Why past movements have failed.—This is the Social Evil as we have found it in the past and as it is to-day, together with the fundamental causes that are back of it. Movements have sprung up during past centuries to stamp it out or at least to limit and control it. Rulers from Moses to Charlemagne have attempted to deal with the problems which it presents. These efforts in the past have failed largely because they sought reform through dealing with the women of shame only and thus was recognized and fostered one of the principal causes of the evil itself.
Why the modern movement is more effective.—During the past sixty years there has developed the modern purity movement which has sought relief from the ravages of vice through a careful study of the evil and the application of such principles and remedies as would meet the situation effectively. This movement has been very rapid in growth not only in Europe and America but in all civilized countries. Even Japan has its book, “The Social Evil in Japan,” which not only reveals conditions there but also gives an account of the various organizations that are endeavoring to suppress public vice, and appeals for such legislation and education as will forever make the old régime impossible. While space will not permit us to treat historically of the origin of this movement or even to mention briefly those who founded it, we desire here to record our profound admiration for the early workers in this great cause. The “conspiracy of silence” was then in full operation. The faithful men and women who first stepped out from the beaten paths and espoused the cause of the “fallen” girl, were far more brave than he who faces midst the excitement of battle the cannon’s mouth. These pioneer men and women whose hearts had been wrung by the atrocities practiced upon the victims of vice, the utter despair in homes disrupted, and the agony of lives diseased and ruined, were socially ostracized, they were brought before courts, churches were closed to them, friends deserted them, mobs awaited them, all because they chose to set the slaves of vice free and to proclaim the truth. But still they were true, laboring faithfully on until to-day no movement for the uplift of society has a more general following and devoted leaders. All honor to the pioneers in the purity movement!
Men are as guilty as women.—The purposes of the present purity movement have been strongly hinted at in the statement of the causes which have produced the commercialized Social Evil of to-day. Workers now realize that if the dangers and evils of prostitution and public vice are to be reduced to a minimum, that vicious men must be dealt with as well as the women and that spasmodic raids and clean-ups and sensational methods and literature must have no part in the program. The methods employed must be both safe and sane and systematically continued for an indefinite time. The “conspiracy of silence” must be broken, but not by going to the opposite extreme; the “double standard of morals” must be banished forever, not by lowering the standard for women, but by raising the standard for men; and through legislation and the strict enforcement of law, the commercialization of the Social Evil must be made impossible. This programme is sure to result in success if the movement can attract leaders who are sincere, religiously normal and sound, and who will follow methods that are safe and sane. Great evils must be met with great movement if success is really desired, and therefore this movement must not be exclusive but should be large enough to reach and influence the great mass of our people. These remedies will effectively suppress the Social Evil if systematically applied, not instantaneously, evils are not up-rooted in that way, but by a gradual process of elimination that in the end will mean annihilation. The remedies proposed may be briefly outlined under the following heads: Education, Legislation, and Rescue Work.
Education.—We believe that every child should receive all possible knowledge, imparted in a pure and wholesome manner at proper periods, concerning the purposes, problems and perils of sex. The ideal place
to give this instruction being the home and the ideal instructor the parent, but where this is impracticable, as it is in most homes of to-day because most parents are ignorant of these subjects, the church, the school, and special instructors should be utilized. Most high-charactered physicians are fully able to impart such knowledge wisely. Normal schools should prepare teachers generally for teaching the subject of sexology. Through parents’ meetings, fathers and mothers can be prepared so they may at least answer the questions of their children pertaining to these subjects. The Church and Sunday School with their strong religious and spiritual atmosphere, furnish almost an ideal setting for teaching this subject to best advantage to the young. The instruction should fully set forth the dangers and perils in impurity and thus give the needed warnings, as well as portray the beauty, healthfulness and happiness of the pure life. Falsehoods or deception as to where the baby came from, or any other fact pertaining to the sex nature or function, should never be tolerated for a moment. The public should be made acquainted with the nature and dangers of the diseases of vice, venereal plagues, and told that much of our physical suffering is due to these loathsome maladies. Ignorance is largely responsible in permitting the Social Evil to exist. It must be displaced with knowledge. The double standard of morals must be fought, and men who are impure given to know that they cannot continue in sin without losing their social standing.