upon her a box of jewelry, he gradually worked his way into her good graces until she was easy to seduce. It is but the portrayal of an oft- repeated tale, too sad and real to need other proofs of its frequent occurrence. I 68 EQUITAXIA, OK THE LAND OF EQUITY myself know a young woman who was seduced by a business man, a widower, who agreed to give her some money she was in much need of. So that girls and women, either single or married, who do not have the money to gratify these perfectly natural desires for fine things and a good time, are easy victims to the man who will supply them, unless they are protected by a sense of right and a moral character which can withstand such very subtle temptations. "You may remember the most striking and profoundly true injunction of the Apostle when he said, 'The love of money is the root of all evil.' "If you go into the stores, shops and various places where women are employed and see many times how scant their wages, how utterly impossible it is for them to live with any sort of comfort upon the pittance they receive for their daily toil, and how eagerly boys and men hang about to entrap such as may be susceptible to their wiles, you would not be surprised at the large number who are led astray, nor would you be at a loss to account for the source from which comes many to fill the numerous houses of shame; yes, the houses of man's shame where women are supplied to meet his impure and lustful desires. The mere knowledge that these poor creatures may have such temporary privileges, comforts, yea, even the neces- sities of life by the barter of their bodies, makes the downward path easy and almost attractive, so dreadful are the straits of poverty at times. Do you not remember the poem of Thomas Hood which the whole English nation almost instantly learned by heart, so touching, so sad, so expressive of a deep and widespread human cry, 'The Song of the Shirt?' "'Work, work, work! My labor never flags. And what are its wages? A bed of straw, A crust of bread, and rags, A shattered roof, and this naked floor, A table, a broken chair. And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank For sometimes falling there.' "And it must have been a poor and over-worked girl whom some false lover had betrayed of whom he wrote those other lines, too often true in real life, for us to doubt their application. " 'One more unfortunate. Weary of breath. Rashly importunate. Gone to her death! Take her up tenderly. Lift her with care. Fashioned so slenderly. Young and so fair! Alas! for the rarity Of Christian charity Under the sun. Oh! it was pitiful! Near a whole city full Home she had none.' "Oh, the wrong of the double moral standard which society has set up for men and women, and how mightily do the innocent cry to heaven against such an unjust and mfamous outrage! No good reason can be given why men should be less pure than women. " 'Then let it ring from shore to shore. That men must sow wild oats, no more.' "You would be shocked beyond measure if I were to tell you how many youn^ women d»e in our hospitals because some men have betrayed them and if to thil list were added those who commit suicide for the same reason, a mighty army would FRUITS OF POVERTY 69 be enrolled, and the nation would fairly stagger at the appalling and awful picture of terrible devastation. "Before leaving this phase of the subject, I must call your attention to some facts in proof of what I have already said. The United States census report for 1890 tells us that in the United States are 106.254 insane people, and carefully prepared statistics show that from 50 to 60 per cent of the insane are traceable to drink, and that 55 per cent of drunkards' children have some physical defect while only 18 per cent of temperate parents are so troubled. I believe I am safe and within the bounds of the real facts when I say that from 85 to 90 per cent of all men use liquor in a greater or less degree, and the excessive users of liquor, tobacco and drugs is a shamefully large per cent of both men and women. "When it is shown over and over again by every careful observer the wide world round, that the children of these men and women who by excesses so injure the bodies that some mental or other physical defects and weaknesses are very frequently transmitted to their children, so that such children are handicapped most seriously in the race of life, can you wonder from whence comes vice and crime? "The insane, the feeble-minded, the idiotic, the epileptic are known very many times to come from this evil parentage, and when added to this are poverty and distress for the actual needs of the body, can you wonder at the further outcome of vice and crime from such a hot-bed of iniquity, and at it being a fruitful source of every sort of evil? "In addition to these deplorable facts, do you not see that poverty, poor and inadequate food, clothing, shelter, and vicious surroundings of themselves tend to make one easily susceptible to drink, drugs and other vicious habits that the sufferer may forget or become oblivious to his surroundings and careless of his condition? "The same census shows that 144,399 persons are blind of one or both eyes, and many of these it is well known are blind from the sins of their fathers or mothers. There were in prison 82,329, while in the juvenile reformatories were 14,846, and it is further estimated that only one-fifth of the active criminals are behind the bars at any one time, and that 100,000 more belong to the army of tramps, and most of these are young men. "There were 73,045 inmates of alms houses, and 111,910 more in various benevolent institutions. The number of those who commit suicide is surprisingly large as you must all know by a mere observance of the reports from our own city. Every suicide is due, in my opinion, to some unsettled state of mind, or insanity brought on by various causes, worry over finances, worry over one's physical, social or family relations, and of course this may be predisposed to by the physical or mental weakness inherited or brought on through over-work or bad surroundings. "I think then we may fairly calculate under our second heading the natural results of poverty are ignorance, poor health, susceptibility to crime, vice, bad habits, evil and vicious associates, improper food, clothing, shelter, education, training, culture, weak bodies, weak minds, immoral characters and bad homes, all of which are subversive of good government, and prevent happiness for the individual and the state. In short the natural tendency of poverty is to promote selfishness and discord and prevent unselfishness and harmony with the truth and right. "Coming now to the third and last subdivision of our subject; 'The natural fruits of ignorance,' these are too numerous to mention in detail even as applied to girls and women, but I must mention some of them, and I believe it will be found that the principles now to be enumerated will be of universal application. "If a woman be ignorant of her origin, her powers and possibilities, her destiny, and the very object of her existence, together with the duties and responsibilities which naturally belong to such a rational being, it will not only be utterly impossible for her to reach the destiny for which she was intended; but she will surely struggle in vain for any adequate end in life, and many pitfalls will impede her pathway, while numerous snares will entrap her wandering feet. "1. Every girl should early be taught that she is the handiwork of the Author of the Universe, of God the Creator of all things who brought her into being by the special process of reproduction through her father and mother. He it is who gives and maintains her being with all of its powers, according to well-established laws EQUITAXIA, OK TllK LAND OF KQUITY which He has founded for the physical world or that tangible part of His universe with which we at present have to do. She should be taught that she is in the world for a purpose, she has a mission, a definite place to fill. This Being of Almighty power, of Infinite Wisdom, of Boundless Love, had a definite object in view when he put her into this world, and therefore endowed her with her varied powers, and gave her certain environment, opportunities, and made her subject to the multi- plicity of laws and circumstances in which to grow and out of which to develop into her highest possibilities, namely, abiding peace and happiness. "It is lack of this knowledge that makes the darkness of heathenism, the female degradation of all the benighted portions of the earth, and makes woman too often the mere puppet of man's tyranny in one or another form. "The girl should be taught her physical being, with its powers and possibilities for good or evil. She should be taught and encouraged to fill her place as a helper to the mother in making a proper home for the family; that later she may direct the one over which she shall be the chosen queen. I do not seriously object to the High School, Seminary and College training for girls, provided they do not take away or too greatly undervalue the high and most important function of woman as a home-maker, wife and mother. I must confess, however, that I am not at all pleased with the present system of education, for 1 am sure too much attention is paid to the theoretical and imaginary things of life, and not enough to the practical and really useful things. Too much is being done for the head and not enough for the heart and hand. I am sure this change must soon come, or the entire fabric of our government will crumble to the earth. We cannot go on indefinitely as we are, for the fast approaching storm is more and more attracting the attention of reformers, journalists, statesmen, and all careful observers of our commonwealth, because the struggle between capital and labor, the oppressor and the oppressed, the rich and the poor, the criminal and the law abiding, the vicious and the philanthropic, is becommg m.ore pronounced, and few there be who seem to appreciate the real underlying cause, which I believe to be the lack of correct moral and religious training for the young, together with too large an immigration to our shores of the ignorant and immoral. We have no more right to admit a super-abundance of labor to our land that our own workmen may be pushed to the wall by undue competition, and driven to starvation wages, than a father has to adopt and assume to provide for a half dozen other children than his own, when by so doing, his own are not properly clothed, fed, nor housed. "He is in duty and honor bound first to care for his own properly, before assuming this other worthy and commendable task, when he is in condition to rightly do so, but which is worse than a crime if undertaken at the sacrifice of higher and more urgent duties. Just as if a man in a sinking ship should so far forget himself as to neglect his own wife while she sinks to a watery grave, but heroically saves some other woman, we could hardly credit him with a worthy and laudable ambition. No, our first duty here is to our own and then do what we can for others is the true spirit. "Too keen competition in the labor world largely brought about by this excess of foreigners coming to our shores lowers wages and makes it difficult for men to properly support their families, and thus much of child labor is produced, and girls and women are driven out of their homes by force of these unnatural conditions to support themselves in the shop, the store, the factory, and elsewhere in competition with men and with others. "Some years ago I was asked to discuss a question closely akin to that before us tonight. And since some of the points I then made are equally applicable and force- ful now, I shall ask your indulgence while I quote from that paper as follows: " 'Resolved that the present trend of female employment, in factories, stores, etc., is in the wrong direction. We affirm this to be true for the following reasons. " Tirst. It keeps multitudes of men out of much-needed employment, for it multiplies the laborers, but does not increase the work. " 'Second. The demand for laborers therefore being diminished, it propor- tionately reduces the wages. FRUITS OF IGNORANCE 71 " 'Third. It keeps many men from marrying and establishing homes, for they feel wholly unable to support families upon such meager incomes. " 'Fourth. It throws upon women work for which they are not physically fitted and demands of them burdens they were never designed to bear, and therefore does them, their posterity, and hence the community, untold harm. " 'Fifth. It subjects women to numerous over-powering temptations by which many fall never to rise; and thus are added to the fallen, dependent and criminal classes, multitudes from year to year.' "(a) I quote from Dr. Saenger's work, the most elaborate one published upon prostitution: " 'Apart from low rate of wages paid to women, thus causing destitution, which forces them to vice, the associations of most of the few trades they are in the habit of pursuing are prejudicial to virtue. " 'Domestic servants are not exempt from temptations when employed in large establishments where both sexes are engaged, and many a poor girl ascribes her ruin to the associations formed in places of this description. " 'The numerous cases of seduction under false promises and subsequent deser- tion ; of seduction by married men, of violations of helpless and unprotected females, are abundantly sufficient to prove this, much as it may be regretted for the credit of the stronger sex, and also to vindicate the opinion that employing females and males under one roof, in different branches of the same business, has a strong tendency to promote prostitution. Sometimes, however, it is true that woman, lost and abandoned herself, lends her aid to drag her fellow wom.en down to perdition. In many of the stores and workshops in our city, in every factory throughout the country, such are to be found, and their insidious influence is quickly felt. By false representations and elaborate coloring, they work upon the minds of the simple, or inflame the passions of the ambitious, but in either case their object is the same, and in it they frequently succeed. " 'The employment of females in various trades in this city, (New York) in the pursuit of which they are forced in to constant communication with male operatives has a disastrous effect upon their characters.' I quote from Dr. Scott: " 'The vast army of prostitutes is almost entirely recruited from wom.en of the lower walks of life, such as domestics, shop-girls, factory girls, immigrants, chorus girls, ballet dancers, and other similar classes. " 'The starvation wages paid to young women in stores, factories, restaurants, etc., compel many of them to earn money elsewhere. " 'Prostitution is very largely the effect of the unfortunate circumstances of these poor girls, and the material for brothels is largely recruited from the stores, the factories, and the sweat shops where they must work many and weary hours for cruelly small pay. " 'Many hard working girls, victims of their employers' greed, are compelled to practice clandestine prostitution.' It is a sad fact, too, that the very presence of poverty among girls and women often prevents them acquiring the education, entering the good society, and securing the moral and religious training which would be a mighty bulwark against vice and crime. By their very surroundings in labor or in the home, and by the society in which they are compelled to move, they are contaminated by vice, by evil com- panions, and vicious influences, and almost forced against their choice into ways of sin. Too often they cannot choose better conditions which would help them to resist temptation and overcome evil within and about them. The evils of drinking, of smoking, of taking drugs is a steadily growing one among the lower classes, and sometimes they are aping those in the more fashionable and stylish walks of life. Once more, the very fact of being born and reared in poverty is of itself a hardship in the race of life and the parents cannot do for their children what they would like, nor can the children easily free themselves from this embarrassing situation, and hence it requires more than ordinary will-power and force of character to rise above the untoward surroundings and make them contribute to a really successful 72 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY or heroic life. But that it can be done has been too often demonstrated in real life to doubt its possibility. Men have risen to the greatest power and influence and have developed the most heroic and useful lives (as witness our own Lincoln) who have been reared in poverty. Women too have sprung from the most humble families and have demonstrated their moral worth and greatness of soul by triumphantly rising above their ignoble environment; but where is the incentive, where the opportunity? "All thought is the product or result of sensations of one kind or another, all desire, the result of thought, all moral acts the result of desire, all moral habits the result of these repeated acts, all character the result of choice, all destiny is the result of character; therefore destiny, character, habits, acts, desires, and thoughts naturally proceed from sensations or impressions made upon the nervous system at some point in its various ramifications, the same being transmitted to the brain, and there transformed into thought, desire, action, etc. Now if it were true that all of these links in the chain of the process were always inevitable and unavoidable, then of course the human being would be a mere automaton, a piece of mechanism, however clever and perfect, yet, nevertheless an irresponsible machine, an animal of fate, with no escape from a certain inevitable course of life and doom dependent wholly upon heredity and environment. So that it would literally be true that no person could help being just what he is and what he naturally becomes. But herein con- sisits the dignity of humanity. We are endowed with knowledge (or power of acquiring it by the accumulation of thought and systematizing it) memory, reason, reverence, judgment and will by which we may determine to do or not to do a certain thing, or pursue or not pursue a certain course. "Herein then consists the great essential difference between man and all other animals upon earth, namely, reverence or conscious accountability to a Supreme Being, together with the other faculties just named, with will to choose and con- scious power to do. We can then by our very power of choice and the allied forces which we possess along v/ith it, change our environment, and even modify our heredity, if only we will to do so, and then put forth the necessary effort to get the right sensation, to produce the right thought, and correct desire upon a normal and healthy mind. If you get the point of my argument you will at once see the importance of every person getting normal sensations, normal thoughts, which will produce perfectly legitimate desires, and then will inevitably follow good actions, habits, character, destiny. It is just at this point that will comes into play and we determine to gain the knowledge by which we shall have the right sensations and harbor the right thoughts, which will grow into the right desires. Notice it was thus with our first mother Eve while in Eden she had perfectly normal sensations, thoughts, desires, actions and so on up to the end of the chain; until her sensations, thoughts, imaginations which her will allowed Satan to plant in her mind, which shortly grew into desire, and then her assumed knowledge led her judgment to choose to try the forbidden fruit, and then her will determined the action which led her to put forth her hand and eat. Every human moral action from that day until the present has been the same; first sensation, then thought, and then when the desire has become fixed, either through mjch or little knowledge, the judgment is formed, choice is made and the will executes the command of the Ego, or of the personality in question; and the moral quality of the action is good or bad, according as it harmonizes with or is in discord with the ultimate right, or perfect standard of moral excellence. "I have already referred to marriage as the natural desire of normal girls and women, and upon this question she ought to be informed, while ignorance too often prevails. What then of marriage! Byron said of it, 'The bloom or blight of all men's happiness.' "I. What is its origin and object? It was instituted by the Almighty, designed to propagate the human race, establish homes, promote happiness and procure a stable government. "a. Had its origin in the Garden of Eden and was authorized by Jehovah, sanctioned by the Savior at Cana of Galilee. "b. Was intended to perpetuate the race. 'Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth,' was the divine command to the first pair. This is the natural and legi- IMPORTANCE OF GOOD HOMES 73 timate fruit of marriage and hence should be expected and desired by those who enter this relation. "c. Establish and maintain homes. What earthly word so sweet, so tender, so inspiring as home. I am often called to the homes of poverty, of want, of filth, of ignorance and of suffering, where sick or crippled are being so poorly and meffic- iently cared for that naturally they must die unless better provisions are speedily made for them. And when I suggest that they be taken to the hospital where they will have warmth, comfort, good surroundings, clean beds, plenty of food and the best of care, how sometimes they shrink and hesitate, how much of persuasion and coaxing it takes to gain their consent, all because it is leaving home. Home, around which cluster so many joys and happy experiences, so that even the sorrows, the hardships and the trials seem to endear the term to us. "d. Secure and promote happiness to those united in the bonds of wedlock. Many a woman has been the stay and comfort and support of her husband in times of disappointment and failure. Times have come in the life of the man when he would have despaired a^id abandoned the struggle for existence had it not been for the cheer and help of a faithful wife. Their sorrows are divided, their joys are multiplied, who are rightly wedded. "e. Produce a stable and permanent form of government. The better the homes in any community, the better the government in it. Where the homes are of a high order in morals and intellect, there government is better and more stable. Upon the purity, the intelligence and the sacredness of the home depends the perpetuity of the government. Just in proportion as these are weakened or under- mined will any government totter upon its foundation. "2. What are its obligations? "It is a moral and a civil contract, carrying with it both secular and religious obligations. Where love reigns and both parties have high and noble ideas no discord of a serious nature can ever arise. Being, however, a civil contract, the state should compel the carrying out of the contract as thoroughly as it would a contract between two business men. No man has a right to go into an elegant home, win the heart and secure the hand of a fair and innocent young woman, and as he leads her to the alter pledge himself to her care and support while life shall last, and then be allowed by the state to leave her upon slight or even great provocation, and let her shift for herself and possibly care for several children which have come to cement the union. That man should be compelled by law, and if need be hunted by the state to the ends of the earth, and coerced to discharge at least his civil obligations to his dependent ones. Nor has a man any right to squander his time in idleness, or spend his means in drinking, gambling, or other frivolous or vicious ways, while his family suffers for the necessaries of life. Such an one should be made to take up his avocation diligently, and so wisely and economically use his earnings that those who are lawfully dependent upon him shall have their just need of support, or a guardian should be appointed over him to see that such distribution is made. Let it be forever settled that when these contracts are entered into they must be faithfully carried out according to the letter and spirit of the law, and that divorces shall be given with permission to re-marry among Christians for only the Scriptural cause, and there would be such a mighty uplift in the mental, moral and physical welfare of society as the world has seldom seen. "3. The fruits of marriage— children, and what do they require? Bonapart said. 'The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother.' "James said, 'The interests of childhood and youth are the interests of man- kind.' And Emerson said, 'The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out.' "Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, 'To properly train a child, begin one hundred years before it is born.' Victor Hugo said, 'To civilize a man, begin with his grand- mother.' "Every child gets and must have in some measure: "a. Physical care. Its body must be provided for. It will need food, shelter and clothing. It is entitled to the best physical organization its parents can give it. Kgl ITAXIA, ()\{ TIIK LAND OF KQUITY Therefore its parents should be in health themselves and thus transmit to it as perfect a body as possible. Statistics show that nearly three times as many children of drunkards have some physical defect as do those of temperate parents. One-third of idiots and a large percentage of feeble-minded children have drinking ancestors. "A decree has been issued in the German principality of Waldeck forbidding the issuance of marriage licenses to habitual drunkards. "The first generation from drunkards are often drunkards. The second gener- ation from drunkards are often epileptic. The third generation from drunkards are often insane. The fourth generation from drunkards may be idiots. How specifically is the Scriptural declaration fulfilled. "T the Lord, thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me.' "The child should have sufficient food of the right kind to supply all the demands of the body. It should have shelter from the storm, the heat and the cold. It must needs have clothing adapted to its age and size as well as the season and climate in which it lives. It should have exercise, employment, and out-door life, as well as recreation, in compliance with its necessities, for only thus can it have the best physical development. "b. Intellectual training. The normal child has a mind to develop and must feed by thought upon the best things to grow up in the best way; for grow, it will, and if good mental diet is not provided then poor is always at hand and upon this it will feed to satiety. "President Roosevelt said, 'Educate men by example.' And William Dean Howells says, 'The average boy does more for his education by observation and reading than the school-master is able to do for him.' So that while you may and should provide good schools for the child, still you will do better to give it good examples at home, in the community, and for associates, and especially should your choice of good papers, books and magazines be wisely made. Provide good reading appropriate to the age and tendencies of the child, if you would have his intellect properly trained. Teach your children that they have been put into this world to fill a wise and useful purpose. Each child has natural powers, talents and abilities for development to fit it for a specific place, that its life may be one of happiness and beneficence, and that an important part of its early education is to find just what the sphere of usefulness is that it may become efficiently equipped for service, and when such place is found let him occupy it fully and there will always be success. God fits for service, and calls boys, girls, men and women to every partic- ular avocation in which they can best achieve the highest success. If they hear and heed, all is well, if not their lives are more or less futile. " 'The top is not reached at a single bound. But up the ladder, round by round.' "c. Moral and religious education is an essential, for every rational being has a moral nature which must by culture and training grow to a higher state of purity and uprightness, or degenerate into the vicious and the vile. We forget that, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' " 'Fighting against wrong is the greatest sport in the world.' President Roosevelt. "The Duke of Wellington said, 'Educate men without religion and you make them but clever devils.' Sir Isaac Newton said, 'No sciences are better attested than the religion of the Bible.' Addison said, 'True religion and virtue give a happv turn to the mind, admit of all true pleasure, and even procure for us the highest.' Daniel Webster said, 'Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.' "In one year in New York 2,248 boys and 1 ,056 girls were arrested for drunk- enness. This is but a slight index of where the criminal classes come from. Boys and girls who are not properly cared for at home, or who have no suitable homes will always provide a large share of our vicious and criminal classes. "John Quincy Adams wisely said, 'So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens to their country, and responsible members of society.' RESPONSIBILITY OF MOTHERHOOD 75 "Mothers, your responsibilities are greater than ever you have dreamed. Few, if any men, have ever been great and left a useful and lasting impress upon humanity unless their mothers by superior qualities gave them true greatness. "Fuller said, 'If you would have a good wife, take the daughter of a good mother,' and you may add from me for the sake of the girls, who would choose a good husband, should take the son of a good mother, and it is all the better if he have a good father too. "Every human being of rational mind has by intuition or training some standard of right or wrong, because of that faculty of mind called reverence, or consciousness of accountability to the Supreme Being; therefore the kind of moral or religious character any one develops depends upon "1. What the standard is, high or low, perfect or imperfect, and "2. Upon the fidelity with which the person strives to attain the standard he has chosen to measure up to. "You remember the Golden Rule which Christ gave as a safe and sensible guide, as well as one easily understood by men to define their relations to one another. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.' "Did you ever try to define the difference between a selfish and an unselfish act? A selfish act is one done primarily in the interest of self. The motive which prompts the act is for self primarily and fundamentally. An unselfish act is one done pri- marily in the interest of others, self being forgotten and ignored. The motive which prompts the act is primarily for the good of others. "With this end in view, I am persuaded that every girl should early be well grounded in a practical knowledge of the Scriptures as a proper, yea the only ade- quate foundation for moral and religious character. The Ten Commandments in full and as further expounded by Christ contain the very essence of the highest type of moral and religious culture. "Why do we have the ten commandments, and why are they the ultimate source of all moral law as applied to the human race? "First. If we grant (as most men in enlightened countries do) that the God of the Bible is indeed the only true God of the universe, that He created the worlds, and all things therein, and that the Bible, the Scriptures contained in the Old and New Testaments are his Word to the race, then we must concede, "I. His right to give us these Ten Commandments. "2. Their infallibility as coming from an infallible source. "3. Their wisdom, because given by the Infinitely Wise Being. "4. Our obligation to promulgate and obey them, since we are the rational creatures of his earthly handiwork. "5. Even if he were a malevolent being and these were his injunctions to us to our present and eternal harm, we would be under every possible moral obligation to observe and do them, because of His absolute and eternal proprietorship in us, for He created us, sustains us in life, gives us all powers we possess, 'For in Him we live, and move and have our being.' Therefore our entire subjection to him and submission to his will when made known to us as in these commands is the ultimate and final rule for us. "6. But since Biblical, as well as other evidence shows that he is a God of Love and that these laws are for our good, we are certainly under no less obligation to do them; and if a careful study of them with the principles which underlie them should show that they emanate from the eternal principles of right, and that man cannot attain his best and highest possibilities without perfect submission to them, that they are not given from a mere autocrat regardless of consequences; but rather they are the fundamental principles of truth which necessarily lie at the foundation of the Moral Kingdom of the Universe, and have been laid down or given to us as rational and responsible beings for our information, that we might know how to come into this Kingdom of Truth by choice, or remain outside by choice. The knowledge is given us, the door is open before us, we may choose the narrow way and reap its reward, after suffering the hardships of this way, or we may choose the broad and easier way with less struggle and trial, if we prefer that, with its reward. It seems 70 EQUITAXIA, Olt THE LAND OF EQUITY that Jehovah has buiU his moral universe upon voluntary service of those who choose to obey; all being given the chance, and only those admitted into the kingdom who come by choice, no force or coercion being used upon any. In other words, even the Almighty has nowhere assumed the prerogative of compelling man to obey these commands. He has given all men the alternative to choose obedience and be in harmony with Him and all Truth, or disobedience and be antagonistic to Him and all Truth, which necessarily means destruction to all discordant notes where the universe must ultimately be in perfect harmony. These commands then are not arbitrary edicts, but fundamental principles of truth at the very foundation of the moral universe, where perfect harmony shall prevail, and he who would be a part of that eternal symphony of truth must obey them by choice, for he will never be coerced by some external or outside agency to take such a position against his will. And this harmony will mean universal and abiding peace and happiness to the individual and the entire intelligent universe. "So that the abiding peace and happiness which is the very object and aim of rational beings can be had in no other way than by voluntary choice of harmony with the Author of the Universe which means voluntary obedience to His laws. "We may now fairly conclude that the natural fruits of ignorance are improper living, false standards of right and wrong, erroneous ideas of human origin, purpose and destiny, sickness and desolation, sin and death. " 'And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.'. " 'He is the free man whom the truth makes free. And all are slaves beside.' — Cowper. You will see how these two addresses carry out the basic principles upon which I have shown you the arguments rest which the Equitanians advance for their views of woman's place in the sphere of life. Rev. David Jones — It would seem that you have given us a clear outline of their voting system, and I can most heartily commend it as being upon a sound basis, as well as fair and equitable. But what about their religion? This I am sure is an important thing in every well-regulated government, and I am wondering how they manage that. Horace — Yes, you are eminently correct in assuming that religion has an important place in every civilized community, and I shall try to show you how they have settled that question in an amicable way, and to my mind in a perfectly fair and equitable manner. However, that is a long story, and I suggest that we meet tomorrow night and go over it. Sylvester — Very well (looking at his watch) ; I am surprised at the lateness of the hour. It is nearly midnight. Let us go and be back promptly at eight tomorrow night and we can have time to discuss that question fully, as I am quite anxious to know how they get along where there are so many conflicting views on this universal theme, religion. Horace — Good night, all. I shall expect you at eight. Rev. Jones, Sylvester and Robert — A short farewell. We will be here promptly. CHAPTER V. RELIGION AND MORALITY— WHAT THEY ARE, AND HOW THEY MAN- • AGE THESE QUESTIONS. Horace — Good evening, gentlemen. I am glad to see you. Walk right in and make yourselves comfortable. Rev. David Jones — Good evening. I want to introduce my friend, Prof. Johnson, who is Superintendent of Education in the city, and who, having before heard something of Equitania, asked the privilege of being here tonight. Horace — Glad to see you, Mr. Johnson, the more because I know of your splendid work here and am sure you will be interested in the discussion tonight. In civilized society there are religious, moral, civil and social acts or duties which individuals may or should perform; and hence rules and regulations to define these; urging their performance, the reasons therefor, the ground of authority upon which they rest, the benefits which may accrue from their observance, and the damage which may result from their neglect, should be set forth by those who have or are assigned the authority over intelligent and reasonable beings, if they are to be held accountable for their obedience or disobedience to such rules, laws, commands or regulations. These different acts in human life may be defined as follows: 1 . Religious acts or duties are all such as one performs, or should observe in communing with, and service of his God. 2. Moral acts or duties are those which one performs, or should observe toward his fellowmen, and other lower creatures. 3. Civil acts or duties are those which one performs; or should perform to his fellowmen, and other creatures, because his state requires them. 4. Social acts or duties are such as one performs, or should discharge toward his fellowmen, as may be required by the society in which he moves, the profession, business, trade or occupation which he follows. Now religion is man's recognition of his accountability to God. It is man's con- sciousness of his responsibility to the Supreme Ruler of the universe. The very word. Religion, means that which binds man back to the source of his being. It is the link or bridge which connects every human being with the Author of the universe. It is the belief or faith of the individual which makes the connection. Upon this link, bridge, or faith are built various systems telling men what they are to believe concerning this Supreme Being, and their relations and "duties to Him. And because of man's imperfect knowledge these systems are imperfect, and it is for this reason that so many forms of religion prevail. Each one, however, is the effort of the human soul to get back into harmony with the source of its being. Morality is the sum of all the duties which man owes to his fellowmen and the lower animals, because of his kinship to the former, and his God-given authority over the latter. Every human being, whether in darkest Africa, the dungeons of Europe, or the freedom of America, has the natural right, which no power on earth nor in hades can usurp or destroy, to worship or not as he pleases; and any attempt at compulsion is a usurpation of authority never yet conferred by the Almighty upon any. Therefore the person, tribe, or nation who is thus coerced or threatened may justly and rightly rebel, using any means necessary to bring about, or maintain such freedom. I do not ask for myself anything in this respect which I would not freely grant to every other human being. I could not justly ask more. I would not in equity give less. I am not willing to compel the Buddhist to worship in my way, nor will I submit if he attempts to force me into his manner of worship. (77) 7S EQUITANIA. OR THK LAND OF EQUITY Daniel ventured to face the lions in the den rather than swerve from his religious duties and loyalty to Jehovah. So that no man need fear he is wrong in stoutly main- taining and forcibly defending this God-given right, freedom to worship God accordmg to the dictates of his own conscience. The only being in all the universe, so far as we have knowledge in such matters, who has absolute right to man's worship, obedience and religious devotion and could, if ever man could be coerced into such worship is Jehovah, the Creator and upholder of man, as well as atl other beings. And yet even He does not do so, but distinctly ami positively gives man the power and freedom of choice. "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord." "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." "Whosoever will, let him come." So that it is not only highly presumptuous for mere man to assume the right or prerogative to dictate a religious course for his fellow beings, or strive to compel them to a definite religious belief and practice; but far more, it is a positive injustice and a diabolical sin which is specifically condemned and is only practiced by the devil and his allies who are either willing dupes, or deceived and unsuspecting victims of his malicious wiles. The Mohammedan religion made rapid and mighty conquest by the sword; but true Christianity has always done its best and most successful work by moral suasion, by the simple preaching of the Gospel, living and exempHfying its precepts and truths in the daily lives of its adherents. Note Gen. 14:13 and 24 where we are told Abraham was confederate with Mamre, Aner and Eschol who, like himself, were heads of small colonies, tribes or settlements, and they were joined together for mutual, material protection and benefit, for they joined him in the release of Lot and his possession when they were captured and carried away by Chedorlaomer, Tidal, Amraphael and Arioch, who likewise were marauding kings, or tribal heads plundering and pillaging where they dared. Although joined with these tribes, or nations for such material and commercial enterprises, he did not allow them to influence, change or interfere with his religion or morals. Melchizadek, too, was a king of Salem, and priest of the Most High God living in this region at the time of Abram's triumph and prosperity, each man, apparently, of that day and age, having his own personal relationship to God, and following his own conscience, doing what he pleased in all matters religious; none of these like Abram, Abimelech, Melchizedek, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah or Daniel ever attempted to force their religious beliefs or moral practices upon any surrounding nation or people. And later, when Christ came as the great fulfillment of the Jewish prophecy, and taught the most perfect and complete religion the world has ever known. He taught the same great principles of freedom of choice in religion and urged with all the power of His life, example and words, that this was to be the way of propagating the truth, teaching truth, enlightening the mind and persuading the judgment to accept and adopt the right and truth, for their own sake. Hence it was he said to his disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me" (by voluntary choice). "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, teaching (not compelling) them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Can it be possible the Lord is not so manifestly with his church and there is so much complaint in the United States of lukewarmness and lack of power, because they are trying to legislate (compel) men to goodness, instead of doing the work as He commanded? I do not find any promise of the Master to be with His people if they should try to adopt some new or progressive plan, and it may be possible that the church is too headstrong to follow, but persists in, trying to lead in ways He does not approve. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego were capives in a foreign land with a religion of their own different from that of their captors, and yet rose to high honor and maintained their honor and loyalty. When effort was made to force them to change their religion and adopt that of their captors, they rebelled and even ventured death rather than change, but at the same time were loyal subjects and good citizens, as well as faithful officers under Nebuchadnezzar. It was the spirit of the Master which made early Christianity so victorious and power- ful, and it was the departing from this spirit in the days of Constantine, and at sundry times since, attempting to use force or coercion that has crippled the church and made TPIE SUPREMACY OF LOVE it ineffective just in proportion as dictation and coercion has taken the place of the holy life and forceful persuasion of love. As compulsion comes in, the pious life dis- appears. As force makes manifest its power, love goes out. The devil would drive, Christ would win. Satan would conquer by force, deceit or trickery. Jesus would win by example, a life of peace and love. Evil would prevail by ignorance, by deception and treachery. Right prevails by knowledge, truth and frankness. The devil would rule by deception, enslavement and force. Christ would rule by the power of truth, freedom and persuasive love. So that in this land of Equity the true Christian could and ought to be more able to win adherents to Christianity from their neighbors by the power of a Godly life, the persuasiveness of truth, and the daily example of a service of love, than in any other way. It is, I believe, a fact of universal application, that truth in every realm of science, morals and religion, never needs to be bolstered up by physical force, but can and always does win its way against every evil or false doctrine by its own vital energy; and it is a proof of error and weakness whenever such methods are used, whether in theology, jurisprudence, medicine, or any branch of human thought. And all the history of the Christian church, especially in early days, and now the church in foreign lands conclusively proves that just in proportion as the missionary sticks to his business of winning men to Christ by persuasion, service, instruction and example, and leaves politics, governments, and coercion alone, just in that degree does he make real converts to Christianity. Also the slum work, the City Mission work in our large cities, and the Salvation Army work prove the same thing, for by their self-sacrificing devotion to showing lost men the way of life by faith in Christ, His saving power, and His keeping power, regardless of what the laws are in the community, no matter how great the temptations, yet the Christ that these life saving institutions preach, is "able to save to the uttermost," and they do not need to wait until the devil is willing for them to be saved; they do not need to wait for better laws in the community nor until temptation is taken out of their way before this Christ can save. They offer a real power that can hold a man in spite of the devil and all of his allies; if only the man wants to put himself wholly, entirely and forever on the side of Christ and the right. Just in proportion as men are taught to rely upon external supports, surroundings, conditions and human friends or agencies, so do they in actual fact rely less upon the divine and eternal power, which alone is the efficient agency in real salvation. Christ has never yet entered into an alliance, or co-operation with Satan to save a nation nor an individual. He asks no favors nor quarter from the devil and his allies in this warfare for souls. Christ saves absolutely at the suggestion of his own will and love, and with the choice and free co- operation of the individual man or woman who wants to be saved. If Christ and Buddha are then fairly represented side by side in this Land of Equity by their respective followers and representatives, it will not be Christ's followers who will need a wall of partition built around them, for they have the Truth, and it is the Truth which both conquers and makes free. Let the Buddhist and the Christian teach and live his religion. The one which is founded upon Truth will prevail by the simple force of its own eternal merit. In this land then where four religions and peoples have so mysteriously been thus brought together give all an equal and fair chance, but do not coerce any. They as human beings can live together under laws of mutual temporal advantage without any trespassing upon the religious rights of the other. Christians want, and are certainly entitled to all the protection, justice, and equity in civil matters that others want. The civilized and intelligent Jew, Turk, or Gentile wants protection and security in his natural rights and possessions. That is to say, all civilized peoples agree that these natural rights will include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that these fairly imply security and safety in one's possessions (natural, and honestly acquired) and freedom in one's use of time, talent, opportunities, possessions, and exercise of religious convictions, so long as the equal rights of others are not infringed. All civilized people want about the same general protection, opportunities and privileges, and the principles to govern men in civil affairs are universally applicable to all men in a state of civilization. No person now wants (nor ever in the past has wanted) to be coerced to any particular form of worship, or special religious belief and practice. It was the glory and the shrewd wisdom of the best days of Rome that every nation or people she conquered was allowed to keep its own religion, and as the country or tribe 80 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY became incorporated into and an integral part of the Republic or Empire, its religion too was adopted as one of the many recognized by the state. So that no man need discard or give up his religion to become a Roman citizen, and no tribe or people need abandon or change its religion to become a real vital part of the Empire. In fact it is a fundamental part of man's nature to desire to exercise absolute freedom of choice in all matters of religion; nor could he be a man, a rational, reverent, responsible being, unless he had this power. If then he is such a being and has been endowed by his Maker with this power of choice and the right to exercies it as an individual, surely no man has, nor combination of men have, any right to control it or take it away. So that fairly and intelligently considered this is one of the indisputable and incontrovertible inalienable rights of man always and everywhere. And in just so far as this universal right is acknowledged and given, just in so far is that people, city or government enlight- ened, civilized and progressive. On the other hand in so far as this right is denied to the citizens, or to any citizen of a community or government, just in so far is it clinging to barbarism, to superstitution and the relics of ignorance. Desire for freedom of action in following the dictates of conscience has been the motive power behind much of the real progress and advance in civilization. Conscience is the divine element or attribute of the individual soul which cries out, "I ought to do right." This is the cry for peace or harmony with the great source of our being; for doing right is neither more nor less than man the finite, rational creature acting in perfect harmony with the infinite Creator. But since the fall of man, ignorance has so beclouded him, pride so overwhelmed him and evil desires so bitterly consumed and weakened him that he has been unable of himself to reach the goal, though he has diligently sought it through education and every other conceivable means known to the human mind. But for this very reason it is all the more imperative that each individual person be allowed perfect freedom in following the voice of conscience until he finds this peace and harmony in union with his Divine source. And further it is because no mere man, however learned, exalted, or wise, is an infallible guide and therefore is not always competent to direct and govern another soul, that each must be left to himself; and only advisory, persuasive and educational means are justifi- able over the conscience of another. In this sphere the individual is supreme and no man or combination of men have any right of compulsion or force, and all such is usurpation of authority. Education, culture, training, giving of experience, imparting the knowledge of facts and the exercise of persuasion through personal appeal and influence are right, proper, and legitimate means of effort to have others see the truth as we see it, but coercion is and always has been unjustifiable both because it destroys the freedom of the individual, and because it cannot be effective in the development of moral character. When Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which Edict had been given in 1598 by Henry IV, called Henry of Narvarre, and which gave to the French Protestants called Huguenots, religious liberty and gave them almost the same political rights as Catholics, nearly 500,000 of her citizens fled to other lands for freedom and religious liberty. A recent and able writer says of this incident, "The Huguenots formed a large proportion of the best middle class of the kingdom — its manufacturers, its mer- chants, its skilled and thrifty artisans. Infamous efforts were made to detain them in the country and then force them to apostacy or hold them under punishment if they withstood. * * * Vast numbers escaped '^ * -"^ carrying their skill, their knowledge, their industry, and their energy into Holland, England, Switzerland, all parts of Protestant Germany, and across the ocean to America. France was half ruined by the loss." The Inquisition, really began in 1204 when Pope Innocent the III appointed a Papal Delegate v/ith authority to judge and punish all misbelievers; but it did not reach its greatest barbarities until the latter half of the 15th century, when the Spanish Inquisition was fully established at Savile in 1480, when imprisonment and the stake were meted out to heretics and their property confiscated by the church and state. A writer speaking of the Spanish Inquisition under Thomas of Torquemada, its most notorious leader, says, "During the eighteen years of administration, reckoning from 1480 to 1498 he sacrificed, according to Llorente's calculation about 1 14,000 victims, of whom 10,220 were burned alive, 6,680 burned in effigy, and 97,000 condemned to perpetual imprisonment or public penitence. He, too, it was who compelled Ferdinand to drive the Jews from his dominions. To compute the loss of wealth and population inflicted upon Spain by these mad edicts would be impossible." RELIGIOUS LIBERTY DEMANDED 81 And all of this for what? Simply to coerce all citizens to adopt and practice the state or Catholic religion. It is said, too, that even Luther, the great reformer, was most intolerant with the Jews, for his Apologist, Seckendorff, says that he taught concerning the Jews, "Their synagogues ought to be destroyed, their houses pulled down, their prayer books, the Talmud and even the books of the Old Testament to be ftiken from them. Their Rabbis ought to be forbidden to teach, and be compelled to gain their livelihood by some labor." I am nowhere commanded, nor asked to use coercion, force or compulsion upon any of my fellowmen in matters of religion. God wants a voluntary service upon the part of human beings, and therefore it must be by choice and not coercion. Coercion, or external force might affect the outward form, but could not affect the inward or real spirit of the man, and the heart must be right, and it only is acceptable to God when by an internal desire in Spirit and in Truth it chooses obedience to the Divine Father. John Calvin, who, because of his joining the Reformation and refusing to follow Roman Catholicism which was the state religion, was banished from Paris and his native country, wrote his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" as a plea to the king of France, and on behalf of his countrymen, to secure for them religious liberty. In these he shows the importance of freedom in matters of religion for in his "Dedication of these Institutes," he says : "For I shall not be afraid to acknowledge, that this treatise contains a summary of that very doctrine, which, according to their clamors, deserves to be punished with imprisonment, banishment, proscription, and flames, and to be exterminated from the face of the earth. "But I plead the cause of all the godly and consequently of Christ himself, which, having been m these times persecuted and trampled on in all ways in your kingdom, now lies m a most deplorable stale; and this indeed rather through the tyranny of certain Pharisees, than with your knowledge. How this comes to pass is foreign to my present purpose to say; but it certainly lies in a most afflicted state. For the ungodly have gone to such lengths, that the truth of Christ, if not vanquished, dissipated, and entirely destroyed, is buried, as it were, in ignoble obscurity, while the poor, despised church, is either destroyed by cruel massacres, or driven away into ba-nishment, or menaced and terrified into total silence." In 399 B. C. the great philosopher was condemned to death for not following the state religion, as noted in the following decree, "Socrates is guilty of crime, first for not worshipping the gods the city worships, and for introducing new divinities of his own; next for corrupting the youth. The penalty due is death." And mark you this so-called corrupting the youth was teaching them better morals and religion than the state and society taught them. Shall we of this enlightened age go back more than 2,000 years to find a barbarous and cruel precedent by which to con- demn those who do not agree with our form of religious observance? True, we do not kill those who differ from us; but if we condemn and forbid them spending this day the Sabbath (which to some of us is a religious day) in their own way, are we not acting upon the same narrow, self-righteous and bigoted principle? The many thousands whom Mahomet and his successors changed in their religious professions at the point of the sword, were not sincere worshippers of God according even to Mohammedan belief, but acquiesced in the forms and professed their beliefs to save their bodies from suffering. So that assent of the lips is one thing, which too often may be obtained easily without consent of the mind; but conviction of the mind, approval of the judgment and determination of the will are quite different things. By force, coer- cion, or terrible threats you may sometimes gain the former, but you never, no never, gain the latter. He is unwise who thinks the former equivalent to the latter, or is willing to accept it as a substitute for the latter. Christ never undertook himself, nor authorized any of His followers to try to convert men from their evil ways, their unbeliefs, theii) false religions by any such means as force, coercion or compulsion ; knowing too well that He had given man his freedom of will, a reason, a judgment, an intelfigence to be dealt 82 EgUlTAXlA, OK TIIK LAND OF EQUITY with along rational lines, not along the lines of mechanics, nor even of brute force. Hence from the very Garden of Eden where our first parents were given freedom of choice amid opportunities of obedience and right doing or disobedience and wron? doing, down to the time when Joshua boldly stood up and said to Israel, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," and Elijah, "If the Lord be God, serve Him, if Baal, then serve him," and on through the earthly life of Chrfst himself in which he taught for three years this absolute freedom of man to choose His leadership and voluntarily follow Him, or reject Him and follow Satan, as when He said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laderi and 1 will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Always a matter of choice, an entire freedom of the will to choose or reject the truth and His gracious offer. "Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." The truth of this assertion is well illustrated and the futility of mere profession and lip service is thoroughly demonstrated in the first of the great French heroic poems, "The Song of Roland," founded upon the historical fact that Charlemagne on Aug. 15, 778, when returning from an expedition into Spain, where the Saracens then held sway, had his rearguard attacked when marching through the passes in the Pyrenees and totally annihilated. In the poem, Roland is made nephew of the King and not only best beloved of his noble followers, but the most worthy soldier and in charge of the best Knights of the army, who formed this rearguard. The Arch Bishop of Turpin not only accompanied the army as its chaplain, but stayed near Roland in the final death struggle and was almost equally valient in war and personal combat with his leader. The story is that Charlemagne went against King Marsil of Spain for no very good reason except that the Spaniards were followers of Mahomet and there was some little dissension among them and it gave Charlemagne, the champion of Christianity, a chance to win fame and by force of arms get a possible submission of these Saracens to Christianity and make them pay tribute to the great King of the Franks. He had now overrun almost the whole of this country and King Marsil with his hosts was garrisoned at Saragossa, while Charle- magne just having captured Cordres was encamped and resting his army there; Marsil calls upon his counsellors to give advice what to do and the wisest of them said: "Be not dismayed: Proffer to Karl, the haughty and high. Lowly friendship and fealty; Ample largess lay at his feet. Bear the lion and greyhound fleet. Seven hundred camels his tribute be, A thousand hawks that have moulted free. Let full four thousand mules be told, Laden with silver enow and gold For fifty wagons to bear away; So shall his soldiers receive their pay. Say, too long hath he warred in Spain, Let him turn to France — to his Aix — again. At St. Michael's feast you will thither speed. Bend your heart to the Christian creed. And his liegeman be in duty and deed. "Ye shall see the host of the Franks disband And hie them back into France their land; Each to his home as beseemeth well. And Karl unto Aix — to his own Chappelle. He will hold high feast on Saint Michael's day And the time of your tryst shall pass away." This plan of deception was agreed upon that great offers of sincerity and professions of loyalty as well as agreement to be at Charlemagne's capital Aix la Chappelle by St. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM A KIOIIT 83 Michael's day to receive Christian baptism and profess allegiance to the great King; but in reality they were playing for time and felt if they could get him out of their country and his army disbanded they could safely refuse to fulfill their pledges. "So does King Marsil his counsil end. "Lords," he said, "On my errand wend; While olive branches in hand ye bring. Say from me unto Karl the king. For the sake of his God let him pity show; And ere over a month shall come and go. With a thousand faithful to my race, I will follow swiftly upon his trace, Freely receive his Christian law. And his liegeman be in love and awe. Hostages asks he? It shall be done." Charlemagne accepted their offers as follows: "Fair Sir Gan," the Emperor spake, "This my message to Marsil take; He shall make confession of Christ's belief And I yield him, full half of Spain in fief In the other half shall Count Roland reign. If he choose not the terms I now ordain I will march unto Saragossa's gate, Beseige and capture the city straight. Take and bind him both hands and feet. Lead him to Aix, to my royal seat. There to be tried and judged and slain. Dying a death of di<:grace and pain. I have sealed the scroll of my command. Deliver it unto the heathen's hand." Charlemagne then began to retire toward France with his victorious army, leaving Roland and a chosen twenty thousand to guard the rear, when by a traitorous plot on the part of Ganelon, one of Charlemagne's chief men, the King of the Sacracens fell upon them in this narrow pass and totally destroyed it by killing them every one, though at a terrible loss of his own vast army. Charlemagne being at last warned of this battle by the long and loud blast of Roland's horn shortly before he dies, wheels about his entire army and hastens to the scene of conflict; but arriving too late to save any one of his mighty warriors who had been in the rearguard, he follows the flying Saracens, kills their king; destroys the army and captures the Queen, whom he takes back to France as a ^ ' "Day passed; the shades of night drew on. And moon and stars refulgent shone. Now Karl is Saragoosa's lord. And a thousand Franks, by the King's award. Roam the city, to search and see Where mosque or synagogue may be. With axe and mallet of steel in hand, They let not idol nor image stand; The shrines of sorcery down they hew, For Karl hath faith in God the True, And will him righteous service do. The bishops have the water blessed. The heathen to the font are pressed. If any Karl's command gainsay, He has him hanged or burned straightway. So a hundred thousand to Christ are won; But Bramimonde the queen alone Shall unto France be captive brought, And in love be her conversion wrought." 84 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY Then after his return to Aix and Ganelon had been tied to four fierce stallions and torn limb from limb as a traitor and thirty more of his kin put to death, "Now was the Emperor's vengenance done, And he called to the bishops of France anon With those of Bavaria and Allemain, 'A noble captive is in my train. She hath hearkened to sermon and homily. And a true believer in Christ will be; Baptize her so that her soul have grace.' They say, 'Let ladies of noble race, At her christening, be her sponsors vowed.' And so there gathered a mighty crowd. At the baths of Aix was the wonderous scene There baptized they the Spanish queen; Julienne they have named her name. In faith and truth unto Christ she came." Certainly no intelligent person today would think of making converts to Christianity in this way! There is quite a difference between forcing me to fulfill a contract which I have voluntarily made, and forcing me to do a thing which another simply would like to have me do, or thinks I ought to do. As an intelligent, rational and responsible being it is entirely proper and right for every accepted authority to do the former, but it is wholly wrong and unjustifiable to do the latter. Every man of whatever creed, race, nationality, or color, is rightfully and by crea- tion the artificer of his own character and builder of his own eternal destiny, and there- fore no man is made to fit himself for Heaven or Hell against his will; nor can he be, no matter what his environment, but he must and does choose for himself. In matters temporal, he may choose to enlist under whatever form of civil government he pleases, and this of course is a voluntary agreement to abide by and support the laws of such government. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, in trying to force the three Hebrew captives to adopt his religion, or worship in his particular way, is but a historical example of all those who coerce others into the adoption of their belief or religion. In such cases, persuasion, education, culture, and training are always legitimate and justifiable means to use; while force, coercion, and compulsion here has no rightful place. Daniel recognized the right of the King to make laws for his subjects, but he also believed it better to suffer the physical punishment which alone he could inflict, rather than violate what he believed to be the Will of his God and suffer for that, hence the determination not to violate his conscience. Dan. 1 :5-8. Later when this same king commanded all of his subjects to bow down and worship before the golden image which he had set up, the three Hebrew captives, who were Daniel's companions determined to obey God rather than any earthly potentate. Dan. 3: 13-18, and so they were cast into the fiery furnace, but no hurt came to them as shown in Dan. 3:19-30. Then note how Daniel shows the king in the interpretation of his dream, where the King's authority really comes from, and how God holds him responsible for the exercise of that authority, how he punishes him for reckless disobedience and pride, and when the punishment has wrought its good work upon him God restores him to power, and now since he has learned his lesson he honors, extols, and reveres Jehovah "Who pulleth one down and sefteth up another." Dan. 4:24-37. And again Daniel rebukes Belshazzar for his arrogance, disobedience and forget- fulness of God, and gives him the reasons for his overthrow. God has placed him upon the throne, and his knowledge of his own father's punishment and how Jehovah had dealt with him should have taught the son reverence and obedience; but instead when given power and entrusted with authority he had betrayed both, until now having been weighed in the balances and found wanting, he was rejected and his kingdom given to another. Dan. 5:18-28. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM A RIGHT 85 Both of these examples are very good illustrations of how God allowed men to have positions of trust, honor, power and influence for which they must give an account to Him. And He alone it is to whom men must acknowledge supreme allegiance, and no mere man can nor ought to have the right of coercion in matters of religion. When God created man he placed him in this world with certain capabiliiie? and gave him absolute freedom to do as he might choose, with power over the beasts cf the field, being warned of the evil consequences of a certain course of action, and assured of the divine favor upon condition of continual obedience to the divine will and happiness so long as complete harmony remained between himself and his Maker. After the fall by disobedience, the man and his wife were driven forth out of the garden, clothed by the Almighty Himself and given freedom and independence to follow their own course at will, without divine intervention. Cain was warned of an impending evil if the sin brooding in his heart should grow into fruition, and after he had killed his brother, God set a mark upon him as a punish- ment and warning. When the world had grown so evil as to greatly need purification, God called Noah to build an ark for the saving of a remnant to people the earth after the destruction of the flood. In spite of all this good man's preaching effort, life and work, only eight human beings were left to begin filling the world with our race. After many years had passed and the people had been scattered into many places, and numerous languages from the Tower of Babel, and cities had been built and tribes had been formed and crude or more enlightened governments had been constituted among men; God called Abraham from among his kindred to start a race, a natonality which should in time grow into a society strong enough to form a government among men which should constitute an illustration in the earth of God's plans and power and good will to men. In this He took an active directing part, showing through Moses, Joshua and others the duties which men owed to Jehovah as given in the first four commandments of the Decalogue, and the duties men owe to one another in the several walks of life by the last six commands of the two tables of stone. These later were exempHfied in detail in the laws given by Moses, Proverbs of Solomon and others. When in the course of time Christ came through this wonderful people, a Savior to them and for the whole world. He showed the Father's thought for mankind, and taught supreme love to God, and love to all men as the whole duty of man. Here again more clearly than ever giving man as an intelligent, reasonable, responsible being the largest possible liberty in both thought and action for every individual. No effort was made here to compel any one to believe in any other manner than as he might himself choose. No force, no coercion was ever used, save when Christ drove the money changers from the sacred temple as a forcible illustration to rebuke their sin. Peter and John submitted to stripes and imprison- ment, saying quietly, but firmly, "We ought to obey God rather than men." It has ever been, by God's direction, a matter of choice for men to serve him or not. It was only after the church began to be corrupt that it took upon itself the prerogative of forcing men at the point of the bayonet to believe this, that or the other thing, as some pre- tended interpreter of the Scripture might dictate. So far as the Bible speaks upon temporal or earthly affairs of government, that of the Jews is the only one in which the Almighty has given any details as to how it should be managed, and here the directions were specific on religion, on moral and civil questions. You will take notice that no advice, instruction or commands were ever given for them to go out to force or compel any other nation, tribe or country to observe their laws or to adopt their customs. Pro- visions were made for any who might desire to come in with them and voluntarily become a part thereof, and their relations with surrounding nations were carefully defined. When Joseph was the chief man of Egypt there is no evidence that he ever tried to use his power to force any man to adopt the customs of his religion. When Daniel was the chief man in Babylon there is no evidence that he ever tried to force his religion or its practices upon his inferiors. You cannot, if you would, make men rehgious by force or compulsion; and neither did the Almighty ever so intend it. In fact it is very evident that he determined positively to the contrary, and wished to make it impossible for men to be coerced into religion. That must always be choice; and here, although he is man's Creator, Preserver, and Bountiful Benefactor, giving him all that he has to enjoy, and having endowed him with the immense possibilities of His being, nevertheless man is left free to choose the service of the Supreme Being and submit 86 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY perfectly to His will, or he may reject that service and live in open rebellion to his Maker. And so far as we have any record or proper information on the subject, God has never delegated the authority to any man or government either civil or ecclesiastical to coerce man into the worship of or obedience to the Supreme Being. I grant you, that men and too often governments have tried to exercise this authority, but it has always been a usurpation of authority and never God-given. And it is because men and those in authority too often try to make laws which shall govern and control the religious life, the moral life, and the civil life of its citizens, without noting the distinction between them that so great confusion arises. No man and no government has any right (unless its citizens have formally adopted a religion and conferred this special authority upon its law-makers) to pass laws regu- lating the religious life of its citizens. A man's religion is his own personal matter between himself and his God, and as such, is above and beyond the reach of human agencies. Therefore so far as the state is concerned he may worship God or not as he pleases, and God alone has the right to call him to account for his beliefs, his religious observances and practices, or their neglect. Never until this principle is fully understood and acted upon by the law makers and jurists who are supposed to interpret the law, can the United Stales get rid of the present jumble of confusion in its laws and court decisions. This mixture of religious, moral and civil laws and the vain effort to harmonize them with the natural rights of man and give him the individual liberty to which he is entitled, and at the same time protect him in his rights as a citizen, can only be simplified and made effective by this clear cut dis- tinction which God has made and which every man some how feels to be his due. With all of these facts in view, you can readily see how no state religion is adopted in Equitania, and at the same time easily see how the people can have any religion they want, and not be compelled to accept any particular kind. As to the system of morals this has already been fully outlined in the constitution and the tenets therein set forth as the Public Standard, which all men in civilized society can accede to and follow, no matter what their religion. In fact no human society can do the best thing for its own perpetuity and happiness without some such guide and standard in morals, and therefore the Equitanians were wise in choosing so high a stan- dard and requiring its observance by all. Prof. Andrew Johnson — You have given a good and very reasonable account of the religion and morality of this country which seems both rational and practical; but I have wondered about their educational system and would like to have you tell us about that. What is their plan, and what is their ideal? Rev. Jones — I am glad to hear you put that question and hope we may find the answer as satisfactory as this one on their religioh and morals. I have been convinced for a good while that we are not pursuing the wisest course in America as Christians to win the world for Christ, and I am glad to know that some people have chosen the better way. I remember reading an important epistle to Diognetus written about 150 A. D. which contains these very significant words: "For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind, either in locality or in speech, or m customs. * * * They dwell in their own countries as the lot of each is cast, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to him and every fatherland is foreign. '^ '^ '^ Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. War is urged against them as aliens by the Jews, and persecution is carried on against them by the Greeks, and yet those that hate them cannot tell the reason of their hostility." The famous English historian H. H. Milman speaking of the so-called conversion of the Emperor Constantine to Christianity says: "This important crisis in the history of Christianity almost forcibly arrests attention to contemplate the change wrought in Christianity by its advancement into a dominant power in the state. By ceasing to exist as a separate community, and by advancing its pretensions to influence the general government of mankind, RELIGIOUS LIBERTY A RIGHT 87 Christianity, to a certain extent, forfeited its independence. It was no longer a republic, governed exclusively, as far at least, as its religious concerns, by its own internal policy. The interference of the civil power in some of its most private affairs, the promulgation of its canons, and even in some cases, the election of its bishops, by the state, was the price which it must inevitably pay for its association with the ruling power. I remember the following very shrewd criticism from one of our laymen, concerning the church in the United States and I am glad to know that in Equitania while the Chris- tian church is no part of the state, its adherents have such clear ideas of the real duties of the church and do not get them mixed up with civil affairs, but keep them clear and distinct. This Christian layman said: "If you are going to lead a man to Christ and into the Kingdom how would you do it? Will you say to him, now you must first learn to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy? Or would you get him to receive Christ as his own personal Savior, and then because he now wants to obey and follow Him, get him to observe the Sabbath? "Would you get him first to learn to stop sviearing and obey the third command, or would you get him to know and receive Christ as his Savior, and then as he wants to obey and follow Him, get him naturally and of his own accord, as a new creature, to refrain from profanity not simply because of the command, but out of his heart of love and reverence he now observes the command? "Would you get him first to try and control his lust for women and carefully obey the seventh command, and then when he had well overcome this evil tendency, try and persuade him to become a Christian in the full sense of the word by accepting Christ as his Redeemer? Or would you not rather say. Take Jesus as your Redeemer and then by His help, you can at once and as a necessary part of your new life control this and other evils of your old nature. "If you are going to get a man to choose and follow Christ as his Savior and Redeemer would you persuade him first to quit certain bad habits, reform his external conditions as preparatory to such discipleship, or would you lead him to an intel- ligent conception of his true condition, then show him the all-sufficiency of Christ to make him a new man and save him from his sins, no matter what his outward condition might be? "As a Christian teacher and leader do you want to reform men, or regenerate them? Do you consider Christ a reformer or a Redeemer? Are men saved by correcting evil habits and bad practices, or are they really saved by a change of internal desire, or by the so-called new heart, after which these evil habits and bad practices are naturally and essentially changed? Do you believe in the new crea- tion of the individual by first an internal change or an external change? Which is first, in the order both of sequence and importance? "If you are really loyal to Christ in His life and teachings, if you are loyal to the lives and teachings of the apostles, you can only answer one way. If you have carefully observed the history of the church since its origin, both at home and abroad; you have noticed the power of the Gospel to save and keep men, no matter what their condition or environment, in our large cities and in mission fields, you can only answer in one way. "When any man is really once converted and he has intelligently and consciously put himself into the hand of the Master for guidance and safe keeping, he at once is safe and he promptly so makes and improves his environment that the change is noticeable and permanent. It is not the environment that makes a real man, but the man that shapes the environment. It is not the label on the can that makes the contents true and useful, or valuable; nor do you alter the contents of the can by changing the label. You may put on what label you please, if the contents are bad, no one familiar with the facts would be deceived, for all know it is not the name an article goes by, but is it true to the label? Are the contents exactly what they purport to be? Make the contents right and let the label correspond. If a house is known to put false labels on its goods, it would not take long for it to be forced 88 Ei^UITAXIA. OR THK LAND OF EQUITY out of business. So while they are anxious to have striking and catching labels for their canned goods, they are even more desirous that the contents should come up to the expectations and be true to the label. It is exactly so with the individual life; let the heart and real character be right and the label will pretty much take care of itself; but you may make the label as strong and catchy as you please if the heart and character are not right, it will show up foul, sooner or later, no matter what the environment. It is heart and character that count, and not environment. So Christ Himself said, *Ye whited sepulchres, ye make fair the outside, while within ye are full of dead men's bones; ye make clean the outside, while within ye are full of all uncleanness." Now if we have stated the facts faithfully as to the individual, we may fairly go on to say, what is true in regard to the one is equally true of the group or mass as found in town, city or state. We do not really make Christians of persons or make any individual either a Christian or more God-like by environment or external conditions, neither can we do so with towns, cities or states. We do not make men as individuals more God-like or more acceptable in their per- sons to the Divine mind by improving first their external conditions, so neither can we make a town, city or state more acceptable first by its external conditions. '"Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart." And this is just the differ- ence between man's method and God's. Man, the human reformer, the social worker, the mere humanitarian, looks to the externals chiefly to change the world of cities and the individual, while the Christian, the one who moves forward at the Divine command to change the world of men, whether as cities or as individuals, looks to the changing of the individual heart as the first essential in makmg any change really worth while in the city or the individual. To do this work as the Master directs, is first in time and first in importance; and so consumes the time, the energy, and the means of the Christian, that he would be foolish to spend much of any of these in doing the lesser, secondary, and unimportant thing, which to be really beneficial and permanent must come from within, by voluntary choosing of the individual, that is the improvement of environment or of external conditions. Therefore I conclude the church in its organized capacity and in the work of its membership, should for the unsaved world seek first the Kingdom of God and his right- eousness. It should seek first to lead men to choose the new heart, to offer the prayer of the Psalmist, "Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a right spirit within me." It should spend its time and energy in showing men the way of life, which is by means of the "New Birth," rather than showing men how by external means to improve their environment. If, "The churches of Christ accept without reserve, and assert without apology the supreme authority of Jesus Christ," why not implicitly follow Him in plan and instruc- tions, when they are so explicitely given? He never taught either by precept or example that men must be taken out of the possibility of sinning in any particular direction before the" could be saved, or as an aid to their salvation. He never led men to expect freedom from temptation while in this world. He never tried to make it impossible for any man to sin, or yield to temptation by any force of circumstances or external conditions. He never tried to get the government to enact any laws to make it impossible or even difficult for men to sin. He acted and taught as if he believed men could be saved and really follow him as true disciples in any land or clime, no matter what the laws of the countries were. Strangely enough this was also the action of the apostles and of the early church. How far indeed have we gone astray from these early plans and teachings! I have been led by careful observation to think that the church today is depending more upon forms and ceremonies, legal enactments and environment to reform and convert the world than it is upon the Spirit to regenerate and save it. The church has almost abandoned the Christ idea of the necessity for a New Birth, and is going in largely for a better environment, for the importance of keeping temptation out of man's way, for social betterment as a valuable and efficient substitute for the "New man in Christ Jesus." It is as if the mother busied herself with fixing fine clothes and arranging beautiful flowers to adorn her burning child, instead of reaching her RELIGIOUS FREEDOM A RIGHT 89 saving hand to rescue it from the tragic death. It is as if the husband spent time, energy and money in arrangmg beautiful scenery, splendid home, fine clothes, elegant furnishings and elaborate equipment for his wife's comfort, but failed to give her food for the sustenance of the body. I believe the church is woefully dishonoring her Lord in the frivolous task of fixing up attractive environment for a corpse instead of applying the life-giving stimulus of salvation to men. It has been wisely and truly said, "Christ's mission is not merely to reform society, but to save it. He is more than the world's Re-adjuster. He is its Redeemer. Now if the church would really act upon this belief it might be a power for saving men. And until it does so it will be no more than a social club or a large reform society. What mistake did Charles V of Spain and his son Philip II make in their rule of the Protestants when they urged them to remain Christians, or Catholics, and not become heretics? Why were they not justified in the compulsion of warfare, persecution and the stake if we are not justified in compelling by force of law and judicial sanction all opponents of our views of proper observance of the Sabbath? Many adherents of some of the Christian churches believe that card parties, theater parties, golf, tennis, croquet, and base ball are perfectly legitimate amusement and exercise for the Sabbath Day. Can I, merely because I am a staunch Presbyterian, and do not believe in these things on the Sabbath Day, force my Episcopalian, Methodist or Catholic friend to forego them? If there are many in the churches who desire and have a right to liberty in the manner of their observance of the Sabbath, how about the Hebrews, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Buddhists, the Unitarians, and the thousands who do not belong to any of our churches? Is it fair, is it honest, is it right to compel them to adopt my views of the proper observance of this day, which to me is a Holy Day? Suppose that all of these, who are now greatly in the majority, should decide to compel us to observe this Holy Day in the manner they want to observe it, would there not be an awful outcry against such tyranny? But if I have a right to compel them not to observe it in the way they desire and force them in a manner to comply with my ideas of its proper observance, why have they not the same coercive right with me? Ought I not to be satisfied to let them observe it after their way. if they will allow me the like privilege, and neither trespasses upon the rights of the other? In other words to those who are Christians, and who are trying to observe the Sabbath Day, or Sunday, in a manner which they believe is pleasing to Christ, the great head of Christianity, that day is a Holy Day, and as such they are glad to observe it. To all others it is but a holiday and they might just as well observe it in one harmless pastime as another. In fact the proper observance of that day, Sunday, is a religious exercise or exper- ience or service, and has to do with a man's personal or individual relation with Jehovah, and as such is not amenable, or subject to any civil enactments, except such as will prevent the public interfering with any man's observance of it. Why did the Huguenots and Pilgrim Fathers come to America? Was it not to avoid persecution on account of religious beliefs and practices? Was it not for the specific purpose of enjoying religious freedom? Was it not for the sake of religious liberty? Was it not because the old governments from which they fled were insisting upon their observance of particular forms and manners of worship and were compelling men and women to follow their state religions? Was not the founding of the Colonies here, and the formation of the government due to this intolerance abroad and for the purpose of religious freedom and liberty? Does not our very constitution call for such liberty; and are we not bound by our traditions, our ancestors, and our laws to grant this liberty to all of our citizens? AH the religious wars of history and they have been the most numerous and devas- tating of all wars, have arisen from the one false premise, that the ruHng power had the right, or was in duty bound to dictate the religious beliefs and practices of its citizens. And just in proportion as the ruling powers of any country have got'en away from this false and ruinous teaching and has held to freedom of thought in religion, so it has pro- gressed in civilization. But now, simply because the professed and nominal adherents to some of the many branches of the Christian church greatly predominate in the United States over the number of members or adherents of any other system of religion, is no 90 Kl^'lTAXIA, OR THE LAXD OF EQUITY justification for violating our obligations to these who are non-Christians, and trying to coerce them into an acceptance and observance of our reUgious beUefs and practices. We ought not to try to coerce them to the observance of our customs, nor should they attempt to coerce us into an observance of their religious or non-religious customs; but both should be satisfied to let each have his own religious beliefs and observe his own religious customs or practices, only carefully protecting each other in his righ's, both civil and religious, and preventing any infringement of the one upon the other. The funda- mental principles upon which our government is founded and by which we have all agreed to abide are, First, religious and personal liberty, with freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our individual consciences. Second, mutual protection of our lives and our possessions with equity and justice for all in civil affairs. If, therefore, we violate this first principle by assuming to force our religious belief or practice concerning the proper observance of Sunday, upon any of our fellow citizens, we ourselves are disrupters of government and enemies to peace. So long as these who do not agree with us, will allow us to worship in our own way, and do not disturb our services, we ought to be contented, for we are getting what the government has promised us and all in equity we can ask. Now, there can be no objection to our advocating as strongly as we please ovr beliefs, and urging people by our writings, books, magazines, papers and by public discussion to obey God's law and thus try to persuade them to choose our way of serving God. And belter still, if we can persuade them by our holy and happy lives that ours is the best religion, we have done them a valuable service, and have truly honored our Maker and have thus demonstrated the worth of our religion. This was the plan our Divine Master adopted, and it is the one followed by the disciples, the apostles, the early church, and this is the only plan that has been successful in the missionary field, and if faithfully tried it will work splendidly at home. I think we may safely say in the light of history an:J truth, the degree of toleration, real freedom and liberty in matters religious is the measure oi enlightenment and civil- ization of any city, community or commonwealth. Whether a drug store shall remain open on Sunday and sell cigars, run its soda fountain and other minor things is a matter of individual choice and responsibility. Whether a barber shop shall keep open and carry on its business on Sunday is purely a matter of individual consideration, and I would have no right to interfere with either, so long as they do not interfere with me observing the day in whatever way I think is pleasing to my God. Or to put it differently, if I refrain from all unnecessary work on Sunday, and from all unncessary sports and friv- olities on Sunday because I believe it to be His will and desire for me to do so, and if I had the power and should use it to make you and the barber and the druggist, and other men lovers of pleasure do the same, it could only be upon the ground that I thought it was the will and desire of my God to have you do so, and that He had authorized me to compel you to do it, if you would not do so voluntarily. But I do not find any such authority given me. And yet more, if I go to church and other religious services on Sunday and spend the day in reading, prayer, meditation, and such other exercises and services as I think will be pleasing to my God and will therefore be useful and helpful, it is because I think it is His will and desire for me to do so. Now if I am to take you, the druggist, the barber, and pleasure lovers under my protection and coerce you not to do certain things on Sunday, why should I not go further and compel you to do the things I do on this sacred day, both of which I do to please my Maker; and if it p'eases Him and He authorized me to compel you not to do the things I would not do on that day because I want to please and obey Him, then why not also compel you to do the things I am sure He would like to have you do, and which I know He is pleased to have me do> I see no possible escape from this logic; and neither the one nor the other is my right, privilege or duty. You may teach, train, cultivate and persuade men to believe and do in the matters of faith, morals and religion as you do, in perfect equity, or he may thus influence you in absolute justice and fairness, but you neither can nor ought to force another to believe as you do. It really does not change your relation nor attitude toward truth, to merely be forced to say or act as if you were changed. There must be an intelligent change of mind by the presentation of facts, the use of reason, the formation of judgment, and the determination of Will in choice. There must be the internal conviction based upon the RELIGIOUS LIBERTY A RKllIT 91 requisite information before there can be a change of choice, will or action of any material and lasting value. Merely because the church by its abusive tyranny had Galileo make public retraction of his famous argument and demonstration of the truth of the Copernican theory 'it did not change the fact, nor prevent the triumph of his scientific truth, nor did it even change his own beliefs in the truth of his reasoning, and the just conclusion which he had reached. When his old professors taught him the Aristotelian theories of the day, that falling bodies descend at a rate of speed depending upon their weight, he would not accept it when his own experiments as a student proved the theory false. And when he one morning took the university professors to the leanmg tower of Pisa and demonstrated to them the fallacy of the theory by carrying a pound shot and a hundred pound shot to the top of the tower, and then carefully balancing them on the edge of the tower let them fall together, and although they struck the ground below at the same instant which was witnessed by the whole University, and by this simple experiment the old theory was shattered, still they were unwilling to give up their old beliefs. A well-known, forcible, and very able writer recently took vigorous exceptions to a ruling of the Supreme Court of Illinois, when it ruled the Bible out of the public schools of that state, and I took occasion to make the following reply: "Dear Sir: Your editorials are usually so strong, so fair and convincing, that I am generally in the heartiest accord with them. But in the issue of May 25th you are so manifestly at variance with your customary acumen, and spirit of justice, that I cannot refrain from pointing out to you what I conceive to be your injustice, and the errors of your logic. "In your criticism of the decision of the Supreme Court of Illinois, after citing a certain portion of the decision you ask, 'What is sectarian?' The Century Dictionary gives to this word three definitions: (1) peculiar to a sect; (2) that which incul- cates the particular tenets of a sect, as a sectarian book; (3) characterized by bigoted attachment to a particular sect. The Supreme Court of Illinois, then holds that the Bible is a sectarian book, a book which is peculiar to a sect, inculcates the particular tenets of a sect, or is characterized by bigoted attachment to a particular sect. "The inference is from your remarks, that the Bible is not such a book; and yet the fact is the Bible is the peculiar text book of those who believe and practice the Christian religion. It is their official guide book in contradistinction to the Koran, which is the specific and official guide book of those who believe and practice the Mohammedan religion; or in contradistinction to the Book of Mormon, which is the guide book and official religious text book of the Mormon religion; or in contradistinction to the Rig Veda, which is the official relnious cruide book of those who believe and practice the Buddhist religion; or in contradistinction to tSe Zend Avesta, which is the religious guide book of the Zoroastrians. I think, therefore, you are wrong in that criticiem, and the Supreme Court is right in its statenr.ent. "Again you say, 'For the same reason, it is no longer legal in Illinois for a teacher to say to the pupils,' 'Thou shalt not steal,' 'Thou shalt not kill,' 'Thou shalt not bear false witness,' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' for these are quotations from the Bible.' " 'These and similar passages in the Bible cannot be used, not because they are peculiar to any sect, but because they are in the Bible, and no test suggests itself to the court by which it can be determined what utterances in the Bible are sectarian and what are not.' "This also seems to be an unfair criticism, for the Court has not made it illegal for any teacher to quote anything he pleases either from ihe Bible, the Koran, or any other book, religious or not. The Court has simply said it is not legal to use the Bible in the schools of Illinois. It has not refused the teacher the right to use any language, illustration or incident he may see fit from the Bible. But it has said the Bible being the recognized official text book of one of the religious societies of the world, called Christians, it cannot legally be put into the schools, supported at public expense, by a people who are at liberty to choose any, or no religion, as they may be disposed, and where avowedly there is no state religion. \r2 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY "Again you say, 'What right then, has the Court to declare that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and thus take sides in the rehgious controversy, while disclaiming the right to determine religious questions?' Whereas the fact is the Court makes no such declaration, but on the contrary asserts that, 'Christians agreed that the Bible is the inspired word of God,' and this you cannot deny, for it is simply the statement of a well-known truth. And the Court very wisely says, 'The law knows no distinction between the Christian and the Pagan, the Protestant and the Catholic. All are citizens, their civil rights are precisely equal. The law cannot see religious differences, because the constitution has definitely and completely excluded religion from the law's contemplation in considering men's rights.' "Again you quote from Prof. Huxley and say of him, 'Prof. Huxley will hardly be regarded by any of our readers as a sectarian.' But even here I beg to take issue with you most emphatically, for Huxley, like thousands in Europe and America, was raised under the beneficent and exalting influences of Christianity, and whilst not following its tenets and its Bible as a religious devotee, nevertheless he was, like millions of others, influenced by its teachings, and was prejudiced in its favor, so that he believed the Bible and Christianity superior to all other religious books and systems in the world. And therefore he was a sectarian. Hence his opinion, and your quotation from him are of no value in this particular controversy as to the use of the Bible in our public schools. "After giving Huxley's quotation, you say 'It is this book which the Supreme Court of Illinois declares must not be read in whole or in part to the children of Illinois by its school teachers, because it contains passages to which sects appeal in support of their peculiar tenets. It would be as rational to forbid the reading of the constitution of the United States because that constitution contains paragraphs to which factions appeal in support of their factional tenets.' "Have you not here unfairly criticised the Court? It is not because certain portions are taken up and made to originate the difference between Protestants and Catholics, or even between the various Protestant denominations or sects, but because the book as a whole is the basis and foundation of a system of religion as distinguished from the Jewish, Buddhist, or Mohammedan. And since in this free land, this land of religious liberty, the state cannot justly teach any system of religion, neither can it make the text book of any religious system a part of the state educational system. "Again you say, 'At the very time when the Bible is accepted and employed in the public schools of one of the largest provinces of China as a reading book, for the reason so admirably stated by Prof. Huxley, its use is forbidden in the public schools of Illinois by its Supreme Court. The Bible is accepted in the schools of a Pagan land and expelled from the schools of a Christian land in the same decade.' "And this it seems to me reveals the cause of your error, for it is a well estab- lished fact of logic, if your premises are wrong your conclusions must also be wrong. "You assume, as thousands before you have done, that this is a Christian land; and that erroneous assumption, without a single fact to sustain it, has led multitudes astray in their argument, and in their efforts at law making, and in social and moral reforms. "This is not a Christian country by any fair interpretation of language and reasonable knowledge of the facts. "But once more, you think this decision of the Supreme Court would be an excellent opportunity in which to use the Roosevelt recall. But let me remind you that neither the Supreme Court of Illinois, nor yet the majority of the voters, have any moral right to inflict upon a minority an injustice, and strive to compel that minority to adopt any particular brand of religion, or to study any particular religious text book. "It was to escape this very coercion that the Pilgrim Fathers and the Huguenots fled to this country. It was to avoid this very thing that America was peopled and this particular kind of government was established. If the Supreme Court, or a majority of the voters can coerce me to adopt a particular religious system, or a particular religious text book, then why may not the same Court, or the same majority, also compel me to accept a certain definite interpretation of that text RELIGIOUS LIBERTY A RIGHT 93 book, or compel me to embrace and practice a certain definite brand of Christianity like Catholicism or Methodism, or Presbyterianism, or Congregationalism? Where then is our boasted freedom and coveted religious liberty? "But more, you are well aware of the fact that in our large cities are many Jews, some Mohammedans, Buddhists, and vastly more who are wholly irreligious. I am told by a gentleman of experience who recently made some investigations in San Francisco, that there are more heathen or pagan places of worship than Chris- tian. And too, you must be aware of the fact that our friends of the Catholic church do not want the Bible read in our public schools by the irreverent, nor even by the Protestants. So that we have a very large element in our cities especially who are justly aggrieved at any attempt upon the part of the people to put the Bible in our public schools, because in violation of our constitution, and in opposition to the spirit of liberty which is the boast of the twentieth century for all civilized lands. "Lest I be misunderstood, I wish to assure you of my own personal belief in the Bible as being the veritable Word of God to man, the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and that Jesus Christ as set forth in the Scriptures is the only Savior of men. I believe further that its system of religion is the very best in the world, and that the Bible is the best possible foundation for the building of a good moral character, and is the most essential part of a Christian education, the highest type of education in the world. But while this is my belief, it gives me no moral right, and under our constitution it gives me no legal right (in fact I am forbidden that legal right) to compel any of my fellow citizens to accept or adopt my belief. I have the God-given right and duty to so live and work with my fellovvmen as to try and persuade them, one and all, to come to my way of thinking in matters of religion and morals, but I cannot coerce them so to do. And just in the measure of my effort to compel others to my religious views just in so much do I actually lose my power for real effective service in winning men to Christ and His teachings. Herein lies the weakness of the church in our own land today, because in too larre a degree it has abandoned its God-given power of educating and by loving persuasion under the Holy Spirit winning men intelligently into the Kingdom; and for this, is substituting the power of legal enactment and coercion to reform men and to save the world." Christians have the same rights as other citizens to take an active part in the civil affairs of the state, but they have no more right to pass laws, or ask for legislation upon the peculiar tenets of their religion than have the Jews, Turks, or Mohammedans who live amongst us. Let all co-operate in civil affairs, and if possible agree upon a moral code or standard for the state, but they should and must, if peace and reasonable harmony are to prevail, steer clear of religious questions in legislatures and courts. Horace — How very like the argument used by the Christians in Equitania for free- dom of religion there. These fundamental principles were agreed upon, and each division was allowed full liberty to teach and practice its particular form of religion. All— I am delighted with the broad and intelligent view which seems to prevail over there. Horace— As well as you all like the theoretical plans of the Equitanians I am sure you would like their practical workings much better if you could visit the country and see the results in every day life. If we can get together next week about Monday night 1 will answer your further questions concerning education as carried on in Equitania. So bidding you all a kindly farewell until that tme. let us separate hoping for further conference then. CHAPTER VI. THEIR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, ITS FUNDAMENTAL BASIS, AND THE SEX PROBLEM. Horace — Good evening, gentlemen, said Horace, as the four men appeared according to appointment. To which they all responded with hearty good cheer, and as soon as they were comfortably seated Prof. Johnson began. Johnson — I am anxious to have you tell us something about the educational system and their ideas for the proper training of the young. Horace — I shall be glad to tell you what I can about it, for I have often felt that although in this country we spend so much money and are in many ways doing much for our youth, still we are not doing the best for the boys and girls, nor are we doing as much for them as we might, nor as we ought. We are not getting the results commensurate with our vast expenditure of money, and are not fitting our boys and girls for real life as we should. Aristotle said, "All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of the youth." Milton said, "I call, therefore, a complete and generous education, that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously, all the offices, both private and public, of peace and war." Bacon said, "The real use of all knowledge is this, that we should dedicate that reason which was given us by God to the use and advantage of man." Channing said, "He is to be educated not because he is to make shoes, nails and pins, but because he is a man." Daniel Webster said, "Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future lives and crimes from society. Knov/ledge does not comprise all which is contained in the large term of education. The feelings are to be disciplined; the passions are to be restrained; true and worthy motives are to be inspired. A profound religious feeling is to be instilled, and pure morality incul- cated under all circumstances. All this is comprised in education." John Locke said, "And to teach him (the boy) betime to love and be good natured to others, is to lay early the foundation of an honest man; all injustice generally spring- ing from too great love of ourselves and too little of others. For few of Adam's children are so happy, as not to be born with some bias in their natural temper, which is the business of education either to take off, or counter-balance. "But under whose care soever a child is put to be taught during the tender and flexible years of his life, this is certain: it should be one who thinks Latin and language the least part of education; one who knowing how much virtue and a well-tempered soul is to be preferred to any sort of learning or language, makes it his chief business to form the mind of his scholars and give that a right disposition ; which if once got, though all tlie rest should be neglected, would in due time produce all the rest; and which if it be not got and settled so as to keep out ill and vicious habits, languages and sciences and all the other accomplishments of education, will be to no purpose but to make the worse or more dangerous man. "A gentlemean, whose business it is to seek the true measure of right and wrong, and not the arts how to avoid doing the one, and secure himself in doing the other ought to be as far from such a study of the law, as he is concerned diligently to apply himself to that wherein he may be serviceable to his country. "If the use and end of right reasoning be to have right notions and a right judgment of things, to distinguish between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, and to act accord- ingly; be sure not to let your son be bred up in the art and formality of disputing, either (95) •Hi EQUITAXIA, OK TllK l.AXD OF EQUITY practicing it himself, or admiring it in others; unless instead of an able man, you desire to have him — thinking there is no such thing as truth to be sought, but only victory, in disputing. • "The great business of all learning and accomplishments is virtue and wisdom. "Teach him to get a mastery over his inclinations, and submit his appetite to reason. This being obtained, and by constant practice settled into habit, the hardest part of the task is over. So that the public school, as well as the private school, or to put it more tersely, the educational system of any country ought first to make good citizens, and second make them useful laborers, artisans, mechanics, business men, home makers, professional or other." Then we must agree as to what it takes to make a good citizen before we can adopt a system of education, or training to produce him. In Equitania, they have, I think, met the needs of the young as here set forth in a very practical way, and I am sure you will be interested in their methods. The Equitanians assume that a proper system of education must be practical, and fit its young people for the realities of life, and that to this end there must be adequate oportunities and facilities for all children in the state to gain the knowledge necessary for them to take their places in the world and discharge their duties to the state and to society, with reasonable ability and fidelity. Therefore they establish public schools to which all children have access and all are required to attend and acquire the fundamental things which all need to know in order to be intelligent and useful subjects. This fundamental education fits all for good, intelligent citizenship, and lays a founda- tion for any technical, profesional or special learning which may be further pursued in the colleges, universities or special schools which are established for these particular pur- poses. Even the private schools which are established are so supervised by the state that the fundamental things of good citizenship must be taught first of all. With this object in view, the system of morals adopted by the state which I refered to previously, is an essential part of the system of education in every school, public or private, and of high or low degree, whether general or technical in its course of study, and this produces what they consider good citizens and subjects. That is to say, the teaching of these funda- mental things which must go to make up good character, and fit every one to take his place in society, to help maintain the government in its legitimate effort to secure to all their rights, and protect them in their persons and possessions, can be produced in no other way, and those who are thus trained are most apt to produce good and desirable subjects. To show you one phase of their system, I may speak of how important they ragard it to teach the children about their own bodies, and how they teach them to know about sex, its meaning, its use and its place in the human economy. A commission of physicians was appointed to investigate and report its findings upon the sex question, the social evil, the venereal diseases, and the following reports and recommendations having been received, the leading educators in co-operation with this commission of doctors, founded its educational system on the sex question and the state based its legal enactments for the prevention of prostitution and the venereal diseases upon its findings. To the Department of Education in The Land of Equity. Sirs: The following four papers written upon, 1 . The Sexual System. 2. The Venereal Diseases, their causes and prevention, 3. How to prevent the diseases peculiar to women, and 4. The duty of the state to promote the health of its subjects, by sterilizing its insane, epileptics, degenerates, inebriates and other habitual drug users, as well as to sterilize its confirmed criminals for social and economic reasons, cover the sub- jects of our investigation so well that we wish to submit them entire. FIRST— THE SEXUAL SYSTEM. Its place in the human economy. Its functions. Its use and abuse. The remedy for the evils growing out of ignorance concerning it as well as the FUNCTIONS OF SEXUAL SYSTEM 97 prevention of its perversions and its excesses, together with the diseases caused thereby. The ovaries in the female and the testicles in the male by means of their functions (doubtless in part by some internal secretion) give tone, vigor and virility to the whole organism, while giving personality to the individual; hence their function is fourfold. 1 . Procreation. 2. Personality. (a) To the male — power and dignity. (b) To the female — grace and gentleness. 3. Pleasure. 4. Occasion for self control. It does not follow, however, that sexual intercourse is therfore essential to health, happiness or success in life, for 1st. These organs functionate, and the individual gets all the personal benefits to be derived from the mere physical products of such activity or secretions, without actual sexual intercourse, as the secretions are constantly being formed, and so much as are necessary for the physical good and health of the individual is being absorbed into the general system and invigorates the body constantly day after day. Dr. W. H. Morley, Ph. B. of Detroit, Mich., read, by invitation before the "Ann Arbor Medical Club" a paper upon, "Glands with an Internal Secretion," which gives the present status of that question from a scientific standpoint. In that paper he says, "Brown-Sequard developed the first acceptable theory of the internal secretions. It was as follows: 'All glands, provided or not with secretory ducts, give to the blood useful principles, whose absence is felt after their extirpation or destruction by disease.' From this it follows that a definite function belongs to the glands and other tissue articles of the organism, as the liver, pituitary, spleen, thyroid, ovary, et cetera, which function con- sists in this to produce a specific material and to secrete it. This material passes into the circulation and influences all the cells of the body in its own peculiar way. If a disturbance of the function of any gland whatsoever, or of another part of the organ takes place, then a lack of the specific material or secretion into the other tissues, even a disturbance or injury occurs. There exists, in short, as Spencer so well expresses it, between the different organs or their cells, an altruism, that is, a certain reciprocal relation of dependence. Hansemann, in his highly interesting article upon the scientific foundation of organotherapy, says: 'There exists between the single cell groups an altruistic relation in such a manner that each cell group undertakes a definite duty for the other remaining cell groups, even so as all the remaining for the one. Such a change of all the remaining cell groups follows the change of one cell group and in such a way that an altrustic hypertrophy follows a progressive change, an altruistic atrophy, a retro- gressive change.' The brilliant research work of Eppinger, Falta, and Rudinger on the reciprocal action of glands with an internal secretion marks an important advance in its explanation. "If I may be permitted to go a step further, I would make the assertion, based more or less upon the research work just mentioned, that I believe, that all glands, that possess an internal secretion, are more or less closely related. In health, they are in a state of equilibrium. When one gland for some reason becomes diseased, atrophies or is removed, thus destroying the equilibrium, what is more natural than that the other glands in the chain should hypertrophy, atrophy or undergo some change to make up for the loss sustained? "The work, reported above, carried on in the Von Noorden Clinic in Vienna, upon the pancreas, the thyroid, and the adrenals (chromafine system) shows beautifully this reciprocal action. If such an interdependence exists between the pancreas, the thyroid and the adrenals, is it not to be inferred with a tolerable degree of certainty that such a reciprocal action exists between all glands that have an internl secretion?" 2nd. No practice or custom can be considered essential to good health which is not universally applicable or accessible to man in his normal condition. And it must, I think, be conceded, that sexual intercourse is not one of these; for many men and women do not marry at all for various good and sufficient reasons. Others marry but 9S EQUITANIA, OK THK LAND OF KQUITY lose their partners by death in a few years; still others by reason of their occupations as traveling men, soldiers, sailors, and such like are necessarily separated for months or years from their wives, and others again on account of prolonged visiting away from home or from sickness and invalidism are necessarily precluded from such intercourse with their wedded mates. Now it is manifest in all of these cases there must be months and sometimes years when normal marriage relations are suspended. 3rd. The Creator who formed man's body and knows the need of every organ, tissue and part so skillfully arranged these parts as to contribute to man's highest and best welfare as a physical being, as well as provided for his spiritual welfare. It is His will that man should restrain this function and carry himself with dignity, courage and power, keeping in subjection these parts endowed with such vast possibilities when exercised in the normal marriage relations, and therefore he said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." ^th. The highest scientific medical authority says and has taught for years, that sexual intercourse is not essential to the most perfect health. Prof. Lionel S. Beale of King's College, London, says, "It cannot be too emphatically stated that the strictest continence and purity are in harmony with physiological, physical, and moral laws, and that the yielding to the desires, the passions and inclinations cannot be justified on physiological, physical or moral grounds." And Sir William Cowers of London, the highest living authority on the brain and nervous system says, "With all the force that any knowledge that I possess can f,ive, and with any authority I may have, I assert as the result of long observe t!oa and consid- eration of facts of every kind, that no man was ever yet in the slightest degree or way the better for incontinence; that for it every man must be worse morally, and that most are worst physically, and in no small number the result is, and ever will be, utter physical shipwreck on one of the many rocks, sharp, jagged-edged, or one of the many banks of festering slime, that are about his course and which no care can possibly avoid. And I am sure, further, that no man was ever yet anything but the be.ter for perfect continence. "For every evil deed that men do they seek some excuse. But the excuses for indulging in vice are untenable, and the foul deeds are defenseless. Nor can his posterity escape the physical and moral deterioration which is an organic, and not a supernatural penalty. "Why should man be the only created being to degrade women, when not a single animal ill-treats, deserts, or destroys the female of his kind, but rather shares with her all the delights of life, its pastimes and its labors. We are made to help, not to destroy one another, and there can be no logical support for the degradation of one human being to maintain another's health. If man poison his body and mind by sexual vices, which are more transmissable to posterity than any other, he gives to his heirs pillars which are rotten. To mankind alone is conceded the privilege — a concession which we grant as legitimate — of a temperate gratification of the sexual appetite in the marriage rela- tionship, merely for the sake of pleasure." Many more authorities might be given, but suffice it to say that no intelligent phy- sician or physiologist will deny these facts unless he desires to make excuses for his own immoral indulgences, and you may safely say that any man who advocates sexual indulgence on the ground of necessity to health is either not well informed, or he deliberately advocates impurity for his own private ends. Recently, "The American Federation for Sex Hygiene," of which Dr. Prince A. Morrow, one of the leading specialists not only of America, but of the world v/as presi- dent, adopted the following resolution on the subject which was presented by another eminent physician. Dr. Robert N. Willson, of Philadelphia, the same to be offered to the American Medical Association for its adoption: "Whereas, there is ample evidence of a belief deeply grounded among the laity that sexual indulgence is necessary to the health of the normal man; "Be it resolved. That the American Medical Association through its House of Delegates, hereby present for the instruction and protection of the lay public the unqualified declaration that illicit sexual intercourse is not only unnecessary to FUNCTIONS OF SEXUAL SYSTEM 99 health, but that its direct consequences in terms of infectious disease constitute a grave menace to the physical integrity of the individual and of the nation." So that it may be considered as conclusively settled that sexual intercourse is not essential to the health of any normal man or woman. But there is another physical reason why sexual indulgence outside of wedlock (and its over-indulgence even then) should not occur, and that is its influence upon the offspring, or the strong tendency for its transmission to the child in a marked degree, and the child may be abnormal in its sexual system, either by serious perversion, or by such excessive passion as to be almost if not quite uncontrollable. It is shown that any habit or fixed physical trait may so affect the physical body as to be transmitted in actual structural changes to the offspring, and that the sexual brain and nerve centers are actually handed down from generation to generation, and so the father and mother not only may, but really do transmit to their children the physical basis for normal, abnormal, or perverted sexual functions and powers. Henry Maudsley in his wonderful work on "Pathology of the Mind," says, "Embryologically, both the feminine and the male types are fulfilled in the person of each individual, i. e., up to the end of the third month of intrauterine life the embryo has the sexual glands of both sexes so perfectly developed that its future gender is still indistinctive and uncertain; and every man and every woman forever retains in rudimentary form the traces of the sexual organs of the opposite sex. "Before puberty, both the boy and the girl are to all intents and purposes of the neuter gender, and their physical and mental characters are not differentiated in any marked degree until the development of their sexual organs has caused them to diverge from their former somewhat parallel course. A son, who cannot in the nature of the case exhibit them himself, still conveys his mother's special feminine qualities to his daughter, having them latent in him, as he has in him the rudimentary representatives of the special female organs; in like manner, a daughter conveys her father's special masculine qualities to her son, having them latent in her, as she has latent in her the rudimentary special male organs. Every- body, male or female, is essentially male and female." Dr. James Foster Scott, of Washington, very wisely says: "The pure, healthy glow of sexuality, which is the greatest boon to the individual and to the race, becomes a curse when debased by sensuality." "My strength is as the strength of ten. Because my heart is pure." "Purity is in fact the crown of all real manliness; and the vigorous and the robust, who by repression of evil have preserved their sexual potency, make the best husbands and fathers, and they are the direct benefactors of the race by begetting progeny who are not predisposed to sexual vitiation and bodily and mental degeneracy. These are laws which are universally recognized by all breeders of stock and by those who have made a study of the races of mankind. Men do not seem to realize the tremendous importance of heredity, and that their illegitimate pleasures and acquired preferences for impure courses are as likely to crop out in their daughters as in their sons, mvariably m an evil way, sometimes as a sur- charge of lustful passion, sometimes as a directing influence toward vice and crime, and sometimes as disease; and it is well recognized that the progeny of the impure have in the domain of their sexual lives a distinct predilection for morbid tendencies colored by eroticism. We must specially bear in mind that, as Clouston says, new areas of brain tissue — "vast tracts" of it — are called into activity at the time of puberty, and that vitiation in the genital zone necessarily results in physical and ethical defect in the cerebral structures and functions. The man who does not inhibit his sexual longings gives a bitter seasoning to his life, and throws away the elements of strength which must be conserved in order to secure a manly type of physique and mind. Effeminacy is readily apparent in those who squander their sexual force and all physiologists agree that the fundamental characteristics of 100 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY manhood fail to appear in the individual if he has too early in life sacrificed at the altar of lust." Froude says, in "Short Studies on Great Subjects." "From the earliest times of which we have historical knowledge there have always been men who have recognized the distinction between the nobler and baser parts of their being. They have perceived that if they would be men, and not beasts, they must control their animal passions, prefer truth to falsehood, courage to cowardice, justice to violence, and compassion to cruelty. These are the elemen- tary principles of morality, on the recognition of which the welfare and improve- ment of mankind depend, and human history has been little more than a record of the struggle which began at the beginning and will continue to the end between the few who have had ability to see into the truth and loyalty to obey it, and the multitudes who by evasion or rebellion have hoped to thrive in spite of it." Dr. R. V. Krafft-Ebing has written a very elaborate, exhaustive and highly scien- tific work upon the sexual perversions, the insanities and other physical diseases which are directly due to inherited tendencies and he very clearly shows that these physical changes in the brain centers which preside over the sexual life are so transmitted to the offspring as very often to be the cause of the defect in the child. The sexual excesses of one or both parents are very apt to transmit to the child the same or worse evils because of the physical changes wrought in the nervous centers of the parent. He says, "Very few ever fully appreciate the powerful influence which sexuality exer- cises over feeling, thought, and conduct, both in the individual and in society. It is remarkable that the sexual life has received but a very subordinate consideration on the part of philosophers. "The purpose of this treatise is a description of the pathological manifestations of the sexual life and an attempt to refer them to their underlying conditions. The task is a difficult one, and in spite of years of experience as alienist and medical jurist, I am well aware that what I can offer must be incomplete. "Even at the present time, in the domain of sexual criminality, the most erron- eous opinions are expressed and the most unjust sentences pronounced, influencing laws and public opinion. "It is the sad province of Medicine, and especially of Psychiatry, to constantly regard the reverse side of life — human weakness and misery." Dr. A. von Schrenck-Notzing, of Munich, writes: "It may be questioned whether it is justifiable to discuss the anomalies of the sexual instinct apart, instead of treating of them in their proper place in psychiatry. As a rule, they are certainly only symptoms of a constitutional malady, or of a weakened state of the brain, which manifest themselves in the various forms of sexual perversion. "The propagation of the human species is not committed to accident or to the caprice of the individual but made secure in a natural instinct, which, with all con- quering force and might, demands fulfillment. In the gratification of this natural im- pulse are found not only sensual pleasure and sources of physical well-being, but also higher feelings of satisfaction in perpetuating the single, perishable existence, by the transmission of mental and physical attributes to a new being. In coarse, sensual love, in the lustful impulse to satisfy this natural instinct, man stands on a level with the animal; but it is given to him to raise himself to a height where this natural instinct no longer makes him a slave; higher, nobler feelings are awakened, which, notwithstanding their sexual origin, expand into a world of beauty, sublimity, and morility. "Christianity gave the most powerful impulse to the moral elevation of the sexual relations by raising woman to social equality with man and elevating the bond of love between man and woman to a religio-moral institution. "The fact that in higher civilization human love must be monogamous and rest on a lasting contract was thus recognized. If nature does no more than provide for pro-creation, a commonwealth (family or state) cannot exist without a guaranty that the offspring shall flourish physically, morally, and intellectually. "In spite of all the aids which religion, law, education, and moraHty give civil- ave most mani- FUNCTIONS OF SEXUAL SYSTEM 101 ized man in the bridling of his passions, he is always in danger of sinking from the clear ^height of pure, chaste love into the mire of common sensuality. "In order to maintain one's self on such a height, a constant struggle between natural impulses and morals, between sensuality and morality, is required. Only characters endowed with strong wills are able to completely emancipate themselves from sensuality and share in that pure love from which spring the noblest joys of human life. "It is yet questionable whether, in the course of the later centuries, mankind has advanced m morality. It is certain, however, that the race has become more modest; and this phenomenon of civilization— this hiding of the animal pro- pensities — is, at least, a concession that vice makes to virtue." In his "Physiology of Love." Mantegazza describes the longings and impulses of awakening sexual life, of which presentiments, indefinite feelings, and impulses h existed long before the epoch of puberty. "This epoch is, physiologically, the it important. In the abundant increase of feelings and ideas which it engenders is fested the significance of the sexual factor in mental life. "These impulses, at first vague and incomprehensible, arising from the sensations which are awakened by organs which were previously undeveloped, are accompanied by a powerful excitation of the emotions. The psychological reaction of the sexual impulse at puberty expresses itself in a multitude of manifestations which have in common only the mental condition of emotion and the impulse to express in some way, or render objective, the strange emotionality. "Over-sensual love can never be lasting and true. For this reason the first love is, as a rule, very fleeting; because it is nothing else than the flare of a passion, the flame of a fire of straw. "Only the love that rests upon a recognition of the social qualities of the beloved person, only a love which is willing not only to enjoy present pleasures, but to bear suifering for the beloved object and sacrifice all, is true love. The love of a strongly constituted man shrinks before no difficulties or dangers in order to gain and keep possession of its object. "On slight reflection any one will see that real love (this word is only too often abused) can be spoken of only when the whole person is both physically and mentally the object of adoration. Love must always have a sensual element, i. e., the desire to possess the beloved object, to be united with it and fulfill the laws of nature. But when merely the body of the person of the opposite sex is the object of love, when satisfaction of sensual pleasure is the sole object, without desire to possess the soul and enjoy mutual communion, love is not genuine, no more than that of platonic lovers, who love only the soul and avoid sensual pleasure (many cases of contrary sensuality.) For the former merely the body, for the latter simply the soul, is a fetich, and the love of fetichism. Such cases certainly represent transitions to pathological fetichism. This assumption is even more justified when, as a further criterion of real love, mental satisfaction must be given by the sexual act. "Sexual instinct — as emotion, idea, impulse — is a function of the cerebral cortex. Thus far no definite region of the cortex has been proved to be exclusively the seat of sexual sensations and impulses. "Thus there is established a mutual dependence between the cerebral cortex (as the place of origin of sensations and ideas) and the reproductive organs. The latter, by reason of physiological processes (hyperaemia, secretion of semen, ovulation), give rise to sexual ideas, images and impulses. "The cerebral cortex, by means of apperceived or reproduced sensual ideas, reacts on the reproductive organs. They are situated in the lumbar portion of the cord and lie close together. Both are reflex centers. "The central and highest portion of the sexual mechanism is the cerebral cortex. It is justifiable to presume there is a definite region of the cortex (cerebral center) which gives rise to sexual feelings, ideas, and impulses, and is the place of origin of the psycho- somatic processes which we designate as sexual life, sexual instinct, and sexual desire. This center is excitable to both central and peripheral stimuli. "Under physiological conditions these stimuli are essentially visual perceptions and lO'i EQUITANIA. OR THE LAND OF E(^UITY memory pictures (i. e. lascivious stories) and also tactile impressions (touch, pressure of the hand, kiss, etc.) "Criminal statistics prove the sad fact that sexual crimes are progressively increasing in our modern civilization. This is particularly the case with immoral acts with children under the age of fourteen. The moralist sees in these sad facts nothing but the decay of general morality, and in some instances comes to the conclusion that the present mildness of the laws punishing sexual crimes, in comparison with their severity in past centuries, is in part responsible for this. "The medical investigator is driven to the conclusion that this manifestation of modern social life stands in relation to the predominating nervousness of later generations, in that it begets defective individuals, excites the sexual instinct, leads to sexual abuse, and, with continuance of lasciviousness associated with diminished sexual power, induces perverse sexual acts. "Psychiatry cannot be denied the credit of having recognized and proved the psycho- pathological significance of numerous monstrous, paradoxical sexual acts. Law and Jurisprudence have thus far given but little attention to the facts resulting from investiga- tions in psychopathology. Law is in this, opposed to Medicine, and is constantly in danger of passing judgment on individuals who, in the light of science, are not responsible for their acts. "Owing to this superficial treatment of acts that deeply concern the interests and welfare of society, it becomes very easy for justice to treat a delinquent, who is as dangerous to society as a murderer or wild beast, as a criminal, and, after punishment, release him to prey on society again; on the other hand, scientific investigation shows that a man mentally and sexually degenerate, aborigine, and therefore irresponsible, must be removed from society for life, but not as a punishment. "To obtain the facts necessary to allow a decision of the question whether immorality or abnormality occasioned the act, a medico-legal examination is required — an examina- tion which is made according to the rules of science; which takes account of both the past history of the individual and the present condition — the anthropological and clinical data. "The proof of the existence of an origmal, congenital anomaly of the sexual sphere is important, and points to the need of an examination in the direction of a condition of psychical degeneration. An acquired perversity, to be pathological, must be found to depend upon a neuropathic or psychopathic state. "Practically, peretic dementia and epilepsy must first come to mind. The decision concerning responsibility will depend on the demonstration of the existence of a psycho- pathic state in the individual convicted of a sexual crime. "Th'is is indispensable, to avoid the danger of covering simple immorality with the cloak of disease." But these are by no means all of the evil results of sexual excesses and perversions. There is 1st. The solitary vice, begun oftentimes in the young before its significance is at all understood, and the habit firmly fixed before the child learns of its evil effects. Some- times it is taught by playmates and again by older persons who know better. As a result of this vice there is produced an excessive sexual desire and an overdevelopement of the organs themselves and of the nerve centers which preside over this function, and this latter is prone to lead to either illicit intercourse, too early marriage in order that it may be gratified, or excessive indulgence after marriage to the annoyance or injury of both husband and wife. Another injury coming to the child given to solitary vice, is nervous excitability, lowered moral sensibility, lack of brain power for study, and mental con- centration, and occasionally real melancholia or other form of insanity. It would be shocking to the good people of any community to know how widely prevalent is the habit among boys and girls. 2nd. Perhaps a more serious evil still resulting from abnormal and over stimulated sexual centers is the wide spread cry among men especially for prostitution and illegal intercourse and the widespread venereal diseases. So prevalent is the feeling among men that this is a necessary and much needed liberty or institution that you almost never hear of an attempt to suppress it. In fact many claiming that if the bawdy house were not allowed, no woman would be safe from the insults and where possible the forcible CAUSES OP^ PROSTITUTION 103 debauchery of men. So that all that seems ever to be asked is the regulation of the vice to protect its votaries from the awful scourge of venereal diseases which follow in its train. In other words, the sexual system so controls mankind today that no one seems to think it possible to do more than mitigate its evils, protect in some measure those who will indulge and thus make it as safe for them as possible, and not let it ruin the bodies of its victims nor too seriously affect the offspring and other innocent parties who may be unconsciously involved in its evil effects. Dr. James Foster Scott of Washington says: "In the study of the factors which lead to prostitution we must recognize that a certain proportion of women are 'strumpets at heart,' as men so often say — though not understanding why they say it." Lombroso, in "The Female Offender," has shown that there is "an intimate correla- tion between bodily and mental conditions and processes, and criminologists recognize certain stigmata, or anatomical defects and peculiarities in habital malefactors, which are much more common among them than the normal individuals of society. "Among criminals, especially habitual criminals we find physical anomalies of various parts of the anatomy, such as abnormal crania, misshapen ears, eyes on a different level, or eyes too near together or too wide apart, crooked noses, hare-lips, cleft palates, highly arched palates, malformations of the teeth or tongue, supernumerary digits, abnormal limbs and bodies, etc. In fact, there is found to be a distinct correlation be- tween the physical defects and the m.ental processes. This is a law of criminology. "From measurements of a larn;e number of harlots, Lombroso shows that they are remarkable for their small cranial capacities. Heredity and atavism have inclined many to this sort of life, and thus many harlots have "fallen victims to their grandfather's excesses;" or, as South says, they have been "not so much born, as damned, into the world; through the sins of their parents." A speaker recently called attention to the record of the two families, that of Jona- than Edwards and that of the degenerate Jukes, the period of examination stretching over 170 years. Jonathan Edwards, the famous New England divine is said to have conse- crated his Hfe to God, praying that God would make his children true to the covenant. Not one of his eleven children died in infancy; four lived to the age of 70. From Jona- than Edwards in 1 70 years there descended 285 college graduates, 65 college professors, 13 college presidents (including Yale and Princeton), 30 judges, and 100 lawyers. Of the man Jukes one-fourth of the children died in infancy. There descended from his in 170 years 310 who spent their days in alms houses, 140 who wrecked their lives by vice, 60 professional thieves, 50 professional prostitutes. Only 20 of his descendants learned any trade, and ten of these learned it in prison. These people cost the community in which they lived $1,250,000.00, besides untold terrible influences which eternity alone will reveal. When the historian tells us that Patricius the father of St. Augustine was a pagan of somewhat loose life, we are not so much surprised at the fast life led by the son while young. And when we are told farther that, 'His mother Monnica on account of her personal piety and her influence on her son, is one of the mose revered women in the history of the Christian church, we can readily appreciate the change in his life to one of exalted and surpassing excellence in the faith which rescued him from evil and which he so f?reatly honored in his after life, bv service to his Master and his fellowman. "Most prostitutes claim that they beq!an their life of shame after being seduced, and in the large majority of cases they speak the truth. "The probabilities of a decrease in the crime of seduction are very slight, so long as the present public sentiment prevails; while the seducer is allowed to go unpunished and the full measure of retribution is directed against his victim; while the offender escapes, but the offended is condemned. Unprincipled men, ready to take advantage of a woman s trustful nature, abound, and they pursue their diabolical courses unmolested. Leial enactments can scarcely ever reach them, although sometimes a poor man without friends or money is mdicted and convicted. The remedy must be left to the world at large When our domestic relations are such that a man known to be guilty of this crime can obtain no admission into the family circle; when the virtuous and respectable members of the community agree that no such man shall be welcomed to their society; 104 EgllTANIA, OK TlIK LAND OK EQUITY when worth and honor assert their supremacy over weaUh and boldness, there may be hopes of a reformation, but not till then. "Absence of religious training and belief leads straight to a life of unchastity in a large number of instances. Religion is the strongest incentive to purity, and, as a rule, when it is put aside, morality expires. "The beauty of the Christian religion, when presented in the way intended by its Founder, makes a deep impression on their hearts; but what would the apostles say if they were to see that hardly a pew in any church invites or welcomes or tolertaes them, while fallen men, hypocrites that they are. bow the knee at the communion-table before the world. "In order to satisfy this monstrous exaction of lustful men, male and female procurers percolate the lower strata of society, incessantly recruiting the youngest and most attrac- tive girls they can find. "In Continental Europe there are organized agencies with branches in remote sections, whose business it is to keep and supply attractive women for immoral purposes; and the same nefarious traffic is flourishing in our own land. "There are men and women abroad, called respectively procurers and procureresses, whose sole livelihood consisits in inveigling young girls into this life by force, or fraud, or other means. "Oh, surely this is a mistake!" one cries out in his heart of hearts; but no — the brothel needs such monsters, who think nothing of entrapping an innocent girl, of turning her imprudent steps along a torturing path to an outcast's life and a shameful grave, and who for money lead her to suspect no evil and enshroud her with the filthy pall of the courtesan. The price of blood is paid by the defiled men who patronize brothels. "At 'intelligence offices' for servants, at lodging-houses, and even at churches, Sun- day-schools and hospitals, there are innumerable opportunities to meet girls who are out of employment, or who are dissatisfied with their conditions of life. Many are led into traps by seemingly proper and enticing advertisements which continually appear in the columns of the newspapers. When the unsuspecting young women meet the advertisers, they are delighted with their pleasing manners and the promise of large wages and easy work. Thus very often a country lass does not know that she is a servant in a brothel until many days have elapsed; and a little drugged wine, the removal of her clothing so that she cannot escape, and tact on the part of the mistress of the house, soon accomplish her ruin. Lurking about the incoming trains are frequently to be seen ladies and gentle- men of benevolent aspect who are eager to assist any innocent-lookin?? girl in finding employment or a nice lodging-house. Even the hospitals are visited and friendships made with destitute girls, by gifts of flowers and other kindnesses, so that when the deluded victims leave the ward they confidingly go with the sanctimonious procuress to their un- suspected doom. "Cabmen are sometimes known to drive girls to wrong addresses and act as agents for the mistresses of brothels, receiving money rewards, of course, if the ruse is successful. "The efforts which have been exerted heretofore have been mainly in the direction of enc' :.voring to rescue fallen women; but laudable as this undoubtedly is, it is nevertheless ineilective. It is the men who must be appealed to and regulated — for as long as they simply create a demand by their patronage there will surely be a supply. The fault is that there is a double standard of morality — one rule for men and another for women. A portion of womankind are tolled off to lead chaste lives, and another portion to be abominably profligate, while many men reserve the right to be as impure as they please, at least at some time in their lives, and foolishly entertain the pernicious belief that their perversity will not result in lasting detriment to their character and health and offspring. "Under these circumstances, there has arisen in society a figure which is certainly the most mournful, and in some respects the most awful, upon which the eye of the moralist can dwell. That unhappy being whose very name is a shame to speak; who counterfeits with a cold heart the transports of affection, and submits herself as the passive instrument of lust; who is scorned and insulted as the vilest of her sex, and doomed, for the most part, to disease and abject wretchedness and an early death, appears in every age as the perpetual symbol of the degradation and the sinfulness of man. "There is probably no country in which the provisions of this Contagious Disease Act CAUSES OP^ PROSTITUTION 105 have been so thoroughly carried out as in Germany; nevertheless, the commission appointed by the Society of Medicine of Berlin, with Porf. Virchow, as President, recently reported, as the result of an investigation, that both prostitution and venereal diseases were found to be rapidly increasing in Berlin. For example, the number of regular pros- titutes, recognized as such by the police, was, in 1886, 3,006. The number had increased in 1891 to 4,364, an increase of almost 50 per cent. This represents, however, but a small proportion of the women actually engaged in prostitution, as 16,000 women are annually arrested for plying their vocation upon the streets in Berlin, and it is known that a great number of women live lives of prostitution clandestinely, so that the com- mittee estimate the total number of prostitutes in Berlin at 40,000 to 50,000. "Some idea of the number of persons who are annually infected by venereal disease may be gained from the fact that the committee reported nearly 80,000 cases as having been treated at two hospitals alone in Berlin between 1880 and 1889. The fact was also mentioned by the committee that a great number of cases were doubtless not included in this catagory. They quote the estimate of Blacshko, that one in every nine or ten of the male population of Berlin has been infected with syphilis. "A most convincing evidence of the utter inefficiency of the inspection service in preventing the spread of venereal disease, was shown by the fact developed by the committee, that the naked-eye inspection, which has been universally relied upon, detects less than one in five of the cases of gonorrhoea, to say nothing of syphilis. By making a bacteriological examination of each case, the proportion of prostitutes found to be suffermg from gonorrhoea was mcreased from 9 per cent to 50 per cent. "Prostitution is regarded as the shame of women; it is not — it is the shame of men. It is the unwholesome play of men, but the degradation and death of women. "In the United States there is no regulation of prostitution openly recognized by law; but propositions are constantly brought before the legislatures of the various states, having in view the "State Regulation and Control of Vice." Within the past few years stren- uous efforts have been made to secure the licensing of brothels in New York, Philadel- phia, Baltimore, Washington, Cincinnati, Chicago, Pittsburg, San Francisco, and some other cities; but public sentiment has so far caused the projects to fail — with one excep- tion — the St. Louis experiment of 1870 was the one instance in our country in which regulation was enforced by law, in accordance with the recommendations of commissioners who were sent to Europe to study the methods there in vogue. It, however, proved an utter failure, and was repealed by the Missouri legislature of 1873 in deference to the appeals of the best citizens, assembled in mass-meetings. During the unwholesome years in which the license laws were in force there, the number of prostitutes increased at the rate of 20 per cent a year, and venereal diseases extended in a corresponding ratio, as shown by the records of the United States Marine Hospital. "The license system has been found pernicious and has been repealed in many municipalities and localities in France, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Sweden, and some other countries; and Great Britain and Norway have absolutely abolished all regulations." At The Hague, in Holland, Dr. Huett, the prefect of police, a surgeon of high standing, says: "The number of clandestine women- cannot be estimated and is continually increased. You ask me if the laws of regulation work well for morality. I reply. No! Do they work well for the suppression of syphilis? I reply. No! Do they really diminish disease? My opinion is, no, no, no!" Dr. Chanfleury, of Holland, who was for many years an advocate of the Regulation System, and officially employed in the work of supervision, reported his final conclusions regarding the system to the last meeting of the "Continental Federation for the Suppres- sion of State Regulation" as follows: 1st. That it is absolutely impossible by any medical supervision to guarantee the health of a woman leading a life of vice. "2nd. That any partial advantages of such supervision are more than com- pensated by the increase of libertinism engendered by a false sense of security, so that such supervision actually results in increased disease among men. "3rd. That the attempt at supervision is demoralizing to all engaged in it." 10(1 KgllTAN'lA, OK TIIH LAND OF EQUITY And the eminent French statesman. M. Jules Faure, who expresses the verdict of experienced men in continental Europe, says; "Governments have never looked the question of prostitution fairly in the face; but when interfering at all, have almost invariably done so in order to elevate it into an institution, by which means they have increased and given permanence to the evil. Regard for the public health is their sole excuse. But even the worst that could befall the public health is nothing to the corruption of morals and national life engendered, propagated, and prolonged by the system of official surveillance. It is utterly inexcusable, and an act of supreme folly, to give a legal sanction to the licentiousness of one sex and the enslavement of the other." "It ought to arouse suspicion that this movement is supported by the brothel- keepers; but the association has adopted a fair-sounding name, the Woman's Rescue League. It proposes to appeal to women of the country, apparently in the interests of morality, and it professes to be working only for the public health. Now, all these things are deceptive; and when it is considered that they are put forward with the aid of persons who are making a living out of vice, you may be sure they are meant to be deceptive. I have no doubt whatever but what many good people, many good Christians even, sincerely believe that the regulation of vice is right and proper in the interest of good morals. I am just as sure that if they knew what regulated vice is, they would have none of it; they would recognize it for what Dr. Charles Bell Taylor, on the second reading of a 'Bill for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts,' in England, called it in the House of Commons, a 'des- potism so obscenely cruel, so hideously unjust, so unconstitutional, that it is impos- sible to understand how any decent race of men consent to endure it, even for a day.' It is an interesting comment on a movement which asks the decent men and women of Washington for regulation, to read that while the English regulation rules were in force in India, the Pharisees of the country and the Buddhists of China defied the Christian English to put the examinations of women in force over their women." — Prof. H. A. Kelley. "And the law also should at once take the stand that in this destructive business the men should be amenable to the same punishments as the women; and that the gentler sex, the sex which bears children, should not be portioned off as instru- ments for the irresponsible lust of profligate men." Here is the way in which one doctor views the regulation and supervision of this vice in the army and navy of the United States: "Common sense is triumphing in spite of the pernicious opposition of both sexes, who will not see things as they are. Our army and navy officers are energetically introducing prophylactic measures, and while they still consider it their duty, quite properly, to advise abstinence to the soldiers and sailors, they do not neglect at the same time to provide them with protargol tubes and calomel ointment, in case they should expose themselves. And everywhere where the prophylactic measures are introduced the incidence of venereal infection is reduced 50 to 100 per cent! So sure and so unfailing are our preventive remedies for prevention that it is proposed to make venereal disease among soldiers and sailors a punishable offense. In some parts it is already so considered. For instance. Dr. C. F. Morse, in a paper entitled The Prevalence and Prophylaxis of Venereal Diseases at One Military Post says that men who, having failed to report, were later found with acute infections, were tried by Summary Court, not for contracting disease, but for failure to comply with post orders requiring reporting for prophylaxis, and the moral effect of the fines imposed has materially assisted in the success of the plan.' "Syphilis and gonorrhea can be entirely prevented in the army, and if we were given the means and the power, we would eradicate venereal disease from the civilized portions of the globe in less than two decades." Now of course those who believe that intercourse is essential to health, or that it is a natural instinct which ought not to be and cannot be controlled will do well perhaps to advocate some such scheme as the above for the army and navy, and therefore that public houses of prostitution should be licensed and placed under careful and scientific supervision. But those of us who are abreast of modern science and believe that while PREVENTION OF PROSTITUTION 107 man is an animal, he is something more than an animal, and herein shows that he is something higher and better than a mere animal by holding in control the animal nature and making it subserve all the real usefulness of such function and by keeping it in subjection to his higher and better nature, makes him tower infinitely above the sordid and baser things of life, will demand something very different. Surely no one but can see that the man or woman who is endowed with all the natural powers and passions belonging to him or her, and yet holds them in abeyance and submission is vastly superior to the one who weakly gives way and drops on the plane of the mere animal which indulges for pleasure only, without regard to reason or the higher mental and spiritual faculties. I grant you it is easier, more natural, less annoying to yield to these impulses; but for this very purpose man has been endowed with reason, power to acquire knowledge, judgment, conscience, and will that he might choose and do the right and best even when wrong seemed most enticing and almost necessary. It is this power of choosing that lifts man above the brute creation. In a lecture delivered by Professor John B. Roberts before the medical students of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania he says, "If you wish to see the finger of God pointing to the truth of his threat to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children of succeeding generations, examine the physical characteristics of a thousand school children. The stunted and senile appearance of some, and in others the ulcerations, the scars, the bone diseases, the blindness, the deafness, the deformed noses, the palsies and the other late manifestations of syphilis and gonorrhoea, will be sufficient." "Should one still be unconvinced of the economic importance of these communicable disorders, think of the bearing of syphilitic endarteritis upon cerebral apoplexy, insanity, aneurism, and gangrene; of the action of syphilis as a cause of kidney disease, locomotor ataxia and softening of the brain; and remember that gonorrhoea is the chief cause of sterility in man and woman, and that syphilis and criminal mal-practice are the chief reasons that pregnant women miscarry. A distinguished writer on these topics (Dr. Prince A. Morrow) has estimated that one-eighth of all human disease and suffering comes from inoculation with these venereal ills, and that to them is due one-fifteenth of all cases of blindness. It is said that 25,000 infants die annually in France from these infections. It is probable that over 50 per cent of the inflammatory disease of the female pelvis is due to gonorrhoea. In the vast majority of married patients having these conditions the wife has been infected by her husband, who hcs in many instances thought himself cured of an old gonorrhoeal urethritis. "Fournier says that one-seventh of the population of France is syphilitic. The statement has been made that in European cities about three-fourths of the male inhabitants have had gonorrhoea. While we should recognize the possibility of error in many of these statistics, they must be given a large degree of credence. "My belief in their general truth causes me to wonder which parent has been stenlized by previous gonorrhoea, when I hear of several years' married life without issue. When I see a family with but one child, I am very prone to ask myself whether the mother had been affected with gonorrhoea at her first conception and hence could never become pregnant a second time. Venereal disease is certainly not the explanation in all cases but it is in many. "I have said enough to make you realize the grave importance of these diseases, which lower the birth rate of a country by sterilizing the wives in thousands, which bring the women to the mutilating knife of the surgeon by hundreds, which blind the babies by scores, and which render the males of the household unable to work for weeks because of physical disability. "Prevention is the solution of the problem before us. Gonorrhoea and syphilis will disappear as epidemic diseases in the body social when chastity is demanded of men as rigidly as it is demanded of women. The man has for ages demanded that his wife be pure. Let the woman demand now that her husband be, and continue to be, pure and a revolution will be accomplished at one stroke. It is an error to believe that woman s chastity was originally due entirely to her superior virtue or to her lessened animal passion. Read John Stewart Mill on the "Subjection of Woman" and study similar philosophical essays. You will see that man demanded virtue in the woman, whom he lOS EQUITAXIA. OK THE LAND OF EQUITY considered his private property, at the point of the sword. It is not strange that feminine chastity has become recognized as an essential quality of all respected women. "Ignorance of the risk of their own health, happiness, and motherhood permits maids to accept husbands from the infected men of the community. Social indifference has condoned under the title of "wild oats" the sexual vices of male adolescents. It is the duty of doctors to displace this state of ignorance with a knowledge of the physiology of the sex, of the need of masculine chastity and of the danger of incontinence. The knowledge that a man and a woman can create another human being at will raises them in a sense to companionship with the Almighty Creator himself. Is not this thought enough to make one tremble to dally with the sexual function and thus pervert or destroy it. "Medical men should insist on the well-known physiological fact that sexual continence is not harmful, but that male chastity is as essential to good health and good morals as female chastity. There is no hygienic reason for indulging in solitary vice or consorting with prostitutes, public or clandestine. It is far better to abstain from all such sexual vices. A man's reproductive organs, as those of a woman, are given to continue the race. Marriage is in a certain sense an artificial relation designed to promote the public weal and protect the children; but it is also a physiological and spiritual union. In it alone is the use of the procreative power permissible. Any relaxation of this law leads to disaster to the individual and to the state. "The diffusion of venereal diseases is primarily due to indiscriminate gratification of the sexual appetite. This immoral use of the noble procreative function is the result of a mistaken belief that continence in males is harmful, public sentiment condoning vicious acts in men though not in women, and a reckless disposition on the part of parents to shirk the duty of teaching boys and girls at the time of puberty the truths of sexual life. As a result many youths become tainted with gonorrhoea and syphilis. Many non- medical citizens will consider sexual iregularities and consequent disease as a joke. "How are young men and women seduced from the paths of virtue? Lecherous men, and private as well as public prostitutes, mingle in public places with decent members of society. Women and men divorced from their conjugal associates because of sexual immorality are admitted to our homes and flaunt their disgraceful conduct in the face of good citizens. Salacious books, indecent pictures, foul stories, suggestive drama, and vile operas, find admirers among the most intelligent." The following clipped from a leading daily paper after an address before the local Young Men's Christian Association shows how little the average man, even leaders in the community, know about the real causes of prostitution, or its widespread existence, and hence how little they know of its cure. "Brigadier General Still^'ell of the Salvation army is to be commended for her rescue home work. The facts she presents are appalling. Sixty thousand girls going through the redlight district every year to death and the grave! The rescue homes save four or five thousand every year. "There are many times more men who frequent the redlight district than women, and a majority of the men, it is said, are married men. General Stillwell does not say why married men desert their wives and their homes for the low companionship and the disease of the brothel. Is it because the men are totally depraved? Is it because wives fail to make the home attractive? Do the wives, after marriage fail to make themselves attractive? The saving of five or six thousand girls every year is noble work, but would not the saving of fifteen or twenty thousand men, that being the proportion that General Stillwell gives, be also a noble work? "Does the conventional wall that society builds up between the sexes, so that the stony stare is given by every woman to any man to whom she has not been formally introduced, drive the man who is away from home, or the younger man who lives at a hotel or boarding house to seek female companionship where such conventions do not exist? Is a woman in danger of assault or contamination always and everywhere so that the common civilities of life must not be accorded the male, except under the most rigid regulations? Because a few men are beasts and a few women sexual perverts, does it follow that a wall, miles high, should be built up PREVENTION OF PROSTITUTION 109 between the sexes in the cities where hundreds of thousands of them must be thrown constantly in close personal contract? Does not the fact that no such wall exists in the rural districts partly account for the better moral conditions prevailing there? Although rescue homes are good institutions may not other and more effectual means be employed to reduce the population of the red light district?" Now if leading men in our large cities are so thoroughly ignorant (and I am sure they are) of the sexual vices, as this editorial shows, how very crude must be the views of others, and especially reputable women, upon this subject. And since no remedy can be intelligently applied until the nature of the malady and its cause, or causes, are well understood, how very important that some people turn on the searchlight, throw back the curtains, and expose to view the true conditions that all lovers of the race may see just where to take hold, that each doing his part, and all working together, real progress and advancement may be made in the purification of our social life, and the salvation of humanity attained. First, then, why do so many married men visit the brothel? I answer, because their wives do not satisfy them sexually. Oftentimes wives do not even try to please their husbands in this respect, generally from ignorance that this is one of the high duties they assume when they enter the marriage relations. Hence the husband soon tires of this indifference, lukewarmness, or repugnance, and goes where for a fee he can have some interest shown him in this particular pleasure, which too many, many men, think a chief thing in life. And you may say what you will about prostitutes, they are wise in their business, and they know it pays in dollars and cents only when they please their customers, and since that is the sum total of their business, and their whole success depends upon pleasing the men who visit them, they use all possible effort to gain their good will and have them come again, and this is where and how the prostitute wins men away from their wives, and it will never be corrected while man remains what he is, until wives learn to do their own reasonable and fair part to overcome it by making an honest effort, in trying to gratify this one controlling desire in their husbands. No woman has any business getting married in this day and age of the world unless she expects to do two things, first, be a companion to her husband in the conjugal relations, and second bear children cheerfully, if she become pregnant. Unless women do these two things, the prostitute will simply be meetmg a demand that no rules nor regulations nor prohibitions can eradicate. The divorce evil will never be corrected until wives meet the above conditions more heroically, and go into marriage understanding these two conditions and bravely do their best to meet them successfully. It is a well-known fact that the prostitute will serve from three to a dozen or more men daily, and therefore it is not unreasonable to ask and expect a wife to gratify one normal man, if she expects or hopes to retain his love, respect or loyalty. It is true that where men and women reach the high and true ideals of life, these functions will be exercised chiefly, if not solely, for procreation, but it is not so now, and it will take some generations of education, culture, and training to reach this happy state where soul shall be absolutely supreme in man. Therefore, pending such achievement, let women, for their own sake, do their duty by their husbands, while together they cultivate these higher and better things of the soul. Self-control, self-mastery, is the fundamental thing in building useful, honorable, and creditable character. Do men have more sexual passion than women, and if so, why? Yes, the sexual passion is more strongly developed in men than in women, for several reasons; but the most important one is that he may prove his worth as head of the house, head of the family and leader, by showing his own self-mastery and self-control of this natural, essen- tial, important, unruly, and yet controllable function. For "Better is he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city," and only he who rules himself well, has just claim to rule or exercise authority over others. This is a real test of strength, of moral worth and excellence; and he who has the wisdom, the dignity, the high type of manhood to rightly exercise this function in the interests of the best health, the best morals, and the greatest good to the community and posterity is entitled to honor and preferment. 110 EQUITAXIA. OR THE LAND OF KC^'ITY Krishna truly said in the "Song Caleslial:" "That man alone is wise who keeps the mastery of himself, * ¥ * "Yea! whose shaking off the yoke of flesh. Lives lord, not servant of his lusts; set free From pride, from passion, from the sin of 'self,' Toucheth tranquility." Third. And yet another evil which results to the community from sexual excesses, is the large number of murders which are daily committed, oftentimes by people who are considered good citizens, and too many times stand well in the church. Dr. Roberts above quoted sayes on this point, "Criminal physicians can easily be found to relieve the pregnant prostitute and unwillnng wife of the living embryo in her womb. Many hospitals unwisely refuse to treat cases of venereal disease, because of the immoral way in which these affections are often acquired. Medical and religious teachers keep silence from a false modesty or a cowardly indifference. The duty of citizens in relation to social vice is to practice personal, and insist on public morality; to advocate instruction in the physiology of sex and dangers of venereal diseases to all adolescents and adults; to discourage social recognition of immoral men, to prevent the marriage of gonorrhoeal and syphilitic subjects until danger of infection has been practically averted by treatment; and finally to aid the legal authorities of the community to convict and punish criminal abortions." Dr. James Foster Scott well says, "The saying of Linnaeus, 'Omni vivum ex ovo,' is now known to be true, for all animal life springs from a cell which has all the true characteristics of an egg. The ova of all animals higher in the scale of life than the protozoa, i. e., from the porifera, or sponges, up through the animal kingdom, including man, are scarcely distinguishable from one another in their essential characteristics and their structure, though varying much in size in the different animals." Let us quote here from the report of the committee appointed by the New York Medico-Legal Society — James J. O'Dea, M. D. (Chairman), Elbridge T. Gerry, Geo. F. Shrady, M. D., Wm. Shrady, Stephen Rogers, M. D., Judge Gunning S. Bedford, committee: "At length Christanity came to measure swords with the growing evil." i. e., in the first century. "For a time the contest was warm. A society corrupted by ill-gotten wealth and sensual gratification would not surrender such convenient doctrine without a determined resistance. The battle waxed fierce, but the already assured triumph of the purifying faith was postponed by a compromise (how originated or by whom proposed does not appear) no less disastrous than the pagan theory it supplanted. "By this compromise it was agreed to consider the foetus as endowed with life only from the date of the maternal sensation called 'quickening.' Abortions forced after 'quickening' were branded as serious crimes, but all so caused before this period were suffered to pass unnoticed. Henceforth 'quick' became a word of evil omen. It is true the canon law subsequently disregarded this compromise, declared the foetus alive from conception, and condemned its destruction at any period of uterogestation as a great and wicked crime. The Christian Church, to its eternal honor be it said, has ever advocated and enforced the principle of the inviolability of foetal life. But the mischief could not be undone. A doctrine, only a degree less heartless than its pagan predecessor, took firm hold on society. How effectually it influences the opinion and practice of our own time, how completely it has permeated all, but more particularly the higher ranks of contemporary society, needs not to be insisted on here. Among those who are competent to pronounce on this question of 'quickening' there is, however, but one opinion, and to it your committee ask the undivided attention of the community. The foetus is alive from conception, and all intentional killing of it is murder. The world is free to discuss the transcendental problem concerning the stage of development at which the foetus becomes endowed with a soul. If there never were such an existence as a soul, if men perished utterly when they died, laws against murder would still hold good, because laws against murder were enforced, not for the soul's sake, but to preserve the peace and even the existence of society. PREVENTION OF MURDER HI "Aristotle taught that no child should be permitted to be born alive whose mother was more than forty, or whose father was more than fifty years of age. "The teaching of the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers resulted so disas- trously that it became necessary to denounce the practice, and this was vehemently done by Ovid, Seneca, and by Juvenal. In one 'satire,' after praising the exemplary patience with which the matrons of the lower classes bore the pains of labor and the fatigues of nursing, he upbraids the ladies of fashion with their unwillingness to submit to these duties. 'You'll scarce hear tell,' says Juvenal, 'of a lying-in among ladies of quality, such is the power of art, such the force of medicines prepared by the midwife to cause barrenness and abortion.' "But with every allowance for the great frequency of accidental abortion, it is well recognized, intentional and unnecessary destruction of the foetus represents a carnage of such vast proportions as to be almost beyond belief. There is no darker page in history than the record of this sin, and probably at no period has the slaughter been greater than in our own times." The "Report of the Special Committee on Criminal Abortion" — committee, Edward Cox, H. 0. Hitchcock, S. S. French — contains this startling passage: "To so great an extent is this (abortion) now practiced by American Protestant women that, by calculation of one of the committee, based upon correspondence with nearly one hundred physicians, there come to the knowledge of the profession seven- teen abortions to every one hundred pregnancies; to these the committee believe may be added as many more that never come to the physician's knowledge, making thirty- four per cent, or one-third, of all cases ending in mis-carriage; that in the United States the number is not less than one hundred thousand, and the number of women who die from its immediate effects not less than six thousand per annum." In fairness to the Roman Church it must be said to its glory that its women rarely resort to this crime, the priests giving the soundest of teaching to their parishioners on these vital points, as follows: "The destruction of the embryo at any period from the first instant of conception is a crime equal in guilt to that of murder; that to admit its practice is to open the way for the most unbridled licentiousness, and to take away the responsibility of maternity is to destroy one of the strongest bulwarks of female virtue." And again let us quote from the report of the Special Committee on Criminal Abortion : "It is well known that in this country the faithful ministrations of the Catholic clergy prevent the commission of the crime to such an extent that it is very seldom committed by a Catholic married woman, and the committee believes that if the Protestant clergy would properly present the subject to their congregations, with the assistance of the press and other auxiliaries, the crime would soon become as rare among the Protestants as the Catholic women." Westermarck, "History of Human Marriage:" "Thus, Herr von Koppenfells states that the male gorilla 'spends" the night crouching at the foot of the tree, against which he places his back, and thus protects the female and their young, which are in the nest above, from the noctural attacks of leopards.' "Dr. W. B. Dorsett calls attention to the frequency of criminal abortion. The mdifference of the clergy, of the press and of society in general, throws an added responsibility on the medical profession. He cites a statement of Justice John Proctor Clark to the effect that 100,000 abortions are annually committed in New York alone and an estimate of Dr. C. B. Bacon that from 20 to 25 per cent of all pregnancies terminate in abortion, and that of this per cent one-half are from induced, i. e., criminal, abortion. Good Dr. Dorsett proposes two remedies; I. The obligatory teaching of medical jurisprudence and medical ethics in its true sense in our medical colleges. This should be statutory, and medical examining boards should be em- powered to enforce the laws of their states and to declare all schools not requiring a full course of medical ethics not in good standing and their graduates ineligible to practice medicine. 2. The enactment of good and sufficient laws and the amend- ment of inefficient laws now on our statute books." 112 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY To learn what is good for one's self in the promotion of his highest and best interests, and then deliberately choose the course of self-denial, if need be, of subjection of all his powers, passions, appetites, and desires to its attainment is the province of a man, and in just the proportion to which this is done does he prove to be a high or low type of a man. If man cannot be taught self-control, then he is a failure as a moral being, and is nothing more than a high grade animal. Educa- tion, culture and training should be such as to bring into play the power of choice, based upon knowledge of what is best for the individual and then the exercise of the Will to enforce the choice made. In this way, and in this only can man be progressive and grow into moral perfection and likeness unto Him in whose image he was created. Hence the Apostolic injunctioon, I Thess. 4:3, 4: 'For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor,' And because the Almighty knew man's needs and what he ought to do and what he should daily strive to do. He gave him the many Scriptural admonitions urging him to bring into action and effective service this Will power. See Prov. 6:20-26; Prov. 20:28, 29, 32, also Prov. 7:1-27. No sentimentalism here, no evidence that man, a real man, needs to be shut up so that he cannot violate the rules of chastity. No plan here to license impurity, to make it impossible for man to indulge, or make it physically safe for him to do so. No other plan is proposed by the Infinitly Wise and Good Being than to implant in man's mind the knowledge of what is good for him, then inspire him with a desire to achieve that good and finally a will or determination to do so. Perhaps, too, there is no better illustration in nature of that Scriptural warning that the "Inquities of fathers shall be visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation," than in sexual matters, for not only are diseases, syphilitic, epileptic and mental transmitted to the children and still later descendents, but this sexual excess or perversity is handed down by the physical changes in the brain and nervous system, and there is no escape from it. Joseph in Egypt, resisting the pleadings and enticements of Potiphar's wife is a type of real manhood, and no right minded man or woman but can see in this illustration the far greater character and moral power in this young man than if he had yielded to the temptation or than would have been in him if he had been able to resist only when there was no possibility of yielding to his natural impulses. It is the voluntary com- batting evil desires and tendencies within us that makes us strong. It is this victory over self, this ever struggling upward and triumphing over the evil within that gives self- mastery and self-control. He who having the natural impulses, instincts and desires, with good and sufficient opportunity to fully gratify them, yet holds them in control and always within the bounds of his own highest interest, and subjects them fully to reason and right is the real man. It was evidently one of the purposes of the Almighty in giving men this sacred function and uniting so closely with one of the highest and strongest laws of his being, namely the desire to propagate his species, and make it pleasurable as well, that he might have it ever with him an innate part of his being, so that if rightly used it would raise him to the highest possible type of being, even above the angels; but if abused and basely misused would sink him to the lowest depths, even below devils, which so far as we know do not propagate themselves. If a man has no passion it is plainly no credit to him not to indulge. If a man has the desire, but does not indulge for fear of getting caught, or for fear of contracting dis- ease, it is no credit to him. If a man is surrounded by barriers of whatever kind which make it impossible for him to indulge, then the non-indulgence is in no way creditable to him. Only when he has the full power of passion, with opportunity and then restrains himself within the limits of right and reason, which is normal wedlock, and at no other time and in no other way can he be said to be growing in real moral character from a sexual standpoint. 4th. Another serious evil growing out of abuse of the sexual system is divorce. Marriage has become in too many instances a mere civil contract, and is annulled at the flimsiest excuse as other contracts are. Marriage was originally intended as a sacred CAUSES OF CP:LIBACY 113 bond of union, a uniting of man and wife in the deepest and most abiding love. A union which should be the establishment of a home, the creating of beings like unto them- selves and rearing these little ones into mature, useful and happy beings to go on in an increasing ratio of growth. Such a union, and such products were to bind parents to- gether in the holiest and happiest bonds of love. Instead of this what do we see? Divorces so common as to be a menace to the perpetuity of the home and a serious obstacle to the stability of the state and disruptive of good morals. The sexual excesses and the abuse of this sacred function has so fastened itself upon the race that often men, and sometimes women, are not true to their vows and of course the offended party may rightly apply for and secure divorce. But more often people are attracted to each other and without due and reasonable consideration are married, but finding themselves not sexually mated, and this I am sure is the most frequent cause of divorce, quickly are divorced. Dr. James Foster Scott says, and I think wisely, "Some statisticians say that seventy-five per cent of marriages are unhappy; nor can it be wondered at so long as a debased society continues to condone profligacy. So far from the hot blood of youth being chiefly responsible, houses of ill-fame derive two-thirds of their income from married men over forty." "The essentials of the secret of a happy marriage, by deduction from the foregoing, may be shortly summed up as follows: "That man and woman shall be well mated physically, sexually and mentally, in har- mony in their moral sympathies, and possessed of the normal sexual inclinations and longings; that each shall enter into the relationship in virginity, chastity and modesty, and that neither shall be the slave of polluted imperious mental concepts; that each shall represent the sum total of sexual possibilities for the other, upon assurance of which there can hardly be jealousy or suspicion; that they shall appreciate that marriage is, in a sense, an immortal relationship, their lives continuing in their posterity; that the husband shall regard his wife with a deep reverence as occupying the throne of nature, considering her sex and her potentiality for motherhood as sacred, and that the wife shall be able to confide in the sure faithfulness and protection of the husband for herself and offspring; and that the foundations of their conjugal relationship shall be laid in a love which will bind them together and cause them to endure all and suffer all for each other's sake. "Produce happy and rational marriages and the plea for divorce will seldom be made, and one means to this end is more sane and better poised sexual systems, and a more intelligent and reasonable exercise of this function." 5th. Anoher and final evil which 1 see constantly resulting from the over developed and highly exaggerated sexual system is, more men remain bachelors, refusing to marry, establish homes and become sponsors for families, thus leaving more and more young women without life companions. If the sexual instinct be a perfectly natural one and may rightly be exercised out of wedlock for pleasure, then why marry and be confined to one woman for this delightful occastional pastime, they say? In this manner one is not tied down to the home, has greater liberty and freedom, and then one is not bothered with a sick wife, or the cares of raising children, for if pregnancy should occur in any of these illicit pleasures, some doctor or other criminal will help to get rid of the small and helpless human being and the father goes scott free, even if the mother does often suffer ill health ever after it, or even dies as they many limes do. Thus the young man reasons, and thus it is that even when some of these libertines do marry they are not long satisfied with the embraces of one woman and so get up some poor excuse for a divorce and soon marry another. Now because the sexual system of the race is so vastly over stimulated and because so much is made of the pleasurable side of it, rather than its other higher and belter functions, therefore the young man reasoning correctly, but from false premises, con- cludes that there is nothing in marriage, and so remains single, and by reason of the customs of our modern good society, the young ladies not being allowed to court and make proposals, many of them are also forced into lives of single blessedness who would otherwise make good wives, mothers, and home makers. All other excuses generally given why so many men remain single, are as nothing when compared with this one. lit EQUITAXIA, OH THE LAND OF EQUITY And now let us suggest, you are not responsible for any defects or imperfections which have been handed down to you from your parents, or other ancestors, nor should you too severely criticise them, for they may not have known, in fact it is safe to say that for the most part they did not know the full import of these inherited tendencies as you may know them in this twentieth century. But you are responsible in no small degree for what you transmit to your children; and further, no matter how much of evil has been handed down to you, it is in your power to so modify evil proclivities that you may make it vastly easier and better for your child than if you do not make this strenuous and laudable effort herein suggested. What then is the remedy? If we were to answer in one brief sentence we would say the remedy is proper education. First, let the children, both boys and girls be taught the function of these important organs, beginning at least when they are eight years old. The information may be given by parents and the family physician. But more important and better still, let each state have one or more competent physicians whose duty it shall be to teach these things to the children in all the public schools, from the time they are eight years of age until they are sixteen, and in all the schools of higher learning. The boys and girls should be given the instruction separately, by means of charts, pictures and stereopticon views, beginning with the lower forms of life, flowers, plants, animals and then closing with the organs in man. These lectures and illustrations should je given every year to all the boys and girls separately, having those from eight to ten together at one time, and those over ten to twelve and over twelve to sixteen. If it be any part of the duty of the state to provide education for the children belong- ing to the state (and I assume that this quesion has been so long settled in the affirmative, that we do not need to prove it) then it should be the aim of the state to provide proper education for the children, and then the question merely turns upon what is proper education? And surely no one can find fault with the definition. Proper education is t.hat which best fits one for the duties of life. The injunction, "Know thyself" is very important, and one has always to do with and deal with himself, and therefore he should know as much of himself as is compatible with his capacities and possibilities, not conflicting with other duties and obligations. Then, too, since we have to do with ourselves from our earliest consciousness all through life to our very last breath, and even out into the great eternity, and finally since our greatest successes in life, as well as our future destiny depends in so large measure upon what we do with ourselves, how we handle our bodies with all of their faculties, passions and powers, why is it not reasonable to begin early with the proper study of our bodies and our souls, or with the Ego? And since the sexual system is such an important factor in the individual as well as in the home, society, and the state, why should not proper instruction concerning this system be given to the children before the age that it largely begins to influence the whole life? Why should not this information be given before the damage from ignorance has been done? Why not impart this konwledge at the time it will do most good to the individual, for this will bring the largest returns to the home, society and the state in happiness, health and economy. Again, if it be true, (as we think all will admit who give it thoughtful attention) that the Will Power (so essential to good moral character) can best be strengthened and developed by choosing and doing the right, or refusing and not doing the wrong; then certainly teaching right views about this important system, and showing the young not only that they ought, but they can control it within the bounds of reason and right is a duty of greatest magnitude imposed upon the state. No person ever commits a sin without first an evil thought. No one ever commits an error without first an erroneous thought. No one ever has an evil desire without first an evil thought. No one ever has an evil aspiration without first an evil thought. All thoughts are the result of impressions made upon the brain by the action of one of the five senses, sight, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling or imagination. In other words, the human brain is the soil upon which the seeds of thought are sown and these springing up bear fruit in desires, aspirations and actions, and these fruits are good or bad according as the seed sown is good or bad. To produce right desires, aspirations and actions, you must plant right seed, that is the thoughts must be right. The brain of the young child is virgin soil and it will rapidly produce fruitage from whatever seeds (thoughts) are FOUNDATIONS OF MORAL CHARACTER 115 planted, hence the importance of sowing or planting right seed early in order to have good crops from the beginning. Knowledge is accumulated thought. Reason sorts out and puts in order knowledge, then judgment gives the conclusions and chooses the way, and Will executes the choice. Therefore it must be evident to every thinking person that the right seeds must be sown to get right desires and that if the child has right thoughts planted in its mind, and it is trained to draw right conclusions from these thoughts, and then Will to carry out in practice these reasonable results of thought it will thereby get Self-control of its own being and do the right because it is right, and because by such course the highest end of its being will be attained and the greatest happiness will be achieved. Now the Soul is the Divine essence imparted to man to rule and preside over this body with its brain power, its passions and all its faculties, to guide and control and direct them and make a perfect man. The first Adam was such a man, but by choosing dis- obedience he fell into discord and out of harmony with God. The last Adam, Christ, was also such a man, and he by choosing and observing obedience continued in harmony with God and thereby showed us the way, and hence said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." It is in all of us and will be until the end of time, that same old question. How to bring this body (which is but the temporal abode of the soul) into harmony with God by complete obedience to His laws, and this cannot be done until we get our thoughts right, our desires right, and our wills in harmony with His. Man differs from the highest of all other animals in several important respects, chief of which are the folowing: 1 . Possibilities of infinite growth and developemnt of mind because he is a part of the Infinite. 2. Consciousness of his own personal existence; the Ego. 3. Conscious of right and wrong. 4. Conscious of accountability to, faith in, and reverence for a Super-human being. 5. Imagination, consciousness of and aspiration for growth, development and immortality. With these facts in mmd give the boys and girls a basis for the formation of character Then teach them the things concerning their own bodies which they ought to know. Teach them futher the ordinary duties of life. Give them methods of education, implant within their minds a desire for useful knowledge; show them in history, literature and art, the sciences and geography, some of the things which will arrest attention and find a responsive chord to lead them to further self-improvement. It is planting good seeds and noble thoughts in the mind which must be relied upon to- produce worthy desires and aspirations in the mind of the child and the youth. The child must have a worthy ideal before it and a basis of worth in character, and then when corresponding thoughts are daily instilled into the mind of the child, loftier, nobler and more worthy aims and ambi- tions will spring up as motives in the child, and with these will develop truer views of life and the effort to be useful and helpful, unselfish and kindly to others will be the spirit of each, rather than so much of s.elfishness, "every man for himself" and greed will be the exception instead of the rule. Upon such a basis, too, will men be more considerate of one another in the matter of employment as Master and Servant. Wages will be more fairly and equitably arranged. There will not be so many underpaid clerks, girls and other employees. There will be better employers and better laborers. The houses of prostitution will not then be so largely recruited from underpaid girls, nor the poverty so wide spread among common laborers. There will be more of hope and good cheer for all classes because every man will have some reasonable regard for the rights of others, the rich for the poor, and the poor for the rich, capital for labor and labor for capital. Competitors will not be so unfair in the trades, manufacturing, industries, business callings and pro- fessions, but each can see equity and fair play done to his fellowman with pleasure and not with envy or jealousy. Let the ideal of every child be right, plant the seeds of good thought in the child's mind, cultivate the soil of the young brain to rid it of the weeds of evil thoughts; and good desires and noble aims will spring up to bear fruit in useful lives. I have noted with surprise the following summary of the recommendations of the Chicago Vice Commission : 116 KgUlTANlA, OK THE LAND OF EgLlTV "Instruction of children twelve to sixteen years of age in sex hygiene; by per- sonal attention of parents; physical examination of applicants for marriage licenses; better pay for girls; abolishment of the fining system against known members of vice districts; in intelligent and ample adult probation; home for old offenders; appeal to the chivalry of man; investigation and supervision of employment agencies; laws call- ing centers of evil public nuisances; against allowing messenger boys to go into vice districts; the state to take the place of parent to illegitimate children; comfort sta- tions in the city; municipal dance halls; frequent rotation of policemen; no liquor at public dance halls; municipal lodging houses for women; segregation of semi- delinquent girls from delinquents and intelligent care and education of them; women officers for the police force; vocational training for the older girls in public schools; hotels and homes for working women and girls; vigilance in public parks where girls and women visit; and less liberty for children except under the eyes of their parents; and, generally, closer attention of parents to the habits, acquaintances and doings of their children — girls and boys." Whilst these suggestions are very good they will be of little avail in the long run unless a high standard of morality be taught in the homes and in the public schools. And of course they would all be greatly strengthened if the best system of religion were also freely taught, and its principles lived in the daily lives of parents and educators. They should teach a high standard of morals, both publicly and privately, and they should all be taught in the homes, in the schools and in all public utterances the personal responsibility of every individual to the Supreme Ruler of the universe for every act and deed; and this alone can give a high and strong type of character able to cope with the temptations of life. CHAPTER V[I THE SOCIAL EVIL AND DIVORCE- HOW THEY MANAGE THESE QUESTIONS. SECOND: THE VENEREAL DISEASES, THEIR CAUSES AND PREVENTION. The subject. Venereal Diseases, their Causes and Prevention, is one which should interest not only every medical man, but every intelligent lover of his race, when we see how widely prevalent they are, the fearful havoc they work to the health and happiness of the individual and the home, and how much suffering they entail, and how often death itself follows in their train. The physician's real mission in the world today, as never before, is the prevention of disease. True, the relief of suffermg, the postponement of death, and the cure of disease are parts of it. But our glory is more in what we are able to prevent than cure. By the term Venereal Diseases, I wish to be understood as meaning the three infec- tious diseases usually communicated by impure sexual intercourse, namely, gonorrhoea, chancroid and syphilis. The specific germ which causes gonorrhoea, the gonococcus, was discovered by Albert Neisser in I 879. That which is found in chancroid is the bacillus of Ducrey, and that which is now generally conceded to cause syphilis is the organism discovered by Schaudinn, the Spirochaeta Pallida. As to the origin of these specific germs, whence they came, how, and where, no man knoweth; but that the race has suffered since time immemorial from some such infections is well authenticated from all available history, both ancient and modern. Syphilis appeared among the Europeans, and was discussed in medical literature at the close of the fifteenth century, and was charged to the contact of the Old World with the New, and was called the "American Disease." It is said too, that there have been discovered evidences of syphilitic disease in the bones of pre-historic man. The literature of the Chinese, the Romans, the Greeks and the Hebrews contain descriptions of a disease hardly to be distinguished from and which probably was, syphilis. While at present we cannot settle the question of when, where and how these diseases began; that they are now widespread and disastrous in their results, no careful observer can deny. Cases like the following are so common that they almost cease to cause surprise among the specialists, at least, and even in the country districts, the general practitioners see them all too frequently. Case I. Mrs. J., 40 years of age, mother of two children, was brought to me by her husband with history of some female trouble and serious eye affection. On careful private inquiry of the husband, I learned that he had been away from home for a couple of weeks and while away had found in a country town one of those women whom he was sure was perfectly pure and had no fear of any infection, for she was not a public character. He went home and infected his wife before he knew that what he had caught from this apparently pure woman was a true gonorrhoea. Of course when he found that he had the disease and had inocculated his wife, he was ashamed to tell her what it was. and she ignorantly suspected nothing, and carelessly got some of the discharge into her eyes, and now one of them was wholly destroyed and she was nearly blind in the other. For her eye trouble she was promptly turned over to a specialist, but it was too late, and she will remain forever an innocent victim of her husband's lust and unfaithfulness. It is needless to say that he was almost brokenhearted over his sin, but that did not relieve the suffering and blindness of his wife. Case 2. Mrs. A., a bright and charming young woman, of splendid family from a nearby city, was married to a prosperous young business man, who was the picture of health and looked to be a man of honor and principle. Some four months after marriage (117) 118 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY he brought her to my office with the history of some Httle pelvic trouble almost since iheir marriage, but now grown so serious as to demand attention. Examination revealed a pelvic peritonitis with both tubes filled with pus. Thus making her not only a sufferer, but probably an invalid for life with very little hope of ever enjoying the privilege of motherhood, or being the comfort and blessing to a home which her beautiful form, charming manners and dignified womanly bearing would otherwise have made her. A little private talk with her husband brought out the fact that he had once suffered from gonorrhoea and supposed he had been cured. His grief and anguish at having unwittingly brought his beautiful young wife into this deplorable condition was pitiful to see, but of what avail? Case 3. Mrs. B., was to be confined with her first baby and I was asked to attend her. She and her husband were greatly delighted at the prospect of a young heir, probably a boy, to perpetuate the father's name, and so all things were arranged and in readiness to receive the welcome and expected newcomer. After a somewhat tedious and severe labor in which the mother (as they so often do) went down almost to the very jaws of death for the sake of her beloved husband and the little child, she was delivered of a poor, scrawny, shriveled, wheezing, little boy, who from very lack of vitality only lived a short time, and thus the hour of relief and of joy with expectation was turned into one of pain and sorrow, with hopeless disappointment. A private conversation with the husband and father revealed the fact that when a young man he had suffered from syphilis, and so had transmitted to his helpless child the killing disease, and had robbed his wife of the satis- faction of motherhood. Case 4. Mrs. A., mother of one child, and a widow, hard-working, honest and respectable, earned her living for herself and child by working in a place where many other women and men were employed; but one day she developed a sore in the very center of her lower lip, which proved to be a true chancre, amenable only to the mercurial treatment, the Wasserman reaction being positive. See the hardship now brought upon this woman, and the danger she is to others. Imagine if you can how many men and women are going about in public places, hotels, restaurants, railway trains and elsewhere, with seriously infective sores, generally not so plain or discernable, and for that very rea- son all the more dangerous to the innocent public. Dr. Prince A. Morrow, says: "Gonorrhoea, is perhaps, the most universal and wide- spread of all diseases that affect the human race. Competent authorities have computed that fully three-fourths of the adult male population, and one-sixth to one-third of the adult female population have contracted this disorder. "It is estimated that from ten to twenty per cent of all blindness is caused by gonococcic infection * * *. Neisser believes that gonorrhoea in the male is responsible for forty-five per cent of sterile marriages. The proportion of sterility due to the husband is variously estimated from seventeen to twenty-five per cent, and almost the entire proportion of sterility in the woman is due to gonorrhoea communicated to her by her husband. * * * Gonorrhoea is now re- garded by the medical profession as one of the most formidable social plagues of the age." The United States census for 1 890, showed the number of those in our country who were blind in one or both eyes to be 144,399, and 20 per cent of this number would be 28,879. In a paper read before the National Conference of Corrections and Charities in 1910, by Dr. Alice Hamilton of Chicago, upon the subject "Venereal Diseases in Institu- tions for Women and Girls," she says: "We have begun lately to learn how very widely prevalent gonorrhoea is, both among little girls and among married women. The time before puberty is the time of greatest susceptibility, and an institutional epidemic usually selects almost all its victims from among little girls under thirteen years of age. '^ '^ '^, "In an epidemic of gonorrhoea in the Cook County Contagious hospital, involving eighty-two little girls, it was found that the infection had been brought in by sixteen little school girls from various parts of the city. "In the Babies' hospital in New York City, where no children over three years are admitted, about six cases out of each one hundred twenty-five applicants for ad- mission are found to have gonorrhoea. Dr. Reed examined one hundred little girls PREVALENCE OF VENEREAL DISEASES 119 in an institution in New York, which supposedly had never had a case, and found that twelve had gonorrhoea vaginitis, and twenty more were suspicious cases. "Among the delinquent girls, who pass through our Juvenile Court in Chicago, 18 per cent are found to have gonorrhoea at the time of examination. "Dr. Morrow, physician to the Illinois State School for Girls, at Geneva, reports that 58 per cent of 200 consecutive admissions had gonorrhoea, and such victims of gonorrhoea usually have been infected by their mothers. Other members of the family are responsible for a small number of cases, and sexual violence for only an insignificant minority. "It is impossible to give any statistics as to the prevalence of syphilis in institu- tions in this country. German statistics show that practically all prostitutes, who have followed their trade as long as three years are shown by this test (Wasserman or Noguchi reaction) to be syphilitic. This test was made on the blood of one hundred girls in the Geneva Institution by Dr. W. Post, of Chicago, and forty-six gave a positive result. The value of such a test can be seen from the report of the first fifteen girls examined. Only one of them had been known to be syphilitic, and she had received vigorous treatment for a long period. Her blood gave a negative re- action, but nine of the others who had not been treated showed the presence of syphilis." Colonel Maus, Chief Surgeon United States Army, Department of Lakes, says: "It is generally conceded by medical officers that there is no one factor or con- dition in the army which produces more sickness, decreases the efficiency of the men so greatly, or affects their morals more than disease of venereal origin. In this regard the demoralizing influences of alcoholism and desertion compare but feebly with the direful and far-reaching results of diseases of this character, and there is no military problem which confronts the War Department, which is more worthy of discussion and requires more prompt or energetic action." Dr. E. W. Feigenbaum in a recent article says: "The census of 1900, elicited the fact that there were in the United States. 65,000 blind persons, fully 33 per cent of whom became blind when less than a year old. We know that ophthalmia neonatorum is the fruitful source of infantile blind- ness, and that its frequent origin is the virus of gonorrhoea implanted at the very moment of birth. Just think of this vast army of over 20,000 innocent children, doomed to a life of eternal darkness, all on account of an infamous disease, be- queathed to them by heartless parents. "We are justly proud of our public school system, that great bulwark of American liberty, and yet has it ever occurred to you that our children are daily exposed to this disease, while in attendance at school? Dr. Ira C. Wile, of New York, in a paper published in the New York Medical Journal, September 10, 1910, gives a most horrible picture of conditions as they exist in our public schools, and calls attention to the fact that most strenuous measures ought to be taken to prevent the spread of venereal diseases among our school children. He says, that 20 per cent of all venereal diseases are acquired before the twenty-first birthday, and that syphilis and gonorrhoea, generally accidentally acquired, are not infrequent in children between the ages of four and sixteen years. The various methods of acquiring these diseases, accidentally and innocently, are summed by Wile as: by fondling, kissing, using infected glasses and infected eating utensils, from the use of common towels, pencils, sponges, etc. Occasionally there is more direct contact, as by exchanging chewing gum, inter-change of mouth toys and sexual contact. "Conditions are getting no better very fast. Dr. Wile, quoting from Dr. Morrow, states that it is a conservative estimate that in this country the morbidity of gonor- rhoea would represent 60 per cent of the male population, and that of syphilis 10 to 15 per cent. In other words three out of every four men you see walking on the streets are victims of the great black plague. Dr. Morrow makes the statement that in France 20,000 children die of syphilis each year." Dr. Frederic Bierhoff , of New York, says : "A perusual of the reports of our surgeons-general of the army and the navy of the United States, for several years past, reveals the reiteration, year for year, of 120 KQUITAXIA. OR TIIP: I.AXD OF EQUITY the fact that the venereal diseases cause a greater loss of efficiency among our forces than does any other class of diseases. "I believe, therefore, that Morrow's statement that 200,000 persons, in this city, are constantly suffering with venereal diseases, is rather under estimated than over estimated. "All that we can say is that the prevalence of venereal diseases, among the population, is a very grave and growing menace to the community. "With regard to the second question, it may be stated that paragraph 79, is based upon the supposition that the common prostitute is the most important disseminator of venereal infections. But is she? "In the protest against the above paragraph issued by various organizations of females, our worthy president. Dr. Morrow, is quoted as saying: 'It is a great mistake to suppose that the prostitute is the chief agent in the spread of venereal diseases, etc., etc' " In the California State Journal of Medicine, occurs a review of Dr. Vecki's book on "Prevention of Sexual Diseases," in which occur the following important words: "The menace of the increase and spread of venereal diseases to the welfare of the community has in recent years been the subjct of considrable attention. All who have made a study of the sociological aspects of the question agree that existing conditions demand radical measures, with a view to immediate amelioration, if not eradication of this appalling social evil. "Since the appearance of syphilis in Europe more than five centuries ago, various measures have been tried for its limitation. The prostitute has been burned, and her profession has been officially recognized and officially regulated. The religionist, the moralist and the medical man have made excursions to this rough country, where nature has been challenged, but still remains unchanged. The result in all instances has been failure." The report of the Surgeon General of the United States Army to the Secretary of War contains the following: "The slight diminution in the occurrence of venereal diseases last year gave hope that the campaign of education on this subject, which had been begun through the medical officers, was beginning to bear fruit. But 1909 unfortunately shows an increase not only over the preceding year, but over any other year of which there is record. It is, if one may accept the opinion of high medical authorities, exceeded by the prevalence of thes diseases in civil life, and it will be very difficult to make any substantial improvement in the record of the army in this respect, until the state and municipal authorities are aroused to the necessity of taking serious sani- tary measures to restrict their ravages. The venereal peril has come to outweigh in importance any other sanitary question, which now confronts the army, and neither our national optimism nor the Anglo Saxon disposition to ignore a subject which is offensive to public prudery can longer excuse a frank and honest confron- tation of the problem. Reports since the Spanish-American war show a steady progresisve increase in this class of diseases. "In speaking of the causes for rejection of young men, who make application for enlistment in the army he says, "Venereal diseases cause the largest proportion of rejections." While the bacterial causes of venereal diseases are as above shown, yet practically it IS perhaps more important for us to' know that back of all this is unclean and promiscuous sexual intercourse, which in ways we do not understand yet, is doubtless the primary or fundamental cause, I presume we would all agree that if we knew perfectly the laws of health and how to apply them, and then had the environment and ability with the means, and should actually apply them, we would be in constant good health. In fact all sickness and disease must, we think, be the result of ignorance, inability or unwillingness to apply the proper preventive measures. The great philosopher, Herbert Spencer, had some such idea, when he said: "Perfect correspondence would be perfect life. Were there no changes in the environment, but such as the organism had adopted changes to meet, and were it THE POWER OF HEREDITY 121 never to fail in the efficiency with which it met them, there would be eternal existence and eternal knowledge." And Dr. William Hammond told us something of this truth when he said, "People die through their ignorance of the laws which govern their existence, and also from their inability or indisposition to obey those laws with which they are acquainted." So I may say, health means the harmonious working of all organs and tissues of the body in obedience to their natural laws; and disease then must be discord somewhere along the line from disobedience to those laws. It is the special province of medicine in the mterests of the race to search out and set in order the laws of health, to discover and put mto practice the proper means to correct the disorders which arise from these violations of nature's laws. And so medicine has for its chief object the overcoming of these difficulties, oir teaching the people (as fast as we ourselves ascertain them) the facts, how to conform to nature's laws in order to ward off disease or regain health. Hence it follows that if we can ascertain the laws of sexual health, and how to apply them, we must be on the right road to the successful prevention of "The Venereal Dis- eases," which are but manifestations of nature's punishment for violation of her laws. Charles Darwin, speaking of the strong influence of heredity, says: "No breeder doubts how strong is the tendency to inheritance; that like produces like is his fundamen- tal belief; doubts have been thrown on this principle only by theoretical writers. Per- haps the correct way of viewing the whole subject would be to look at the inheritance of every character as the rule and non-inheritance as the anomaly. To sum up on the origin of our domestic races of animals and plants; changed conditions of life are of the highest importance in causing variability, both by acting directly on the organization and indirectly by affecting the reproductive system. Some, perhaps a great, effect may be attributed to the increased use or disuse of parts. From the facts alluded to in the first chapter, I think there can be no doubt that the use in our domestic animals has strengthened and enlarged certain parts and disuse diminished them; and that such modifications are inherited." That morals and religion, as well as intellect and health, have a definite physical basis, is now generally recognized. The well known case of Margaret Dugdale, the mother of criminals, need only be cited to show how strong was the evil tendency and how certainly transmitted to her children. As additional proof of the belief in the Irans- missibility of criminal and other defective physical tendencies, note the preamble to the Indiana law against procreation in certain cases, for it says: "Whereas heredity plays a most imoprtant part in the transmission of crime, idiocy, and imbecility, therefore, etc." Also that passed in Ontario, Canada. "Whereas, heredity plays a most important part in the transmission of criminal instincts; therefore, etc. ' Thus the stale and the more enlightened part of the community comes clearly to recognize the importance of heredity in morals, as it has Ion:? known the evil effects resulting from transmitting physical weakness and defects. Let parents have sound minds, in sound bodies, coupled with sound morals; and they will transmit to their offspring the same qualities of body, mind and soul only modified by the one factor, over which they do not have absolute control, that is, the streak which every child inherits in greater or less degree from a more remote ancestor than its immediate parents. Parents should be taught the truth about the sexual system and the influence of heredity and vicious livin? upon the offspring. The moral wrong, adultery; the social injustice, inequality; the econonomic cruelty, poverty; and the physical suffering, disease, which abounds among us, are not due to a man having one wife or many; but much of it is due to the abuse of that one wife and the many mistresses clandestinely belonging to single as well as married men. to the failure of men to assume the duties and discharge the obligations which belong to marriage, and which naturally do and ought to arise out of cohabitation between men and women. The true and actual relation between the sexes kept under cover, hidden behind the darkness of mystery, under the pretense of modesty, and covered up by the baneful allurements of sweet innocence and blissful ignorance, while flaunting before the public false, unreal and hypocritical conditions, have brought about the cesspool of sexual vices and diseases whose very stench rises to heaven in spite of the futile covering some would apply (that is, ignore it), but which needs to have the cover taken off and be so 122 KQUITANIA, OK THE LAND OF EQUITY stirred up as to allow the antiseptic light of knowledge, reason, common sense and true religion to shine in until all the causative microbes are destroyed and society is purified to its fountain head. I believe it is generally conceded that the famous Moravian Comenius was the founder of modern education, and it is said of him; 'He relates virtue and Godliness to knovvled-^e. By knowledge Comenius meant knowledge of nature and of man's relation to nature. He said: "In education, while our main business is to promote the growth of moral pur- pose and of a strong sense of duty, we have to support these by the discipline of intelligence, and by training to power and work, rather than by information." And the Swiss educator, Pestalozzi, who followed in the wake of Comenius, and was only second to him, perhaps, in the principles enunciated relative to proper methods of education, said: "The amelioration of outward circumstances will be the effect and can never be the means of mental and moral improvement." And our own Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "We shall one day learn to supersede politics by education. What we call our root and branch reforms of slavery, war, gambling, intemperance is only medi- cating the symptoms. We must begin higher up, namely, in education. Society can never prosper, but must always be bankrupt until every man does that which he was created to do." Relative to the importance of educating and strengthening moral character, as well as teaching the importance of the will power. Emerson wisely says: "So nigh is grandeur to our dust. So near is God to man. When duty whispers low, thou must. The youth replies, I can." No less distinguished an educator than ex-President Eliot says, among other things: "Children should be made thoroughly acquainted with the principle before any sex emotion begins to stir in them. Does any one protest that this educational process will abolish innocence in young manhood and womanhood and make matter of common talk the tenderest and most intimate concerns in human life, let him consider that virtue, not innocence, is manifestly God's object and end for humanity and that the only alternative for education in sex hygiene is the prolongation of the present awful wrongs and woes in the very vitals of civilization. " 1 . Teach the boys and the girls the truth about the sexual sysetem, its proper uses and the evil effects, moral and physical, of its abuse. This can be done in the public schools at public expense best. 2. Teach the children, even in the home, the truth about these things; let the child know, as soon as it begins to inquire where the newborn baby came from. Let the child get the truthful information from its parents, rather than a falsehood, which it must correct clandestinely, from its playmates. Be frank, open, sincere and clean in thought and mind with your child and let no false pride nor prudish sentiment lead you and your child into gross error. There is nothing impure nor unclean about a normal sexual system and its proper use and legitimate product. "To him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean." 3. Whatever tends to produce impure thoughts and thus lead to unclean desires should be eliminated from the reading and sight of the youth. If pictures, stories, theaters, dances or the drink habit, tobacco habit and so forth are essentially degrading and lead to evil thoughts they may conscientiously be tabooed as well as whatever else, now or later in one's life, is found to be productive of this fruitage. Impart the real knowledge of actual facts to the child according to his age and ability to comprehend them, then he shall "know the truth and the truth shall make him free." 4. Improve the tenement houses and the environment of the boys and girls in these poor districts, for these very conditions of over-crowding, unsanitary homes, break down or prevent the raising of these natural barriers which should obtain between the sexes while in the early stages of development. 5. Improve the economic conditions so that young men may by reasonable diligence. PREVENTION OF VENEREAL DISEASES 12:i in the ordinary employments of life, get a sufficient wage that they can decently support themselves and when old enough (preferably about 25 years of age) support a wife, and the children which may come to them. On this point the Surgeon General's report is quite conclusive, for while among all the troops of the Philippines the first. of all causes for hospital admissions was venereal diseases, yet he says: "Among the Filipino troops it occupied the sixth place only, this marked difference doubtless being the result of the fact that a majority of the native soldiers are married." 6. Improve the economic conditions so that fewer girls and women shall be driven or allowed to earn thir living in competition with men. It is a social wrong and an economic mistake to have them compete with men in any of the ordinary vocations of life. 7. Improve the economic conditions so that in whatever vocations girls and women are required to work they may be paid living wages, and thus be rightfully independent of any pretended lover's favors or any young man's pecuniary aid. In conclusion let me say, proper education in the laws of health, science and the sacred Scriptures, with obedience to the same, is the only possible perfect preventive measure. Knowledge is power, therefore let the parents and the children know the truth about themselves and come into harmony with and hence obedience to nature's laws, and they will remain well. I grant you this cannot be done in a day, but it is always better in the end to teach the truth for the ultimate result will be the best and attained soonest; for we may safely say with Descartes: "It is not so essential to have a fine understanding as to apply it rightly. Those who walk slowly will make greater progress if they follow the right road than those who run swiftly on a wrong one." And Bacon put the same truth more tersely when he said: "A cripple on the right path will beat a racer on the wrong one." Let us begin right and travel along the right road and build with the right material and we shall have a stronger, better, higher type of man, even though it comes a little later. In discussing this question I have endeavored to show: 1st. What these diseases are, what their specific and remote causes. 2nd. How widespread, how serious and how destructive to the peace and hap- piness of the individual and the state. 3rd. The pressing and growing need for some effective preventive measures. 4th. The vain and futile efforts hitherto put forth and the reason for their failure. 5th. The object and functions of the sexual system, together with the laws which should naturally govern it. 6th. The influence of heredity and the disastrous results upon the offspring of vicious habits in one or both parents. 7th. The best method of developing a humanity which by intelligent self- control and self-mastery v/ill live in obedience to those laws and therefore be free from those blighting diseases. One has said: "How happy is he born and taught. That serveth not another's will. Whose armor is his honest thought And sim.ple truth his utmost skill. Whose passions not his masters are. Whose soul is still prepared for death. Not tied unto the world with care. Of public fame or private breath." And another has told us what true greatness is as follows: "Were I so tall to reach the pole. Or grasp the ocean with my span. I must be measured by my soul; The mind's the standard of the man." IJ4 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY THIRD: HOW TO PREVENT THE DISEASES PECULIAR TO WOMEN. Just as in the social and economic world today the great question is^ "How can we prevent crime and poverty?" rather than how can we remedy the evils where they are found, so in the medical world we are studying and thinking more along the lines of preventing disease than we are of curing it. There has never been a time when the profession was so unitedly working to find ways and means of keeping the community and the individual well and free from disease as today. We do well to honor the memory of Pasteur and his followers who have taught us to cure disease by the use of sera, but we do still better to honor the names of men like Jenner, who taught us how to prevent small-pox by means of vaccination. And it is the glory of our profession that not only are we striving more and more to prevent disease, but that we are actually doing so in a marked and increasing degree from year to year. When we come to gynecology, that branch of medical science which treats of the malformations, injuries, and diseases peculiar to the female sex of the human race, we are confronted with a large problem not only because more than half the race are females, and because of the greater relative importance of this sex in the development and progress of the race; but because of the many diseases to which they are subject and the large possibilities in their prevention. And in so doing we may well take the advice of our Oliver Windell Holmes, when he said: "Begin the training of children a hundred years before they are born," or as the Irishman might put it, "Let children choose a better ancestry." While the criminologists and sociologists aire teaching that criminals and degenerates should not be allowed to propagate their kind, but should be deprived of the power of procreation by vasectomy or tubal resection, we as physicians can very well join them in teaching that the epileptic, the inebriate, the drug-user, the insane, the tubercular, and the cancerous should not bear children, for whilst these diseased conditions are not directly transmissible from parent to child, nevertheless, they do give to the child a physical organism peculiarly susceptible to disease and below par. They are at least less able to resist disease, and because of these physical weaknesses are prone to various ailments to which a normal person is not so subject. In other words, such parents do not give their offspring a fair chance, a normal physical organism, and therefore a "Square deal." In short, they start them out in life with a handicap which no rational parent would willingly do. The primary right of every child is to be well born and have a good parentage. If we are ever to accomplish much m the prevention of female diseases, we must begin in a fundamental way by teaching girls and women early the truth about themselves, their physical make-up, their peculiar anatomical and physiological organization, their special function in human society, together with the evils and abuses which necessarily follow the violation of the laws of their being. So that as fast as we learn the scientific truth about these matters we should teach it to the laity and to the women and girls at the earliest opportunity and at the most practical time of life. And whilst this is by no means the strongest and most forcible argument against woman's suffrage, yet it is by no means an impotent one, and is one which should not be forgotten, namely: that women cannot perform the functions belonging to men in the affairs of state and society and at the same time perform their own peculiar function of motherhood, wife, and home-maker in a creditable and worthy manner. As women, they must do one or the other, they cannot in the nature of things do both; and nature herself seems to have set bounds over which they may not pass. I am now speaking wholly in reference to their physical well-being and the health of their bodies. How much of the menstrual troubles of girls and young women come from evident sources which are easily corrected? Ignorance of puberty, lack of rest, care and protection during the menstrual periods, over-study, lack of outdoor life and reasonable exercise during the period of development, all of which might be overcome, corrected or prevented, by proper teaching in the home and in the public schools. It is not too much to say, also, that many of the nervous disorders of women have their origin in this faulty education and lack of perfectly evident knowledge which might be, and rightly ought to be given these girls, and to the lack of a physical development of which they are perfectly capable and to which they are entitled. PREVEXTION OF DISEASE 125 1 am not now saying whether or not the girls should be given the so-called higher education, or whether they should be taught music, and dancing and painting; or whether they should be allowed to enter the business world and compete with men in the various callings in life; but I am insisting that they should not be permitted as a class or as individuals to indulge in any of these things to their physical injury and the detriment of their health. Parents have no right to injure the bodies of their girls by sending them io school too early and crowding them too fast in their studies, nor by making them work too long and hard either at home or outside the home, even for material gain. These young girls should not be required to assume the support, partial or entire, of the family, as they are loo often required to do. The physical welfare of the future generations is too important, to say nothing of their own, and their immediate descendants' interests, to permit such abuse by an intelligent and enlightened medical profession which should ■guide the health policy of the state. Again the pregnant and nursing woman too often in the home, the shop, the factory, store, or on the farm, is allowed or required to work beyond her strength; and the child is doomed to suffer in its physical make-up, as well as the mother, from this undue physical strain at such a time. So that it is no idle dream nor unscientific suggestion which is made by those who claim the state should see that every pregnant woman and every nursing mother should have adequate rest during the late months of pregnancy and the early months of her nursing period. It has been wisely proposed that whenever necessary such women should even be paid a reasonable monthly salary during this important period, namely, the last three months of pregnancy and first four months after delivery. The importance to the mother of nursing her child is so great that even if it were not so needful to the child as it really is, we should demand her doing so on her own behalf. It is well known that the child at the breast helps to produce uterine contraction, which is a strong and beneficial factor in causing a normal uterine involution and prevents a subinvoluted uterus with all its train of attendant evils. It would appear from the most recent statistics that uterine cancer is on the increase and that we not only have thus far failed to get at the cause of this terrible malady and have been utterly unable to cure it when once well established, but we have not done quite as much as we ought to prevent its occurence, for the damage done to the cervix by childbirth has not caused us to insist upon proper repair as uniformly as we ought. Theilhaber and Edelberg have shown in 307 cases of cancer of the uterus that only 2.9 per cent of cancer of the cervix occuried in nulliparae, while eight per cent occurreci in women who had borne one child, and it appeared in I 3 per cent of those who had borne several children, from which they conclude that the trauma of bearing several children had a predisposing influence. They insist very properly upon the correct repair of these lacerations as a means of preventing cancer of the cervix. Their findings and this important recommendation agree fairly well, I believe, with the latest and best teaching of the leaders in our profession, but what we must now do is to get all of the doctors and even the laity to see and recognize their importance. The tears of childbirth should be properly and promptly repaired to prevent uterine subinvolutions and displacements, cystocele and rectocele. The infections of childbirth and abortions should be prevented as far as possible and cured as quickly and thoroughly as possible to prevent other ills which so often follow in their train. The bad effects of abortion whether inevitable or criminal, and especially the latter which is now so fearfully common, should be urged upon the profession and scientifically taught to women as the only rational and effective way to avoid the sepsis, the tubal and ovarian diseases, as well as the nervous disorders which too often result. Were it not for the venereal diseases, and especially gonorrhoea, producing vaginal, uterine, tubal and ovarian inflammations, abortions which produce inflammations of these same parts, and improper care of the pregnant and parturient women, we gynecologists would have very little to do, our field would be wonderfully circumscribed; and yet all of these are in the main preventable troubles by well known and well recognized means. Take first, venereal diseases: Teach girls the proper use, as well as the evils, the dangers of the abuse of the sexual system, or the physical dangers of improper sexual relations, and of promiscuous sexual intercourse and they have in their own control these diseases. l_>ti EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY Second, teach girls and women the sacredness of a pregnancy and the new hfe begun, with all the dangers of infection, inflammation, tubal and ovarian, displacements, neuras- thenia and invalidism which follow violation of nature's laws of procreation, and they have it is their own power to prevent most of these ailments. Third, let physicians be on the alert to advise proper care of the pregnant woman, render good attention to the woman before, at, and after delivery, so that she may get up and be as normal and healthy a woman afterwards as before her confinement. In other words, let the physician do his full duty by these women as they go through what should be a normal physiological process and they should still be normal after it is over. In these cases we should co-operate with nature, ascertain what her laws are, and help the patient to observe them. We may do this quite largely by instruction, giving the patient knowledge, or needed information. The farmer, breeder, or raiser of fine stock, who would have good, vigorous colts, cal- ves, or lambs, gives heed to having his mares, cows, and ewes not only vigorous, strong, healthy, and robust, but he looks well to their care during the time they are with young, and while they nurse their young. He does not expect them to endure the same hardships in these trying times that they undergo in other conditions. They have special care, shelter, food, and rest while passing through this trying ordeal, both in the physical interest of the mother and her young. And, strange as it may appear, the finer the breed, the higher and better the animal, the greater the care. We do not like to compare woman with any of the lower animals; but whilst she is more, yes, vastly more than any animal, still in her physical make-up, she is an animal of high order and of intensely sensitive and complex organization. Now, if the lower, grosser and much coarser animals need and physically profit by all the foregoing care and atten- tion, how much more important that woman should have thoughtful, careful, rational, and scientific attention for this period of her life. The suggestion has been often made and is now being taken seriously in some quarters that marriages should not be allowed except upon proper health certificate of both parties to the ceremony. While I am not quite ready to endorse this position in full, yet I am sure it would be well for the children yet unborn if certain diseased fathers and mothers were not permitted to have children. And further, I know well that many women might now be in health who are permanent invalids, if their husbands had not communicated venereal diseases to them. In these cases proper health certificate would have saved suffering and sore disappointment. I am glad to quote from an article in the Outlook, by Max G. Schlapp, because the points he makes are so well taken and should demand our earnest attention. He says, "We are developing a womanhood that is becoming free of the instinctive desire for motherhood, and frequently without the capacity for it. The racial strength of reproduction is declining. The birth-rate drops, and of the children born the proportion of those infirm mcreases, so at last we are confronted with the proof that the high speed effort of our daily lives has brought suffering not only upon ourselves, but also upon our children. It is shocking to contemplate how far the visitation has extended. The rate is told in figures. There are more criminals and imbeciles to each 1 ,000 of population than ever before. There are fewer births to each 1 ,000 population. A special committee of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children appointed to investigate the subject of abnormal and feeble-minded children reported the following facts only a few weeks ago: "There are in the City of New York at the present time approxmiately 7,000 feeble-minded children, or about one per cent of the school population. This is in addition to probably an equal number of idiots and imbeciles who do not attend school. It does not include, moreover, mild or border-line cases, or morally defective children. If these latter types were added, the number of feeble-minded children in the city's public schools would be probably increased to at least ten thousand. "Few of the children brought before the Children's Court are really vicious. Fully one-half of them are the victims of environment. The remainder, or the great majority of them, are produced from these ten thousand mental or moral defectives who now roam at large in the community without any proper parental supervision or medical care. "I have before me statistical information that I have had condensed from the official records of various countries in Europe. I did not attempt to get proofs from SOURCES OF PHYSICAL DEGENERACY 127 the records of the United States because they are so fragmentary and detached that nothing of value can be learned from them. "It is a safe and sane conclusion, however, that whatever conditions affecting human life obtain generally in a group of modern countries will not be materially different in any other country of the same character, except that they may be more or less accentuated. "France has been called degenerate because of the known decline in her birth- rate, which seemed to be a matter of general information, but France is only worse off by so many degrees than her neighbors, except that her death rate is greater than her birth-rate. And her birth-rate is the lowest of any nation. "One has only to take a pencil in hand to determine how many decades would elapse before every vestige of a people would be destroyed where more people die every day than there are children born. Conditions in other countries are not materially different from those in France, except that other countries have thus far maintained a lower death rate than birth rate. This is their margin of safety. The birth-rate has been declining in every civilized country in the last thirty or forty years, until it is everywhere now at its lowest point. France has been going down for a century, until in 1907, her birth rate was 19 to the thousand of population and her death rate 20, a condition never before known in any modern country. "England has made a drop in her number of births at the rate of about three per cent in each ten years for more than a generation. There is only one country of which statistics are kept that shows a raise in the birth rate, and that is Japan. Spain has lost only one point in 25 years. In the same time England has lost 6. "In Switzerland, an unusually vigorous country, the birth-rate dropped from 30 to 27 between 1875 and 1906. The death rate was reduced from 23 to 17 in the same period. These figures are for each thousand of population. In the same years Austria's birth-rate fell from 39 to 34, and the death rate from 31 to 25 ; Belgium's birth-rate from 32 to 25, and her death-rate from 24 to 16; Germany's birth-rate from 39 to 33, and her death-rate from 27 to 18. "The savmg grace of a dimmishing death rate is accounted for by the increased efficiency of medical direction, quarantines and sanitation — the triumph of science over disease! "Just as we find the birth-rate falling among the progressive nations we find insanity and crime increasing. For insanity I select for example the records of England. In 1859, with a population of 19,686,701, there were 36,762 insane persons. In 1910, with a population of 36,169,170, there were 130,553 insane persons. For crime I take Prussia as the seat of industry of the German empire, whose records are most reliable. In 1882 the percentage of convicted criminals to each 100,000 of population was 996; in 1906 it was 1,229. The increase in all forms of crime was marked here in this period, and it is in all countries. The number of juvenile criminals has increased in greater proportions. The ratios are readily ascertainable. I give merely the suggestions here. "When overwrought women have disturbed within themselves the process of nature, they impart a disturbance to their offspring, and as in the case of fish, instead of the development of a normal human being, there is one disturbed in body or mind, or in both. It is fundamental because of the basic difference between the male and female cell. The female cell is quiescent. Its normal development depends upon this state. "Latter-day women, driven by the strife of the elements within them to enormous exertions, are asking in what way women are inferior to men. and are attempting to demonstrate their equal physical endurance. It is not a question of equality at all. It is one of physical difference in the sexes, which forbids women from performing either factory lobor or disquieting tasks. "Cells have three life processes: functional, formative, nutritive. When we think, run, walk or move, we are excercising the functional process. The formative is the process which I have already described, of division and multiplication of cells. This process ceases after we get our growth. The nutritive takes the material from the cells and stores it up as potential energy. "Nature has ordained that women keep in store this potential energy for the 128 EQUITAXIA, OH TIIK LAND OF EQUITY hour she may be called upon to impart it to her offspring and nature has provided her own way for using up monthly the surplus energy that the woman accumulates and does not need. The moment she needs it, being with child, nature stops the monthly waste, and while that child needs nourishment and stimulation from her before and after birth, the woman's function that wastes energy ceases. It is the law, a law that no amount of modern women argument can set aside, that this monthly waste of energy shall take place in the female if she does not need it for her young, and that it shall not be wasted in any other form than that provided. Nature provides the store and provides for depleting it, that its process may go on unbroken. When a woman persists in being man-like in her physical and mental activities, exerting her strength to the limit of endurance, she will use up energy faster than the cells can store it, and in extreme cases the natural function will cease. There will be no surplus of energy to carry off, and no necessity for nature to establish her customary facilities for caring for it. Women so afflicted lose the habits, the inclinations and the powers of their sex. "A woman with capacity still remaining but physically unbalanced by constant over-exertion, or through alcohol or drugs, which have the same unbalancing effect, cannot be expected to impart to her child, the normal stimulant, or normal amount of hormon that the child must have for its normal development. Why it is that the brain cells of the child are likely to be the most affected we do not know, but presumably the brain cells are the most delicate, the most vulnerable, of any of the groups, and their processes the most refined. "With unrelenting industrial activity, ever expanding and more exacting, drawing by precept and example upon the vitalities of men and women, the shocking increase in the number of insane and feeble-minded persons from which the criminal classes are largely recruited, is not difficult to understand." The British Medical Journal, says: "The employment of married women greatly diminishes the poverty of the family, but nothing can be worse for the welfare of the woman as mother, or for the welfare of her child." The International Congress of Hygienics adopted this formula: "Every working woman is entitled to rest during the last three months of her pregnancy." It is said "In Germany women are not allowed to work for four weeks after confinement, nor during the following two weeks, except by medical certificate. The obligatory insurance against disease which covers women at confinement assures them an indemnity at this time equivalent to a large part of their wages. Married and unmarried mothers benefit alike. The Austrian law is founded upon the same model. This measure has led to a very great decrease in infantile mortality, and, therefore, a great increase in health among those who survive. It is, however, regarded as very inadequate, and there is a movement in Germany for extending the time, for applying the system to a larger number of women, and for making it still more definitely compulsory. In Switzerland it has been illegal since 1877 for any woman to be received into a factory after confinement, unless she has rested in all for eight weeks, six weeks of this period at least being after confinement. Swiss working women have been protected by law from exercising hard work during pregnancy, and from various other influences likely to be injurious. But this law is evaded in practice, because it provides no compen- satory indemnity for the woman. An attempt to amend the law by providing for such indemnity, was rejected by the people. In Belgium and Holland there are laws against women working immediately after confinement, but no indemnity is provided, so that the employers and employed combine to evade the law. lo France there is no such law, although its necessity has often been emphatically asserted. In England it is illegial to employ a woman "knowingly" in a workshop within four weeks of the birth of her child, but no provision is made by the law for the compensation of the woman who is thus required to sacrifice herself to the interests of the state. Havelock Ellis says: "It is France that is taking the lead in the initiation of the scientific and practical movements for the care of the young child before and after birth, and it is in France that we may find the germs of nearly all the methods now becoming adopted for arresting infantile mortality. The village system of Villiers-le-Duc, near Dijon, PROPER CARE OF WOMEN 129 in the Cote d'Or, has proven a gem of this fruitful kind. Here every pregnant woman not able to secure the right conditions for her own life and that of the child she is bearing is able to claim the assistance of the village authorities; she is entitled, without payment, to the attendance of a doctor and midwife and to one franc a day during her confinement. The measures adopted in this village have practically abolished both maternal and infantile mortality." Sir W. S. Playfair once said: "I know of no large girl's school in which the absolute distinction which exists between boys and girls as regards the dominant menstrual function is systematically cared for and attended to. Indeed, the feeling of all school mistresses is distinctly antagonistic to such an admission. The contention is that there is no real difference between an adolescent male and female, that what is good for one is good for the other, and that such as there is, is due to the evil customs of the past, which have denied to women the ambitions and advantages open to men, and that this will disappear when a happier era is inaugurated. If this be so, how comes it that while every practicing physician of experience has seen many cases of anemia and chlorosis in girls, accompanied by amenorrhoea or menorrhagia, headaches, palpitations, emaciation, and all the familiar accompainments of breakdown, an analogous condition in a school boy is so rare that it may well be doubted if ever seen at all." And Tilt some years before said: "That from a statistical inquiry regarding the onset of menstruation in nearly one thousand women he found that 25 per cent were wholly unprepared for its appearance; that thirteen out of the twenty-five were much frightened, screamed, or went into hysterical fits; that six out of the thirteen thought themselves wounded, and washed with cold water. Of those frightened — the general health was seriously impaired." While our own Engelman said: "To innumerable women has fright, nervous and emotional excitement, exposure to cold, brought injury at puberty. What more natural than that the anxious girl, surprised by the sudden and unexpected loss of the precious life-fluid, should seek to check the bleeding wound, as she supposes? For this purpose the use of cold washes and applications is common, some even seek to stop the flow by a cold bath, as was done by a now careful mother, who long lay at the point of death from the result of such indiscretion, and but slowly, by years of care, regained her health. The terrible warning had not been lost, and mindful of her own experience she has taught her children a lesson which but few are fortunate enough to learn — the individual care during periods of functional activity which is needful for the preservation of woman's health." And Ellis very properly says: "The data now being accumulated show not only the extreme prevalence of painful, disordered and absent menstruation in adolescent girls and young women, but also the great and sometimes permanent evils inflicted upon even healthy girls when at the beginning of sexual life they are subjected to severe strain of any kind. Medical authorities, whichever sex they belong to, may now be said to be almost or quite unanimous on this point. "The opinions of our teachers are now tending to agree with medical opinion in recognizing the importance of care and rest during the years of adolescence, and the teachers are even prepared to admit that a year's rest from hard work during the period that a girl's sexual life is becoming established, while it may insure her health and vigor, is not even a disadvantage from the educational point of view." "It has been found in an American Woman's College in which about half the scholars wore corsets and half not, that nearly all the honors and prizes went to the non-corset wearers. McBride, in bringing forward this fact, pertinently remarks: 'If the wearing of a single style of dress will make this difference in the lives of young women, and that, too, in their most vigorous and resistive period, how much difference will a score of un- healthy habits make, if persisted in for a life time?' " Justice Brewer, in delivering the decision of the United States Supreme Court upon the right of a state to put other limitations upon working women than upon men, said: "The two sexes differ in the structure of the body, in the functions to be performed by each, in the amount of physical strength, in the capacity for long-continued labor, par- ticularly when done standing, the influence of vigorous health upon the future well-being of the race, the self-reliance which enables one to assert full rights, and in the capacity to maintain the struggle for subsistence. This difference justifies a difference in legisla- 130 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF ?:QUITY lion and upholds that which is designed to compensate for some of the burdens which rest upon her." A. E. Giles, in his paper, "Some points of Preventive Treatment in the Diseases of Women." says: "That dysmenorrhoea might be to a large extent prevented by attention to general health and education. Short hours of work, especially of standing; plenty of outdoor exercise, tennis, boating, cycling, gymnastics and walking for those who can- not afford these; regularity of meals and food of the proper quality — not the incessant tea and bread and butter, with variation of pastry; the avoidance of over-exertion and prolonged fatigue; these are some of the principal things which require attention. Let girls pursue their study, but more leisurely; they will arrive at the same goal, but a little later." Another point which I think Ellis rightly emphasizes is this, when he says: "A proper recognition of the special nature of woman, of her peculiar needs and her dignity, has a significance beyond its importance in education and hygiene. The traditions and training to which she is subjected in this matter have a subtle and far-reaching signifi- cance, according as they are good or evil. If she is taught implicitly or explicitly con- tempt for the characteristics of her own sex, she naturally develops masculine ideals which may permanently discolor her vision of life and distort her practical activities; it has been found that as many as fifty per cent of American school girls have masculine ideals, while fifteen per cent American, and no fewer than thirty-four per cent English school girls wished to be men, though scarcely any boys wished to be women." And when he further shows how in Europe the question of educating the young along the lines of Sexual Hygiene in the following: "A beginning in this direction has been made in Germany by the delivery to teachers of courses of lectures on sexual hygiene in education. In Prussia the first attempt was made in Breslau, when the central school authorities re- quested Dr. Martin Chotzen to deliver such a course to one hundred and fifty teachers, who took the greatest interest in the lectures, which covered the anatomy of the sexual organs, the development of the sexual instinct, its chief perversions, venereal diseases and the importance of the cultivation of self-control. "There is no evidence that in England the Minister of Education has yet any steps to insure the delivery of lectures on sexual hygiene to the pupils who are about to leave school. In Prussia, however, the Ministry of Education has taken an active interest in this matter, and such lectures are beginning to be commonly delivered, though attendance at them is not usually obligatory. Some years ago (in 1^00), when it was proposed to deliver a series of lectures on sexual hygierie to the advanced pupils in Berlin schools, under the auspices of a society for the improvement of morals, the municipal authorities withdrew their permission to use the class rooms, on the ground that 'such lectures would be extremely dangerous to the moral sense of an audience of the young.' The same objection has been made by the municipal officials in France. In Germany, at all events, however, opinion is rapidly growing more enlightened. In England little or no progress has yet been made, but in America steps are being taken in this direction, as by the Chicago Society for Social Hygiene. It must, indeed, be said that those who oppose the sexual enlightenment of youth in large cities are directly allying themselves, whether or not they know it, with the influences that make for vice and immorality. "Such lectures are also given to girls on leaving school, not only girls of the well- to-do, but also those of the poorer class, who need them fully as much, and in some respects more. Thus Dr. A. Heidenhain has published a lecture, accompanied by ana- tomical tables, which he has delivered to girls about to leave school, and which is in- tended to be put in their hands at this time. Salvat, in a Lyon thesis, insists that the hygiene of pregnancy and the care of infants should form part of the subject of such lectures. These subjects might well be left, however, to a somewhat later period." Recently a writer said: "The tendency to smaller American families has been termed 'race suicide.' And an increase in the birth rate has been urged to guard against possible race extinction. "Is this the only remedy? If there is danger of race suicide, it lies not so much in the decreasing birth rate as it does in our needlessly high death rate. "If our rapidly advancing civilization has reduced the native birth rate, it has also provided us with life-saving knowledge wherewith to offset it. "Four out of every ten deaths are due to preventable disease and accident. The HEALTH AND LONGEVITY 131 saving of these lives would reduce the present dath rate from 15 to 9 per I 000 popula tion, and thereby increase the surplus of births by just the number saved, and the off- sprmg oi the lives thus saved would increase it still more. "Does such a reduction in the death-rate seem impossible? It should not, for it is already as low as ten in at least two states in the Union, and is less than ten in Australia and INew Zealand. And another said: "In Geneva, Switzerland, where the country is supposed to be very healthy the length of life in the sixteenth century was only 21.2; in the seventeenth century, 25.7; m the eighteenth century, 33.6; from 1801 to 1883. 39.7, and it is steadily improving. "Scientific hygiene and increased knowledge of the laws relating to health have had a very striking effect upon the prolongation of human life throughout the world. "At present, in Massachusetts, life is lengthening at the rate of fourteen years per ceritury; in Europe, about seventeen years; in Prussia, the land of medical discovery and its application, twenty-seven years; in India, where medical progress is practically un- known, the life span is short twenty-three, and remains stationary. "It is demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt by the report of the Committee of One Hundred that the average human life in the United States may be, within a generation, prolonged over fourteen years." "When we think of the 650,000 annual deaths in the United States said to be pre- ventable, we can readily see that much remains for the physicians to do along the most humane side of his calling." Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in commenting upon a new woman's club recently formed which has for its object, among other things— 1, anti-insanity, prevention; 2, anti-contagious diseases; 3 marriage of the healthy to be encouraged; 4, educating the young to avoid pitfalls and prevent diseases; 5, pure food, pure drugs, board of health laws to uphold and enforce — says : "The work undertaken by these good women is collossal, but it is work emi- nently fitted for women to do. "Too many centuries have gone by in which women believed their work con- sisted in marrying 'and no questions asked' regarding the moral nature and physical fitness of the men they married to become husbands and fathers and in bearing children and leaving the education of these children entirely to the schools. "Not one mother in one thousand ever considered it her duty to talk to her boys and girls regarding the emotional phase of life, or to prepare them for an understand- ing of the world before they were thrown into the maelstrom. "Ignorance was misnamed innocence, and sorrow, sin, invalidism and life-long tragedies have resulted from thes mistaken methods of the old-fashioned mother. "There is just as great a difference between the old-fashioned type of mother and the mother who has now come upon the scene, with her mother's clubs, as there is between the old-fashioned broom and the vacuum cleaner. "The old-fashinoned mother gloried in a 'big family.' "If one was halt, another blind, another deaf, another afflicted with spinal trouble, she called it the 'will of God.' "The modern m.other knows that just as the field, however fertile, must have its seasons of rest in order to produce good grain, and the orchard trees cannot bear good fruit every consecutive year, so no woman can bear a child every year or every alternate year during her whole maternal period of life and give the world desirable citizens. "Therefore, quality, not quantity, is now the mother's pride in presenting children to the world. "The old-fashioned mother believed all disease the 'will of God.' "The modern mother knows it to be the result of breaking God's laws. And she busies herself in studying ways and means to educate men and women to under- stand the laws of health and to live accordingly." When the laity get to discussing these practical questions and forming societies along these lines, it is a most encouraging sign that our efforts as physicians, and the agitation against disease, and instruction given to the public by the medical profession 132 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY is bearing fruit, and if we presist in a careful, scientific, but progressive leadership, hu- manity will owe it higher honors, and will bestow upon it greater praise than ever yet has crowned its lobors. In looking over the Government census a short time ago, I found there were in the United States, on a given date, adult prisoners 81,772 of which 77,269 were males, while only 4,503 were females. Of juvenile delinquents there were 23,034, of which 17,177 were males and only 4,857 females. Of paupers in almshouses there were 81,764, almost as many paupers as criminals, and of these 52,444 were males and only 29,320 were females. Of insane in asylums there were 150,151, of which 78,523 were males and 71,628 were females. Of feeble-minded in public institutions there were 14,347 of which 7,624 were males and 6,723 were females. In other words, the feeble- minded and the insane were almost equally divided between the sexes, the males, however, predominating, while of delinquents, paupers and criminals the males were 147,890 as against 38,680, or four times as many males as females, while in the criminal class the males were seventeen times as numerous as the females. Therefore, I feel an additional incentive in asking that women be taught the things they ought to know about themselves, their duties, and relations in life, and how in a truly scientific and natural way they may be saved from many of the diseases which now afflict, distress, multilate and kill them. Let me summarize by saying that preventive gynecology means that we must — First — Have girls better born, have them born with better bodies, require their parents to bring them into the world with better physicial organisms. Second — Have girls taught in their homes, and in the public schools, the mechanism of their bodies, and their special functions as the females of the race. Third — Teach girls in the home and in the public schools the proper use and the awful danger of the abuse of the sexual system. Fourth — Teach girls in the home, and in the public schools, the proper care of the body during the growing or formative period, and during menstruation. Fifth — Teach young women the privileges and duties of marriage, the sacredness of life from the moment of conception, the honor and dignity of wife, motherhood, and home-maker. Sixth — The dangers to life and health from abortions, either criminal or acci- dental, because in violation of the fundamental laws of nature for the propagation of the race. Seventh — Teach young women the proper care of the pregnant woman, and the nursing mother, and afford them the opportunity to observe the necessary sanitary and hygienic rules. Eighth — Give the woman before, during, and after confinement proper medical care, so that she may naturally and easily return to her normal condition following this physiological process. Ninth — Require health certificates from competent authority that both parties are absolutely free from venereal disease before marriage is allowed. When these things are understood, taught and universally observed, most of the gynecological diseases will disappear and be heard of no more. FOURTH:— THE DUTY OF THE STATE TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH OF ITS SUB- JECTS BY STERILIZING ITS INSANE, EPILEPTICS, DEGENERATES, INEBRI- ATES AND OTHER HABITUAL DRUG USERS, AS WELL AS TO STERILIZE ITS CONFIRMED CRIMINALS FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REASONS. Every child has a right to be well born. No parent has a right to transmit a loath- some and death-dealing disease to his offspring. The state in all civilized society does not allow the parent to treat his children with extreme cruelty; why then let him by heredity impart physical imperfections from which there is no escape? The state does not allow the parent to kill his child by any direct means; why allow it to be done by indirect or circuitous methods? Sterilization deprives the parent of no pleasure, right, or privilege, except the single one of bearing offspring, but if he is not capable of rearing children which have a rea- DANGERS OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO 133 sonable chance of health, usefulness and happiness, then he should not want nor be allowed this privilege. Sterilization simply means depriving the individual of the power of procreation, which in the male is done by vasectomy and in the female by resection of the Fallopian tube. It does not unsex the person in any manner, it does not even deprive the person of any organ, tissue or part, and it preserves to the person all the powers and peculiar characteristics belonging to the individual sex. In the cases which need sterilization I would not favor castration or oophorectomy. These operations should be reserved for punishment to criminals of a certain type, and for diseased conditions in which no milder means are effective. For example, the rapist, the confirmed masturba- tionist and pervert. The insane asylums, the institutions for the feeble-minded, are noble and splendid exhibitions of the humanitarian spirit of mankind; but they are more, they are reservoirs of information and contain the lasting and incontrovertible evidence of man's ignorance, his lust, his lack of self control, and the result of this evil appetite and selfishness, together with his inordinate avarice. It is quite true that we do not know today, after all these years and careful study and wide investigation, just what the pathology of insanity is, nor just exactly why people become unbalanced and the mind loses control of the man. At times it seems to be a very simple cause which has wrought the injury and has been the final factor in making the mind unstable; but back of all that, we do know that there has been a train of causes working quietly and often very imperceptibly upon a mind which has been defec- tive in cell life, or by heredity was a favorable soil for these minor causes to develop in, to an effective degree. It has been shown over and over again by the most painstaking research in all civilized lands that the insane do give an hereditary taint of weakness and mental insta- bility to their offspring which may easily be thrown off balance and render the victim a subject for restraint. But more, it is found that the insane in a very large per cent, are the offspring and the direct result of numerous defects in anrestois, such as alcoholism, epilepsy, or other nervous disorder. The morphine, cocaine fiend, or other slave to drugs, necessarily trans- mits to his child a weak and defective nervous system, which may easily take on insanity or other disorder, and even the tobacco user should be warned of the danger which he incurs of giving his child a severe handicap in the race of life, because if he goes beyond the very m.oderate use of a narcotic, it will leave its mark of degeneration upon his child, and there is no permanent recovery from such impress. This warning is just now all the more imperative for the rate of increase in the use of tobacco per capita in the United States IS passing all bounds, and the damage is already being done which the coming generation will reap. Professor Bier, one of the leading surgeons of Europe, says that tobacco, and especially where used in cigarettes, is the undoubted cause of many cases of arterio- sclerosis and of Raynaud's disease. Of course no one is wise enough to know, and few, if any, would be rash enough to say, just what proportion of the insane of all degrees in any country is due to the excessive use of drugs, including both alcohol and tobacco, for we have not yet learned for certain the pathology of insanity, nor how it is produced. It is known that a large per cent have had a taint of alcoholic or other drug excesses in themselves or their ancestors. Every physician of any wide experience has had numerous cases of nervous break- down, stomach, heart, or arterial difficulty from the over-use or abuse of some of these drugs. It is also a well known fact that all modern and reliable insurance companies now require every applicant for insurance to give a very careful statement of just what kind of liquor he uses and the daily amount as well as the weekly amount and manner of tobacco using. They also require a report upon the use of any other drug. Any material variation from a truthful statement upon these points will vitiate the policy and render it null and void. They will not take any risk upon the life of man or woman who is known to be a habitual user of opiates of any kind. And they refuse all applications of alcoholics who are found to be excessive users of these intoxicants; while those who use tobacco in great excess are likewise turned down. Every examiner of any large number of men is struck with the frequency of evil effects of both alcohol and tobacco, so that it is no uncommon thing for him to reject the applicant altogether, or caution him about the 134 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY use of these harmful agencies, and require a curtailment of them and re-examination at a later period. No man would say that a very moderate use of alcoholics and tobacco is necessarily harmful to the body, or sinful. Because it is not. On the other hand, all sensible men agree that the excessive use or abuse of either one or the other is decidedly harmful and may seriously affect the body and greatly shorten life. And all will agree, too, that detrimental effects may be transmitted to the offspring. And therefore, I am contending for the truthful instruction of the children in our public schools upon these points, and for the enlightenment of the public upon them, and finally for the sterilization of those who have ruined their bodies by these and allied excesses before they transmit disease, pre- mature decay and death to their offspring. It is idle to deny that thousands of men use both tobacco and alcohol for many years without any apparent injury to themselves or their posterity. Their health may remain good and they live out their expectancy and end their days in peace by a per- fectly natural death. And therefore we need not concern ourselves about coercing men to refrain from the use of these drugs. It is also well known that no one knows just where the border line between safely and danger is, in the moderate or excessive use of these drugs. But it is equally true that every responsible being has a perfect right to use his own judgment and choose for himself whether or not he will use them; and it is no less true that many who begin very moderately do go to excess and are not able to control the inordinate appetite which they have voluntarily but unwittingly created. It is a high function of the state to help discover for, and disseminate to, its subjects the facts about such matters, that citizens may be able to more wisely choose and direct their course. And the sterilization of such as become defectives would be a most practical measure along the lines of education, and thus voluntary prevention. Another valuable means would be through its State University and in connection with its State Board of Health, to investigate and tabulate the facts along all such lines and spread them before the public in quarterly or annual bulletins for the information and guidance of the people. In fact, whatever pertains to the public health, is of vital importance to the state, because its most valuable asset is its people; and their health is therefore to be looked after and protected above every other material consideration. And the best and most economical way to do that, is to prevent the on-coming of disease and arrest it before it begins. In March of the present year, the new Chancellor of the University of New York sent me a letter, as he did to other alumni, as follows: "New York University is now engaged in the work of self-scrutiny with the purpose of widening the scope and increasing continuously the efficiency of its service. "To do this effectively it needs constructive suggestions, and for these it turns with confidence to those who have supplemented the training received in its classes with experience in meeting the problems of their several vocations. "You will render a service to the University by giving your opinion as to ways in which it could have better prepared you for dealing with those problems. Sug- gestions are also desired regarding new fields which any of the schools of the University, or new schools to be established by the University, might profitably enter. "In short, the University desires constructive suggestions regarding any kind of service which it might properly have rendered to you and did not, or which it might properly render to others and does not; and regarding ways of making more effective any service it may undertake to render." To this I replied in part, as follows: "Chancellor E. E. Brown, New York University, New York City. "My Dear Sir: — Replying to your inquiry concerning the things which my experience as a physician has taught me the University might helpfully take up for its future work, would say I am fully persuaded it could be specially valuable to its present students, and many others, by adding the following lines to its present course : "1st. Teach all its students, male and female, in their earliest years, the proper use of the sexual system, and the direful evils of its abue, both to the individual and his or her, posterity. TEACH THE WHOI.K TRUTH 135 "2nd. Teach all, as early as possible, the truth about the effects of drugs, such as alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, morphine, ether, and the other common ones so much used to excess, and so intensely injurious to the physical system when unnecessarily used. In short, teach them the dangers of the 'Drug Habit.' "3rd. Teach them the importance of a high, moral character as a basis for a proper education and a worthy career. Of course, personally, I believe a true Christian education to be the ideal one; but for those who do not wish to go so far as to embrace all thereby fairly implied, a high, moral ideal ought not to be obnoxious." The importance of these quotations is simply to show that when leaders in our greatest colleges and universities are beginning to ask how they can make their institutions more useful, and more practical, there is a real encouragemnt for the race. The state is doing good work in the public schools by teaching the children somewhat of the evil effects of alcohol and tobacco and other poisons upon the human system. The state has done well in the enactment of a law forbidding the sale of tobacco to the boy under eighteen years of age; and making the boy who uses it also amenable to punish- ment, for we cannot begin too soon to teach individual responsibility for doing wrong and not doing right. In our present stae of civilization we cannot and we ought not to inter- fere with any person's privilege or liberty of using tobacco in any manner he pleases, so long as he does not infringe upon the rights of others, and so long as he is a responsible, capable individual. But scientifically we have already learned the evil effects of too much tobacco upon the heart, the blood vessels and the nervous system, and we do know that these effects of degeneration are transmitted to the children, and that they are forever in physical deterioration, and their organisms are necessarily below par. Hence it is the duty of the state to teach these things by wide publicity so that all may know the dangers they incur and the great probability of the evil results which may come to their children in consequence. People of ordinary intelligence and good morals want to know the facts about all such questions, and while they are not willing (and rightly so) to be coerced to any par- ticular form of moral action as a standard set up by others, still they want to know the truth, and they wish to have the privilege of choosing for themselves. In other words, every one is conscious of the universal fact that no human power has any right to compel another to follow or observe its particular brand of religion or morals, and that essentially human freedom and liberty mean exactly that right, namely to worship what, when and where he pleases, and practice the code of morals each may individually choose for him- self. But it is the privilege and duty of the state to afford its subjects every facility for getting the knowledge necessary for their betterment and to encourage them in the prac- tice of those virtues which will make them better and happier subjects, while at the same time, it promotes the welfare and the perpetuity of the state. The state owes it to the child first, and to itself second, to prevent these men and women whose moral standard is so low and whose ignorance is so great that they would knowingly and willingly transmit prevent8ble diseases or physical defects to their child- ren, and thus inflict upon them these undesirable conditions and impose unnecessary and unjust burden upon the state to render them sterile and avert disaster. Parents may well be taught their responsibility to their offspring and their duty to the state in not cruelly inflicting the one, nor imposing upon the other; and when these plain facts are made known to the people, those who are worthy and capable will voluntarily refrain from producing their kind, and all others should be compelled to do so. The state has no right to say what any one of its responsible subjects may eat or drink so long as he does not infringe upon the rights of another, it is the province and the duty of the state to step in and protect the interests and riahts of its subjects by what- ever means are necessary, Whenever one subject by abusing his freedom trespasses upon the rights or equal liberties of another, he thereby forfeits such liberty as he has here- tofore enjoyed, and becomes amenable to the laws enacted for dependents, and by "-ight is no longer permitted to be his own master, free and independent, until such time as adequate punishment has again restored him to self-mastery. The man who sells tobacco, druo's, or alcoholics, to another, is in no way responsible for the use and abuse to which 13(» EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY the buyer puts the article bought, unless he has sold to a dependent, to one who is in- competent, to one whom he might reasonably know to be irresponsible. By right, the seller of every article, but especially all poisonous and dangerous articles which may be easily abused to the great injury of another, should be held account- able to the state for selling: 1. A pure and genuine article as called for by the purchaser. 2. Only to responsible people. Therefore, a minor, a drunkard, an idiot, an imbecile, or other irresponsible person should not be allowed to purchase any of these things which they so readily abuse to their own, or others serious injury. Noticing in the public press recently an interview of Dr. Harvey Wiley, the famous pure food expert, I wrote him in part as follows: "Dr. Harvey Wiley, Government Food Expert, Washington, D. C. "Dear Doctor: I have just been reading what you say about the cure for drunk- enness and as I have been somewhat interested in this subject for a number of years am glad to see how nearly your remedy corresponds with the one I have been recommending. "My contention is that we ought to allow every one to have a government license who wishes to sell alcoholic drinks, at a mere nominal figure, and then we should hold these responsible for just two things: First, they should sell pure liquor. Second, they should sell only to responsible parties. Any violation of either of these would at once not only revoke their licences, but suitable punishment should be given them for violatmg their trust. "Whenever a man was in the habit of drinking to the injury of his family, it would only be necessary for the family to notify those who sold liquor that such and such a man was not responsible, in order to keep them from selling the liquor to such persons. Of course children and minors would not be allowed to buy. "This would have a beneficial effect; it would teach men that so long as they were responsible citizens and controlled themselves within the bound of reason and right, they were free moral agents, and could drink or not as they pleased, and when they ceased to become capable of controlling themselves they then became depen- dents and real charges of the state. "Second, it would put a premium on a man being temperate in his habits and would thus promote temperance among the rising generation. "Of course it is well known that alcoholic drinks are adulterated very often and the requiring of those who handled and sold them, to sell only pure liquor would deter many from engaging in the business or eliminate many of the poisonous effects of the liquor now sold. "In fact this course of teaching on the temperance question, would put the responsibility where it belongs, on the man who sells for furnishing a pure article and selling to those who are responsible. "Second, it would make the drinker responsible for the use, or abuse of it in his particular case. It would thus develop a stronger personality and better manhood in our citizens." To which he replied in part, as follows: "I am glad you agree with me in what I hold as a remedy for the evils of intox- icating beverages. It is very evident that it is time some steps were taken to check the ravages made every year by this evil. The strictest purity of all products of this kind should be insisted upon, which would do much to lessen the evils of intem- perance. I am thoroughly in sympathy with the attempts which are made in the states to control and regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors. I have not yet brought myself to believe that absolute prohibitory laws are advisable, and if people are only properly educated, and only pure, old, alcoholic beverages are offered for sale, and under some such restrictions as I have advocated, I am inclined to believe that each individual should judge for himself as to what he shall eat and drink. Whatever laws should be passed, however, in regard to licenses, sale of drink to minors, etc., should be rigidly enforced." TEACH THE WHOLE TRUTH 137 If I might for illustration, I would like to call your attention to a recent case, that of Rev. Richeson, of Massachusetts. According to the newspaper reports the Sanity Com- mission of doctors who examined him, found him sane; but reported that his family generally had been affected with insanity, and that he himself was a neurotic and a neurasthenic. It was also said he smoked thirty cigars one night after midnight, and next morning asked that his tobacco be replenished. Here, evidently, was a man of bad here- dity, bad habits, bad morals, and a vicious organism for which his ancestors were FIRST responsible, and then the STATE and finally himself. That is to say, with his peculiar organism, born with certain defects, his training and environment were all the more important. With such a defective nervous system it would have required peculiarly strong and virile teaching and good habits, with most effective, helpful environment to develop a character and will power sufficient to avoid the many pitfalls across his pathway, into one of which he fell. I do not wish for a moment to minimize the atrocity of his crime, nor the personal responsibility of his enormous guilt; but I do wish to show that: First, the state should have prevented such parentage having a progeny, which in the very nature of the case must be defective and must easily take on insanity or crime. Second, having permitted the birth of such a child, the state owes it a certain special training, care and development, lest it go astray in bad habits, which are bound to end in disaster to the community in one way or another. Third, the sterilization of this child, C. V. Richeson, would have at least pre- vented the present tragedy. Fourth, a child well-born with good physical organism and sound nerve centers, might have had the same environment and training as Richeson, but would not have developed the same bad habits and neurotic temperament, nor would it have com- mitted the crimes of which he was guilty. Fifth, it is the high privilege, yea, the duty of each human being to assume personal responsibility and full accountability for his acts, and choose the habits, course of thought and study, calling in life and favorable environment to bring about the best results. Sixth. Therefore, let the state teach the whole truth to the parents, the child, the youth, the young people and afford them opportunities under wise teachers and judicious leaders so that they may choose the right course in life. Seventh. Then the boy, the girl, the young and the old, knowing the truth about themselves, their weaknesses, and how to overcome these, their bent or tendency, and how to guide them aright, will more often choose in harmony with reason and their own highest good. Eighth. Therefore the state may properly discriminate in the instruction, train- ing and education of its youth, for they are not all capable of being run through the same mould and made to conform to the same pattern. In short, there must be special instruction, special training and special environment for special cases if we would get the best results. And just in this connection I may say that since the state is charged with the duty of educating the young, it may be well to emphasize the fact that proper education means such knovv'ledge and training as will fit one for the ordinary duties of life and give him a foundation upon which to build the best character and the most useful and successful career of which he is capable. This may fairly include the following essentials: 1. Knowledge of one's self: a. Whence he came, whither he is going, b. His physical organism and his functions, c. His sexual system, its proper use, and the awful dangers of its abuse, to himself and his posterity, d. Importance and possibility of self-m.astery. 2. The reasonable needs and care of the body. 3. Duties of child to parents, and to the Supreme Bemg. 4. The ordinary duties of life and how properly to discharge them. a. Industrial work. b. Duties to society and to the state. 5. Duty and importance of making a living in an honorable way, of acquiring a competence, of being self-reliant and independent, and how to do it. 138 EQUITANIA, OH TIIK LAND OF EgUITY Lei me make one point very clear that I am sure some do not fully appreciate even though they may talk very learnedly about some of these questions. I am not now saying that the state should prevent any marriages among the classes of which I have been speaking, for unfortunately these degenerates do not always wait for marriage to propagate their kind, so that my contention is, these people who by right should not have progeny must be taken in hand by the state and sterilized early in their lives, even before the question of marriage arises, when possible. It is not enough to segregate these defectives, for they will sometimes escape and do the damage before they are re-captured. And again, many of these dependents who are almost unmanageable would become docile and easily controlled if a complete operation of castration or oophorectomy were done; but as I said earlier in my paper these more radical operations are not to be done except as punishment, or when for diseased conditions, nothing less than one of these operations will suffice. The state as well as the church, or the state without the consent of any church may well require certificates of health from candidates for marriage, to establish the followmg facts: First. That neither party is known to have any disease transmissible to the other, as venereal diseases or tuberculosis. Second. That neither party has any disease which is known to be transmissible to offspring; or in case either party has such disability, or has such hereditary taint, as insanity, epilepsey, etc., said party has been properly sterilized and such condition is fully known to the other party to the marriage contract. Requiring these health certificates before marriage, and properly sterilizing all degenerates, and those above mentioned, would do two very important things: First. It would put a premium on health, and it would greatly encourage all to follow the means within reach for preserving and promoting health. Second. It would exalt and honor the dignity of parenthood and teach the responsibility of parent to child, as only one other thing would do. Third. It would preserve the health of the generations to follow, in a marvelous degree. Fourth. It would be an economic measure of untold value to the state. Fifth. It would mean, "the survival of the fittest," in a physical sense, in a civil sense, in an economic and social view, if not in a moral and religious aspect. According to recent statistics from Washington it is shown that there were fewer suicides in the United States in 1910 than in 1909 but that even so there were in that year throughout the country 16 per 100,000 inhabitants. California led the states with 29 suicides per 100,000 population, while Maryland, with 10.3 had the lowest rate. In the registration of over 100,000 population, San Francisco with 44.2 suicides per 100,000 led. Next came Kansas City, Mo., with 34. Oakland, Calif., with 32.4; Seattle with 32.3; Bridgeport, Conn., with 32.1 ; and Denver with 31.6. The suicide rate per 100,000 population by states was: California, 29; Colorado, 20.3; Connecticut, 17.9; Indiana, 14.1; Maine. 11.4; Maryland, 10.3; Massachusetts, 12.6; Michigan, 13.7; Minnesota, 11.6; Montana, 21.4; New Hampshire, 12.5; New Jersey, 17.1; New York, 16.7; North Carolma, 17.2 (1909); Ohio, 14.2; Pennsylvania, 12.7; Vermont, 13.2; Washington, 19.9; Wisconsin, 14.2. The rate in cities of 100,000 or over was, Birmingham, Ala., 20.3; Los Angeles, 30; Oakland, 32.4; San Francisco, 44.2; Denver, 31.6; Washington, 24.1; Atlanta, 14.1; Chicago, 20.9; Indianapolis, 23.9; Louisville, 16; New Orleans, 21.8; Baltimore, 14.5; Boston, 15.3; Detroit, 26; Grand Rapids, 11.5: Minneapolis, 17.5; St. Paul, 13.9; Kansas City. 34; St. Louis, 28.9; Omaha, 24.9; New York, 16.4; Cincinnati, 17.3; Cleveland, 18.3; Columbus, 24.1; Dayton, 23.1; Portland, 24.4; Philadelphia, 19.8; Pittsburg, 22.8; Memphis, 22.8; Nashville, 18.1 ; Richmond, 9.4; Seattle, 32.3; Spokane, 23.7; and Milwaukee. 23.4. Now, if we accept the theory, which I think no one acquainted with the general facts can deny, that no one ever commits suicide while sane, and that consequently every suicide was at least temporarily insane, we must add this number of 8,500 to our list of insane in the United States. DANGERS OF HEREDITY 139 The government statistics further show that in 1910. with a total population of 91,972,266, and a male population of over 21 years of age, January 1st of 25,577,738, that there was an adult prison population of 109,31 1, and there were received during the year, 462,530. There were juvenile delinquents, 22,903; paupers in almshouses, 83,944; admissions in 1910, 106,457; insane in asylums, 184,123; committed during the year, 59,628; in feeble minded institutions, 20,199; admitted during the year 3,848. Or, to put it differently we had in 1910: A criminal population of 571,841 Dependents in almhouses 190,401 Insane in asylums 243,751 Juvenile delinquents 22,903 Feeble-minded dependents 24,047 Or a total of ' 1 ,052,943 And when we add the suicides, 8,500. and include them in the insane class where they belong, we have a total of 1,061,443. This means we have one criminal or other degenerate or defective for every 90 persons in our land, including women and children. And whilst this is not a large percentage of the whole people, and more than half the number is of the criminal class, still it shows that 290,791, or more than one-fourth of the whole number are real defectives and many of them belong to the preventable diseases or preventable degenerates by a wise, humane and just method of sterilization. It is said that male suicide in Germany has gradually mcreased until it has just about reached a normal level at which it remains of about 35 per 100,000 population; while that of German women is still increasing. I have just returned from the great meeting of the American Medical Association in Atlantic City, where a very interesting and important paper was read, confirming in an additional way the foregoing facts. This paper was read by Dr. F. A. MacNicoll, of New York. Among other things he says: "Within a period of fifty years the population of the United States increased 330 per cent according to the recent census, practically all of which is due to the chronic and excessive use of alcohol in one form or other, and narcotics. A degenercy so appalling in magnitude that it staggers the mind and threatens to destroy this republic, numbering more victims than have been slain in all the wars and in all the epidemics and acute diseases that have swept the country within two hundred years. "The great burden of drink is not borne by the drinker, but by the drinker's children. The germ cell that is to be involved into another bein^ is the most highly organized of all the cells in the body. In its protoplasm lies the material and pattern of the perfected organism." I may then fairly conclude : First. Parents may and do transmit physical weakness to their offspring. Second. Some physical weaknesses and degenerations which are so transmitted come from ignorance on the part of the parents. Third. The most important asset of every nation is its people, and therefore the health of its subjects is a proper and pressing duty for the state to consider, and as far as possible conserve. Fourth. Prevention of disease in its subjects is both more economical and humane for the state than their cure. Fifth. The investigation of the facts about the excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as the dangers of such parents transmitting epilepsy, insanity and other nervous defects to their offspring, and the causes so far as we can ascertain them, of all classes of physical degenerates and defectives, together with the widest publicity of the same by the proper authorities of the State University and the State Board of Health is a duty of the state. Sixth. As an educational measure, and as a safeguard, the state may very well require either health certificates for all who would marry, or at least proper sterilization of such as cannot produce suitable health certificates. 140 EQUlTxVXIA, OK Tilt: LAND OF EQUITY Seventh. Sterilization, both as an educational and as a suitable preventive measure, of all her insane, epiliptic, and degenerates, which would also include their inebriates and other habitual drug users, is a duty of the state which she ought not to shirk. Having covered the ground thus fully we recommend these four papers as the ground and basis for establishing a course of study upon the sex question and believe they might be wisely used to direct legislation for the prevention of the Social Evil and the accom- panying diseases. r, , ,, i • i i i- • • /^ Kespectrully submitted by Lquitanian Lommittee, Signed: H. 0. RETTAN, M. D. R. 0. HENDLEY, M. D. H. R. ORLANDO, M. D. Thus you see as these writers here have so well shown, proper education along sexual and health lines gives vastly more useful instruction and training for the develop- ment of character and useful citizenship than would at first appear. The implanting of right desires, true motives, and the cultivation of self-mastery and the power of self-control is not only valuable and really essential for any adequate progress in sex morality, but is equally important as a fundamental principle of all moral growth. There must be first right thoughts, then comes right desires, then follows right acts, habits, character and finally destiny, all of which must come from a basis of knowl- edge of the truth which is eternal. Rev. Jones — That is certainly very interesting, but are you not attaching too much importance to the moral questions in the educational system? Should morals and religion not go together and be taught more by representatives of the various religious sects, and confine the duties of the teachers more strictly to educational matters as we do in the United States? Sylvester — That same question occurred to me as you were elucidating the sex problem and the moral side so well. Here in our country not much is done or taught along these lines in our public institutions, and I think we get along very well. Our country is exceedingly prosperous, has grown beyond all other countries in the world, is at peace with all mankind, and I can see no reason for deviating from our present course. Horace — The Equitanians take the ground which I think is impregnable, that civil government has to do with earthly or civil affairs, and whilst it ought to allow all of its citizens absolute freedom in matters of religion, yet if men are to be closely associated and unite in all matters for their mutual material welfare, then they ought to have a common standard of right and wrong, of duties and obligations to one another in temporal affairs. They have a common standard of weights and measures, of spelling, of definition of words, of money values, and these being the lesser things, they should also have a common standard in the weightier and more important thing, namely, morality, or the proper dealings of man with man. Therefore they agreed upon the essential things which men as intelligent and rational beings should observe toward one another, and embodied them and them only in their moral code, and then rightly insisted that together they could best develop the high type of citizens desired for their land by inculcating these principles in the youth and holding to their high ideals in the entire public and private life. Professor Johnson — That is certainly well worth considering, and I am delighted to learn that it is working well in every-day practical life. Robert — I am delighted with this evening's entertainment, when can we hear more about this wonderful land and people? Horace — It is now quite late and I suggest that you come next Thursday and meet with a newspaper friend of mine who is anxious to hear about journalism over there and I have agreed to tell him something about it at that time. I have also a doctor friend who is anxious to know about the professions, and the professional schools. Perhaps we can take up some points about all of these. All — That will be delightful and we shall be here in good time. Good night. CHAPTER VIII. DOCTORS, LAWYERS, AND JOURNALISTS, ETC. According to appointment, all the parties of the previous evening and Dr. Brown, a prominent physician, and editor Larned of the leadmg daily paper of the city, came together anxious to hear the facts, and yet rather skeptical as to the fairy tales reported from this far-away land. After a formal introduction, and all being at ease, they were anxious for the reports to begin. Horace — You may remember that John Locke, the noted philosopher said, "A sound mind in a sound body, is a short but full description of a happy state in this world. He who has these two has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be but little the better for enything else. Man's happiness or misery is most part of their own making. He whose mind directs not wisely, will never take the right way. I think I may say, that of the men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil, useful or not, by their education. The great thing to be minded in education is, what habits you settle. "The great principle and foundation of all virtue and worth is placed in this; that a man is able to deny himself his own desires, cross his own inclinations, and purely follow what reason directs as best, though the appetite lean the other way. "He that is not used to submit his will to the reason of others when he is young, will scarce hearken or submit to his own reason when he is of an age to make use of it. And what kind of a man one is likely to prove, is easy to foresee. For if the child must have grapes or sugar plums when he has a mind to them, rather than make the poor baby cry or be out of humor; why, when he is grown up, must he not be satisfied too, if his desires carry him to wine or women? "Every man must some time or other be trusted to himself and his own conduct, and he that is a good, a virtuous and noble man, must be made so within. And therefore what he is to receive from education, what is to sway and influence his life, must be something put into him betimes; habits woven into the very principles of his nature. " Tis virtue, then, direct virtue, which is the hard and valuable part to be aimed at in education." And whether or not we agree with him in toto, I am sure we must admit there is much truth too often neglected in these teachings of the great man. One of your recent writers has spoken so wisely upon the question of the high ideals of man in the various callings in life, as they are practically illustrated in Equitania and these words are so apropos to our present discussion I hope you will permit me to read what he says. Office holders from the President of the United States and Judges of the Supreme Court, on down through governors, legislators, mayors, city councilmen. justices of the peace, and policeman, are all first responsible to God for the manner in which they discharge their official duties; second, they are responsible to all the people over whom they exercise any authority; third, they are next responsible to their party or person who gave them the position of responsibility. If this order of sequence were maintamed and conscientiously acted upon how quickly would our political atmosphere be clarified. So, too, with a lawyer when he takes a client, whether as an individual, as a corpora- tion, or as a state, he is not first responsible to his client and then to the community, but he is first responsible to God for the way in which he treats the community and his client. His end and aim, his objective ought to be to promote equity and justice in the community, so that it will meet the Divine approval. And it is the lack of this true objective so many times that leads lawyers to trample upon the rights of others, by every hook or crook, by every means fair or foul, by unfair use of technicalities, and even by getting perjured wit- nesses or a bribed jury; his great aim and object being to clear his client, regardless of (141) 142 EQUITANIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY equity and justice, and no matter what means are used. Just as the object of the true phy- sician is, and ought to be, to promote the heahh of the community with a consciousness of his accountabihty first to the Almighty, and second to the community and third to his patient, so with the lawyer the same order should be observed. Just as it is with the minister of the gospel. His object ought to be to promote Godlikeness or Godliness in the community by the new created heart, in the individual, and then by proper religious instruction develop Christian character. And he is first accountable to God for the methods and plans he uses, then he is responsible to the community, and third he is accountable to his partic- ular church, or those who employ him. Just so the journalist whether editor of a; daily paper, a weekly paper, or magazine, he is first responsible to God for the things he publishes and advocates, second he is accountable to the community at large, and third he is responsible to his subscribers and advertisers. Speaking of advertisers reminds me too that the proprietor of the magazine or paper is first responsible to God for the kind of things he advertises, second he is accountable to the community, and third to his employers. We might go through every profession, trade or calling and thus show that the individual is first, and always responsible and accountable to God for his life, his work, and all of his actions, and that the greater he becomes, the more wide-spread his influence and the larger his sphere of opportunity in the world, the more important it is that he recognize these responsibilities in their proper relations. The fact that a man has shown ability, and a corporation or his fellow men have selected or chosen him to work for or represent them, in no way changes the order of his accountability as shown above, but rather intensifies it; for "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God," and no juggling of facts, no greatness of position, no higher education, and no mere shrewdness of business or policy can shift or change the individual responsibility. It seems to me that lawyers and our courts are too often trained to look carefully into the precedents of legal practice, to familiarize themselves with the exact wording of the law and its multitudinous variety of interpretations, all the possible weak points, loop holes and technical possibility of evasion to enable them to make a case, gain a point in the interest of their clint, or against their opponents, and in total disregard of justice or equity and right. In other words their whole view point is how can I gain my point; when it ought to be how can I best promote justice and secure right dealing among men before the law and in the community. Hence it too often follows that the Judge on the bench rules according to mere precedent, or upon some strained or technical point, wholly forgetting that the end of the entire proceeding should be to promote justice and establish equity, no matter what minor, subservient, and useless things stand in the way. No careful observer of reasonable experience but knows that time and again injustice is done to individuals and to communities by courts ruling unfairly upon some trival technicality or according to some antiquated precedent, thus showing more respect for these legal stumbling blocks of fraud than for the rights of man. The aim and end should be justice, equity, and right, between man and man; while human rights should ever be above property rights. Governor Hadley of Missouri, speaking to the graduates of the Northwestern Univer- sity very wisely and truthfully said (and speaking just then specially to the graduates in law) : "There is not a business enterprise which conducts its business in violation of the law, that has not had the service of a lawyer, skilled in the art of law evasion and the art of non-disclosure, whose abilities in that regard have recommended him for such employ- ment. No lawyer has a right to advise an individual or a corporation how to violate the law. Any lawyer who does so is as much an offender against the law as the person or corporation whom he serves. If the lawyers of this country would refuse to advise persons or corporations how to violate the law with impunity and how to conduct their business so that evidence of their wrong doing could not be secured, then much of that which the public justly complains would cease to exist." A prominent writer in the United States has made and apparently proved to the satisfaction of the general public the following public charges against Judges and Courts: "That courts have been packed in order to render decisions favorable to certain corporations. CORRUPTION OF COURTS 143 "That judicial opinions of our highest courts have been written in the offices of the legal departments of railroads and other corporations. "Corrupt federal judges use their power to loot prosperous concerns to the financial advantage of judicial rings. "Many judges feel themselves high priests and sincerely believe that all crit- icism of courts is unholy and heretical. "Many of them are political henchmen with whom public morals are a cynic jest. "They have pared and twisted the law for the protection of a favored few. "This corruption of our courts pervades every section of our country. "It is becoming more and more difficult for the poor man to get a decision against a corporation. "The influence of corporation lawyers over courts has demoralized the legal profession. "Corrupt decisions have crept mto the law and become a part of it, and in some communities have poisoned the entire judicial system," A lawyer of considerable note and one who has written a pamphlet on "Crime and Criminals" says, "There is no such thing as a crime, as the word is generally understood. I do not believe there is any sort of distinction between the real moral condition of the people in and out of jail. One is just as good as the other. I do not believe that people are in jail because they deserve to be. They are in jail simply because they can- not avoid it on account of circumstances which are entirely beyond their control and for which they are in no way responsible." I quote this simply to show why in the United States, crime is so largely on the' increase, while in Equitania no such false and erroneous doctrine is taught by any in- telligent person, much less by lawyers w^o, there, are looked upon as the promoters of justice, and who would no more help a client big or little to evade the laws, defraud the pubHc or escape justice than their physicians would seek to spread disease in the com- munity. No wonder a leading editorial in one of your daily papers said after California had adopted the Recall, "Faithless, incompetent or corrupt officials in executive de- partments, legislative halls, and even in courts of justice again and again have been servants of greedy interests avariciously devoted to the exploitation of the people. En- trenched behind their fixed tenures of office, they have derided the indignation of the public they betrayed. Hereafter, possessing the power of the recall, the people will ever be the masters of the servants who often have been their masters." They have a very unique system in Equitania for securing justice among the people. Their whole system of jurisprudence is built upon the propositions: First; That governments are instituted among men for their mutual helpfulness, to secure to them their natural rights, to protect them in their persons and their possess- sions. Second; That all laws should be framed, interpreted and executed to compass these ends, and that equity and justice should be meted out to all. and special favors granted to none, and that no person or class is entitled to favors at the expense of any other person or class; and that all legal proceedings should be fairly conducted to promptly bring these results, and that whatever stands in the way must be brushed aside as ob- structions and detrimental to the welfare of the individual and the state. Hence. Judges are appointed or elected not from the legal profession, but from the intelligent, sen- sible, level-headed men of the community, who are known for their probity, fair mind- edness and good common sense; and they are honored in proportion to their fidelity to the interests of the people. These judges, like all other officers, are subject to the people themselves and may be continued or recalled at their behest, whose servants they are. The procedure in court is very different, too, from what it is in most countries. It being the object and aim of the court to establish justice and maintain equity, the Judge himself ascertains the facts and questions the witnesses to get the facts. And at his own suggestion, or that of attorneys, on either side, may summon other \s-itnesses. or do whatever else in his opinion may aid him in getting all the facts in the case to enable him to give an honest, fair, and unbiased judgment. 144 equitan;a, or the land of equity The lawyers are not allowed ordinarily to question the witnesses, it being their function simply to procure the witnesses, and state to the Court what each is supposed to know about the case in hand, and then after the Judge has carefully questioned the witnesses on oath in open court until all evidence is introduced, the lawyers on both sides proceed to their arguments based upon the facts elicited, and cite the law upon which they base their claims for their respective clients. After which the judge duly weighs the evidence, and reviews the law as cited, and decides, or renders a righteous judg- ment, which gives Equity to all concerned. Mere technicalities, and wandering fine spun theories or even well established pre- cedent, no matter how hoary with age are not given any consideration unless they directly tend to the promotion of justice and equity. A sufhcient number of judges are elected or appointed to give prompt hearing on all cases, and in delicate or extra important cases, may have two or even three to hear them. In all cases, however, the procedure is the same and they have no jury system, which they regard as wholly unnecessary, since by the above plan fair dealing and right be- tween all parties concerned is so quickly and surely obtained. They say that it being desired to get at the real facts in every case, the Judge who is rightly chosen to be the unbiased referee in all cases, is the only person who is likely to give every witness a fair chance to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and therefore he is the one to ask the questions of the witnesses presented, and is least likely to embarrass, intimidate or bulldoze a witness into fraudulent or mis- leading testimony. In this way they do not allow prejudice or sentiment to interfere with justice, nor do they allow the sharpest, shrewdest, and trickiest lawyer to win his case regardless of the real facts and true evidence. In fact this method almost wholly eliminates the shyster lawyer, and rnakes him engage in some honest and useful employ- ment. You will be interested in knowing how they define and classify violations of law. 1 . Sin is the wilful violation or transgression of any law of God. 2. Crime is the wilful violation of any one of the moral laws. 3. Misdemeanor is any wilful violation of one of the civil laws. 4. Offense is any ignorant or careless violation of a moral or civil law. 5. Vice is a violation of the laws of the sexual system, other than adultery. 6. Slander is wilfully repeating or circulating in any manner untruthful state- ments derogatory to the good name or reputation of another. 7. Libel is wilfully publishing any false statements derogatory to the good name of another, when reasonable investigation and effort could have corrected the false report. In the United States it has too long been notorious that a lawyer will take one side of almost any case just as quickly as the other, provided the inducements are sufficient, that is if the fee is large enough, or possible future position, and fight just as hard to clear the man who is guilty, as he would have fought to convict him if he had been employed upon the other side. He ignores justice, equity, right and fairness between the men, or the men and the corporations, and looks only to clear or convict regardless of the right. The public must not tolerate this infamy. In the Drama, Egmont, written by Goethe 1775, to depict the Spanish reign of Philip the Second, and the character of the Netherlanders with the scene in Brussels, 1567 he makes one of his characters, Vansen, say of the law and the courts of justice. "In the world the rogue has everyAvhere the advantage. At the bar he makes a fool of the Judge; on the bench he takes pleasure in convicting the accused. I have had to copy out a protocol, where the commissary was handsomely rewarded by the court, both with praise and money, because through his cross eximination, an honest devil, against whom they had a grudge, was made out to be a rogue." And then in further response to the remark of a citizen he replies: "Oh, you blockhead! XX'Tien nothing can be worked out of a man by cross examination, they work it into him. Honesty is rash, and withall somewhat presumptuous; at first they question quietly enough, and the prisoner, proud of his innocence, as they call it, comes out with much that a sensible man would keep CROOKED LAWYERS 145 back. Then, from these answers the inquisitor proceeds to put new questions, and is on the watch for the slightest contradiction; there he fastens his Hne; and, let the poor devil lose his self-possession, say too much here, or too little there, or Heaven knows from what whim or other, let him withhold some trifling circum- stance, or at any moment give way to fear, then we're on the right track, and, I assure you, no beggar-woman seeks rags among the rubbish with more care than such a fabricator of rogues, from trifling, crooked, disjointed, misplaced, misprinted, and concealed facts and information, acknowledged or denied, endeavors at length to patch up a scarecrow, by means of which he may at least hang his victim in effigy; and the poor devil may thank heaven if he is in a condition to see him- self hanged." No wonder the people rise up at times and protest by mob violence against such infamous outrages as are thus too often perpetrated by lawyers and judges upon the innocent and helpless. It is not so much the occasional criminal as it is these vile wretches who are constantly perverting justice and must eventually be suppressed by public opinion. If the Courts are really worthy of respect and are trying to give the people justice, why do they so uniformly allow a bullying lawyer to terrify witnesses? Why do they let these unprincipled lawyers deliberately try to prevent witnesses from telling the truth? Why do they allow these shysters to encourage witnesses and lawyers to deliberately bear false testimony and seek by every device known to trickery and chicanery to tell everything but the truth and evade all the possible avenues of getting at the truth? It is notorious that the Court seldom, if ever, steps in to protect a witness, who is trying to tell the truth, from these bulldozing attacks of unprincipled lawyers. Why do the Courts, if they are trying to promote justice and secure the rights of all, make their rulings so often along lines of great technicality, and follow so closely custom, precedent and forms of procedure, rather than the rules of equity? Why do they not brush away all foolish, immaterial and irrelevant facts, or points which stand in the way of justice and make straight for the goal? The coufts too often get lost in their wanderings among these minor details, and in their effort to follow out these points very carefully, shrewdly and elaborately, lose sight entirely of the aim and object of courts, thus making regularity, precedent, cus- tom, techanicalities and the intricacies of law paramount to justice, fairness and right. They magnify the less important and minimize the most important. Having undue respect for law and custom they undervalue the importance of right and justice. It is for these reasons the people have come to hold the courts in contempt and are daily growing more and more restless under the unjust rule of this oligarchy of crooked lawyers. This is not saying there are not honest lawyers; but the honest and capable ones are so hopelessly in the minority that they cannot correct the evil. The honest lawyer who would dare come out openly and rebuke the known corrup- tion of any given court would not only be hooted down by the overwhelming majority of his associates, but the court would probably put him in contempt, and at least give him no chance in any case that said lawyer would ever have occasion to try before him. No, the courts and the lawyers are a close monopolistic corporation of the most tyrannical type, and the decent men in it can neither correct it, nor escape from its venomous fangs. .The correction must come from the outside, and that by a general demand from the people that they themselves will take the making and interpreting of laws into their own hands and determine what they want the laws to mean, and how they shall be executed to meet the demands of justice. We have too long allowed the lawyers to make, interpret, and execute our laws. We ourselves as a people know better than lawyers or judges, (who have been carefully trained to look at all these ques- tions from the narrow standpoint of the selfish lawyer), what is fair and just and right, and therefore we must make, and interpret, that is explain what we mean by any given law, and we ourselves must say how that law is to be executed and its penalties meted out. The lawyers may rightly be allowed to have their say in each case, just as any other citizen, but they should have no more right or authority in the final decision than any 140 EQUITAXIA. ()\< TUK LAND OF EQUITY other man. As it is now, the lawyer has the final say in making, interpreting, and execut- ing our laws and the rest of us have no voice in it at all. It is if we were to admit that we, the people, know nothing of our rights, or what our duties and relations to our fellow men are, and that the lawyers know it all. Whereas the fact is that the people, when the facts are put before them, are much more likely to give justice than the ordinary group of lawyers or corrupt courts. Therefore we insist upon the people themselves being the final judges, and not the lawyers and courts. Let the poeple make, interpret, and execute their laws, and we will have greater justice among men. It is notorious that no crime is so great that some lawyer cannot be found who will try to clear the criminal. No great corporation or big busmess has ever sought to violate the laws of the land, but some one or more promment lawyers have been found as the guiding star in the nefarious business. Every great business concern which has tried to defraud the public through trickery and sharp practice has been steered and engineered by a lawyer. Strange, but true, every devious pathway of all the crooked concerns in this country have been fostered, nurtured, and led by a more crooked attorney, and yet they are seldom or never brought to justice, but foolishly enough this is considered a legitimate part of their business, for these crooked concerns are their clients and they have been hired, forsooth, and must be true to the clients, even when they know them to be disreputable and working for the ruin of the community. So long as society is willing to tolerate a class (call them lawyers or any other name you please) who by reason of their calling are rightly allowed to help criminals escape justice; and set free those who ought to be convicted and punished, and you will en- courage crime and all sorts of misdemeanors. It means that the bigger the criminal, the bigger fee he is willing to pay and the higher priced the attorney he will employ, and hence the more profitable to the attorneys is this class of business. Never until you require attorneys as well as all other classes of citizens to be honest and observe the moral law can you expect to improve your jurisprudence. Never can you help to promote the cause of justice in society, until you require courts and lawyers to do as well in that direction as the common citizen is required to do. Never can you secure justice and equity in any community so long as you allow a special class to grow up with your approval whose special duty and function is to help the criminals and other violators of law escape justice, as do the lawyers. Supposedly; courts and lawyers have their chief functions in securing and promoting justice in the community; but it is well known that very seldom do any of them refuse to defend and try to clear by fair means or foul every criminal great or small, which appeals to them. They do not seek to get them justice or even justice tempered with mercy; but an absolutely clear title for a known criminal and thus try to thwart the ends of justice and set free upon an innocent public the worst of criminals. And most remarkable of all is the fact that you never see the courts or lawyers themselves condemn these notorious and vile traducers of the people. Did you see or hear of any prominent lawyer or judge who condemned or gave deserving criticism of Darrow in the McNamara case? Public sentiment must be aroused to condemn the criminal and all his allies; to denounce and repudiate all violators of law and their abettors, whether they be personal friends or employed attorneys. Crime and violation of law must be punished and all parties to these violations of the law must meet with public disapproval before you can make progress in justice or equity. Every honest member of society ought to be interested in the promotion and establishment of justice in the community, and more than all others ought the courts and lawyers, to whom we have specially committed this trust, endeavor to secure for all, equity and righteous judgment. Instead, however, of being faithful and loyal to this trust, they.have betrayed the people, and in their selfishness have brought upon us a corrupt oligarchy of tyrannical courts and lawyers which recognize their accountability to neither God nor man. Attorney General Wickersham in a speech at the American Prison Congress is quoted as saying, "No matter how apparently unjust a law may be, whether it was enacted through the influence of one class for the guidance and conduct of another class whether it applies with unequal force to the rich and the poor — enforce it. CORRUPT COURTS I47 "A consideration o^ the nature of social organization will demonstrate the absolute necessity that all classes of society conform to the requirements of the duly constituted authorities, however wise or unwise they may seem to be. "He made a strong argument, however, in favor of a revision of these laws, not only to prevent the escape of the guilty, but to free criminal litigation from the mazes of technicalities which have so often caused the reversal of important cases." At the same Congress it is reported by the public press, "A paper prepared by Judge Charles A. De Courcey of the Massachusetts Superior Court was read, in which the Judge denounced the present criminal laws and said they were a disgrace to the country." He criticized the tendency of the courts and of lawyers to depend entirely upon technicalities in reversing and deciding cases, and said it was time the entire model of criminal procedure was changed. He asserted the words "aforesaid" and "whereas" were of more importance in an indictment or complaint against a man than the fact that he may or may not be guilty. He gave many instances of reversals of verdicts because of unimportant technicalities. Mr. Wm. M. Ivins of New York, read a very interesting paper upon the subject "What is Crime?" before the Conference on the "Reform of the Criminal Law and Procedure," in which he said "Blackstone defines it as a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the Supreme Court of a state, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong." And then he proceeds to say: "For want of a proper answer, in fact of any answer to our question, our laws have become a mockery, our penal administration an impossibility, our jails bursting as a result of the criminality of the criminal law, our police problem insoluble, and the community itself the victim of the contagion of ignorance, which has removed the distinction between criminality and the condemnation, I will not say of society, but of the crowd. The danger and the seriousness of the situation is that we are confronted with problems which our present organization of society seems to be entirely unable to solve." Felix Adler, Professor of Social Ethics in Columbia University read a paper before the same conference upon "The Ethics of Punishment" in which he says, "No matter how deeply we may pity the accused at the bar, no matter how largely we may take into account the influence of evil heredity and the contributory influence of the misery due to social mal-adjustment in heaping up temptation in the path of the guilty human being, nevertheless, in the last analysis, we are bound to affirm that there was in his nature that which might have resisted the temptation; that he might have defied the evil soliciations if he had chosen to do so. If we abandon the notion of guilt as appertaining to the evil doer (if we deprive him of his character as a moral being, and thus of the honor which remains to him in his utmost disgrace) if we deny that he is in truth the doer of his deed then we degrade him to the quality of a mere thing, one of the countless terms in the series of nature's causes and effects. Then we deprive punishment of its most valuable attribute; for punishment (and this is the gist of what I have to say) if it attributes censure, does so on the ground that the man was not the mere sport of circumstances, but that there was in him an indestructible force which he might have opposed to these invad- ing influences. This fact is before us; it is that we condemn ourselves and others for moral transgressions. But to condemn one who could not have acted otherwise than as he did, would be self-contradictory. Condemnation involves the capability to leave evil deeds undone, and to bring home to the offender the sense of this capability is the main office of punishment." He might further have added, is it not an insult to the Almighty for us to be constantly making excuses for men in their guilt and in their crimes and sins when He, the Infinitely Wise, Just, and Good Being holds each man accountable for his deeds, yea, for his very thoughts? Once more he says, "The criminal is guilty — he is not merely unfortunate or sick, the prison is not a hospital. The man is guilty. He has done the dreadful deed which he might have left undone." At the same conference. Professor George W. Kirchwey of Columbia University said, "The essential functions of government, what are usually conceded to be primary functions, are three: the maintainance of domestic order through the repression of crime. 148 EQUITAXIA, OR THE LAND OF EQUITY the making of war and the provision of a medium of exchange through the monopoly of coinage. Well if anybody believes that the government is performing that function (the repression of crime) and performing it satisfactorily he should have attended the canference of the last two days. "Nothing has been clearer than that the administration of criminal justice has proved to be a lamentable failure. There have been multitudinous illustrations given of that fact, though the one portentous fact, which stamps itself upon the memory is the fact that crime is not diminishing in any civilized country, but that it is, even in our favored land, relatively to the population, actually increasmg. Especially is this true of crimes of magnitude, crimes of violence, crimes at which all the repressive force of the state has for centuries been directed. It is to us as individuals and still more as fellow members of the great corporation of civilized society, that there has been committed the high and difficult, but yet entirely possible, tasks of controlling crime at its very source, by dealing with the individual, with childhood, and with the home, thus shaping the citizenship of the future." The famous and somewhat renowned lawyer Francis J. Heney said, "Shakespeare suggests that the first step in reforming the criminal law would be to hang all lawyers. It would not be a very bad thing to do. It would have considerable effect. One of the crimes against society which most lawyers frequently commit is that of persuading people generally and juries particularly, that the presumption of innocence should prevail, that you must always believe a man innocent until after the prosecution has succeeded in getting twelve men to say that he is guilty." He might have added another wrong in allowing a prisoner at the bar to plead, "Not guilty," and after proving him guilty treat him just the same as if he had made no plea in the case. When a prisoner is before the bar he has no more right to perjure himself in saying he is not guilty, (if he is guilty), than a man has under other circum- stances, and if found guilty after having made such a false affirmation, he should not only be punished for his crime, but have an added sentence for lying before the solemn bar, that ought to be the bar of justice. For you can hardly use a stronger means of teaching and training men to He, cheat and falsify, than to teach them that when befo/e the judg- ment bar of the city or state, they can with impunity make public solemn and sacred affirmation of innocence, with the consciousness of guilt upon them, and in the hope or belief that by some hook or crook, by bold and brazen effrontery they may go free and defeat the ends of justice, and that their lying and connivance with a tricky lawyer may cover up their crime. Better not let the person on trial make any plea, then encourage or tolerate as a right and proper thing a plea so at variance with the facts. Make no plea, or make a truthful one, or finally add to the penalty for the offense committed a suitable one for false testimony and public lying, and suitable amelioration when an honest plea is made and truthful testimony given. The Louisville Courier Journal recently said, "The poor man has nowhere in these United States the chance of the rich man before our Courts of law. What with crooked judges and crooked lawyers and crooked juries — what with jimcrack technicality and the law's delays — the rich man has always a hope and something more than a chance. Not in any country of continental Europe does criminal justice hang so lax as in the states of American Union. Our courts of criminal procedure deserve to be a scorn and byword when compared with the criminal courts of England, France and Germany." Lest some one should think that I criticize the courts too severely for following custom, precedent, and outworn and obsolete theories instead of equity and justice, let me remind you of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Dredd Scott case in which it is said "The Court did not confine itself to the case before it, but went out of its way and decided three important points, as follows: First, that African negroes had never been recognized in American law or custom as persons; Second, that Congress had no power to make regulations for the territories acquired after the constitution was adopted, except under the constitution which recognized slaves as property. Third, That the Missouri Compromise already repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska bill, had never been constitutional. Of course no exception had been taken by Scott's counsel to the Supreme Court's ruling that negro blood was no bar to citizenship; but the Supreme Court dragged it in and over-ruled it. The Court held that they (negroes) were regarded in the constitution as only chattel property, were not included in the words, people, or SELFISH DOCTORS 149 citizens, in the Declaration of Independence, or Articles of Confederation, or the Consti- tution, remained in this condition of civil nullity, even when emancipated, had no rights except such as each state chose to grant them, and could not become citizens capable of suing or being sued." And this in spite of "the fact that free negroes were acutally voters m five of the states in 1 787, and were so even yet, save where the states had changed their constitutions to disfranchise them." Dr. Brown — You have hit the lawyers in this country pretty hard and have correctly, I think, shown the evils of their wrong view point and practice; and you have shown us clearly how effectively these evils have been overcome in Equitania. I am wondering how they handle the question of public health and how they train the doctors, whether or not they do justice in this regard. Horace — I am glad you asked that question, for a physician of your own country has written so recently upon the abuses in the United States connected with health problems, and the course he advises is so like what the Equitanians practice, and the results are so beneficial and promote so great harmony and good feeling I am sure you will be glad to know about it. Here is what this doctor says: "Some evils of monopoly not generally recognized or appreciated in Europe and America might be fittingly mentioned. "First. The monopoly in medicine, or the medical trust, and the hospital trust or monopoly. Of course you will be quite surprised to see these mentioned as you had never heard nor thought it possible for a practical or even nominal trust to exist in these fields of utility, science and philanthropy. But notice how very care- fully it is worked, and how quietly it is unconsciously imposed upon the people. "To begin with no one can practice medicine, or the healing art, unless he complies with a certain fictitious standard imposed by those who have arrogated to themselves the place of public censors in the matter of health, and assume not only that they know better than anybody else what is best for themselves and their particular friends, but they know what is best for you and your friends and they propose to make you do their way, whether it is best or not for you to do so. They are not satisfied to treat you as an intelligent, rational, and responsible being to be reasoned with, shown the facts, and persuaded of the better or best way, but they must needs coerce you to their way of thinking, believing and acting in the care of the body to maintain health, cure and prevent disease. There was the Old School of Medicine, the Allopaths, and they tried for years by fighting the Homeopaths to keep them from having any standing in the community, or from the right to practice, by unfavorable legislation; then the Eclectics were under legal fire, then the Magnetic healers, the Osteopaths, the natural-born bone setter, all so-called quacks, all adver- tising doctors, and last the Christian Scientists have had to make a bitter fight to get legal recognition and the right to treat those who desire their services. All the way through it has been a close trust or monopoly trying to stifle competition and compel people to bow down to one school of practice at the first, then after another had been admitted to legal recognition, it joined with the first to prevent further inroads. But as others came in, they too joined the ranks of the others and it looks as if there is almost no end to the effort to prevent freedom of choice in the matter of one's care of his own body. Now the fair, right, and equitable course would be to let every responsible person choose his own method after faithfully presenting the truth to him, as far as truth is known upon the subject, and let him employ any person or method he may choose, so long as he does not endanger the public. In other words make it obligatory upon the healer or practitioner to state the truth about his abilities and qualifications and let the public know the truth, and let the individual then choose for himself. Do not allow the practitioner to deceive, defraud or unwittingly rob the individual or the public. It is proper, it is right, yea, it is an important duty of the state to prevent fraud, deception and misrepresentation upon its citizens. But it is no part of the slate's business to either make me have any certain physician or kind of treatment, or deprive me of any remedy I may desire, so long as I am a free and responsible citizen, and so long as such course does not endanger the public welfare. Publicity of the facts, not of theories, visions, dreams, and vain imaginations, but of the facts and wide spread knowledge of the truth as far loO EQUITAXIA, ()1{ THE LAND OF EQUITY as it is known, and the deliberate and effective prevention of false, deceptive, and mis- leading statements are iSe true remedies for all fake, unsound, and impractical schemes whether in medicine or commerce. "No honest person could object to having a common requirement for every healer, in that he must publicly and privately state the truth about himself and the grounds upon which he claims to cure people of their physical ailments, and the means he proposes to use in the prevention of disease. If the public knew more about these things it would be better for the people, and herein the regular profession has greatly erred in the past by being too exclusive, too reserved, and too ethical ( ?) to tell the public as much as it ought about the human body and how to care for it. "If Mr. Jones wants to practice the healing art with no other qualification than that he is the seventh son of a seventh son and was born in the dark of the moon, let him say so to the public, and let anybody who wants to do so employ him. "If Mr. Smith wants to practice the healing art with no other qualification than that he is a natural-born bone setter, let him say so, and let those who want such a practitioner have him. "If Mr. Solomon has taken a course of regular, homeopathic or eclectic medicine of one, four or seven years in the schools and hospitals of their respective pathies, let him say so, and let him practice among those who may desire his services. Only see to it that they are privately and publicly telling the truth about their qualifications and their claims. Then hold them responsible for any damage which may come to the public for any woeful ignorance and calamities which they might easily have prevented. For example they should observe the quarantine laws against scarlet fever, diptheria, small-pox, etc., and failure to do so might justly and fairly be punishable in a measure adequate to the damage done. "Thus competition would be open and fair, and no fraud or deception would be practiced upon the people and real merit would win because of its intrinsic value, and not because bolstered up by special privilege or legal enactments. "In the United States particularly the several states have laws for the regulation of the practice of medicine, and even where one has taken the necessary course authorized by the state to receive a diploma, he is still not allowed to practice his profession until he has taken an additional examination by a special board of examiners appointed by the state, which seems an incongruity and the result of political graft, and inconsistent with the spirit of freedom and education. But it gives a few more power, it gives this profession more wholly over into the hands of monopoly. Even worse and more ludicrous, however, is the fact that after one has complied with all the conditions in any one state and finally secures his diploma, and then a certificate permitting him to practice medicine, he is limited to that one state, and can no more exercise this function of a free born citizen in another state than if he were a foreigner or an alien. And he must put up more money and go through a lot more of red-tape and often further examination, before he will be allowed to carry on his business in another state. He is a citizen of the United States, but he can only carry on his legitimate vocation, no matter how well qualified, until he has complied with special conditinos or taken particular examinations for each state in which he may desire to practice. As if a man could be qualified to practice in New York, but wholly unfit to treat the citizens of Nebraska without further testing of his ability. But another more flagrant monopoly in the profession in both Europe and America is this. After one has pursued the studies required, gained the diploma desired and been given a good and sufficient certificate to practice medicine in all its departments anywhere in the state granting such certificate, he cannot put his patients in the public or even the charitable hospitals and treat them himself, unless he happens to be a man with a "pull" and gets a position on the staff of such hospital. The state has said by giving him his certificate that he is qualified and prepared to treat in a scientific and skillful manner any who are sick in that state; (Oftentimes this is deceptive, misleading, and entraps the unwary who believe so implicitly in the certificate thus furnished by so high an authority that they give credence and weight to his claims which would otherwise go unheeded) ; And yet when he is called to treat a poor man's family and finds that he could care for it so much better if the sick one were in the charity ward of the public hospital, he is told yes, you can send NARROW DOCTORS 151 hLZ'r\ ^^11 ''"' T '^""°' "■'"* ^'"^' f°^ y°" ^'■^ "°t °n the staff of the hospital. In other words you are all right to treat this poor man or his f ami y at home, under the most unfavorable conditions, but when you move him to a hospita ^eaTh m nf *nT \''''' """^'"'' **>^° ^^^ -« -* ^ -it-bk persoS to treat him, and we will turn him over to one of our staff who may or may not be so him o^r T^ ^""'^'^l^^^ J^-d some political, church, or society influence to put him on the staff and so he may take your patient and exploit it before some class of Man? ".t T '""' 'I''' *°u*'"?'* ^'"^''^^ "P ^* y°- ^'^P-^^ or disadvantage iTJJZ t ^°^T^"^°' "^^'^ '^^ P-^^ig^ °f special privilege over others uL outclassed them and risen to prominence and large business above their competitors Ihis then IS unfair competition, this then is a species of crude monopoly sanctioned by long usage in the profession. "Hospitals should be conducted in the interests of the people, but too often they are conducted in the interests of a clique of doctors. Even the hospitals conducted .11 X 7"r J" ^Vn^ asfeeders to build up some particular man or men, and that often regardless wholly of his merit or his religion. If he has given a good sum of money toward the hospital, or if he happens to have a large business and can bring some prestige to the hospital by the use of his name, he may be an abortionist a drunkard or other disreputable character, he has the influence considered important and he is given a prominent place on the staff of the hospital, while the young man just beginnmg (may be fdly competent, and for some of his patients may All — Yes; that is the natural thing to do and what we would like to do. Horace — Well, that is fine, I am sure, but you must know there are certain conditions only upon which we can go into this country. We are foreigners, and must comply with their naturalization laws before we can become citizens or subjects. However, as you all seem so much alive to the merits of this country, I will tell you at another time how we may all get in. It is now quite late and we must part for the present. After you have all thought it over carefully, come to me and we will arrange the details. Good night. EQUITANIA OR THE LAND OF EQUITY By dr. W. O. henry This book is an imaginary story, taking real people as we find them in the world today, who, acting upon the prin- ciples of Equity and Justice, found and conduct an ideal DEMOCRACY t gives the reasons for and the principles of a DEMOCRACY t gives the ideal political system of a DEMOCRACY t shows how to prevent TRUSTS and MONOPOLIES in a DEMOCRACY t shows human rights are above property rights in a DEMOCRACY t shows the interest of the State in every indi^'^dual in a . . DEMOCRACY t shows prevention of delinquents, dependents and crimi- nals in a DEMOCRACY t gives the true method of dealing with criminals in a DEMOCRACY t shows how courts may be properly constituted in a DEMOCRACY t gives the true system of EDUCATION in a . . . DEMOCRACY t shows the place of the true rehgion in a. . . DEMOCRACY t shows the need for a MORAL CODE in a DEMOCRACY t shows the relations of civil and religious liberties ni a . . . DEMOCRACY t shows how all are mutually benefited in a DEMOCRACY t gives the place of the doctor, lawyer, preacher, journalist, teacher and publicist in a DEMOCRACY t shows how to care for the poor and the unfortunate in a. DEMOCRACY t solves the problem of the unemployed in a DEMOCRACY t demonstrates who should vote and why in n DEMOCRACY t shows the place of the home in a .... . DEMOCRACY t shows the place of the child in a DEMOCRACY t shows how the SEX question is handled in a . 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