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The Commoner
,TOL. 20, NO. 4
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A Single Moral Standard
(Tho man who in the course of his publio lifo
has initiated moro national political issues than
any othor contomporary American herewith pre
sents his nowost, Mr. Bryan does not announco
wjtothor it is his purposo to launch a national
campaign in behalf of this issue and whether ho
.expects to seek action on tho question by tho
coming Democratic National Convention. He has.
however, urged tho writing of this principle into
the. proposed Constitution of tho .State of No
braska.) Editor Collier's Weojcly,.
As tho invitation oxtonded to write an article
on tho Single Standard of Morality is due to tho
fact that I brought this matter before the Consti
tutional Convention of Nebraska, now in session,
it may bo well to quoto here what I said on that
occasion and then elaborate tho prpposition. It
roads:
"And, just at this time, whon the most cor
rupting ihfluonco ovor known in politics is pass
, ing out, never to return, woman enters and, add
ing her conscience to tho judgment of man, has
tens tho triumph of every righteous cause.
' "Lot me Illustrate it as I see It. Suppose two
.armlds of ono hundred thousand each are strug
gling for1 mastery on a hotly contested battle
' Hold, and that, just at the moment when the
conflict is at its height, half of the army on ono
v side" is drawn away, leaving the field to be de-
' fdndod by the remaining half, would not this in
crease tub dhancos of victory of the hundred
thousand? And suppose that, at the samo'tlmo,
' iftty thousand fresh troops came to re-enforce
' the ono hiiiidrcd thousand? Thai is what we
have toddy. ' JuBt as tho debasing power of the
' saloon is' being drawn away from ono side, the
conscience of woman comos to support every
' causae Ih'at promotes tho nation's welfare. ,s
tn . "Our, Sfatd has dono its part a creditable
(t'$artin'v. securing these two reforms. Now, I
von.turp1 to' suggest a stop in advance. 'I would
'"fjlk6to .tide tlio Stato of Nebraska raise 'herd 'the
ujiiijidr oi the noxt groat moral reform l)y wrlt
Jn'g iiitb. the Constitution the single standard of
,, fcnorallty. ;All legislation rests upon a theory,
mntj that' theory should be stated in the Consti
tution; You will necessarily indorse; by impji
&tJ6n at least, tho single standard or the double
Btahdard. I urgo tlio indorsement of the single
staiidard-Hno segregation of sln no licensing of
Vice, the. ponaltlos for immorality enforced im
' partially agalnBt tho two sexes. That is, in my
f Judgment, to bo tho next groat moral reform, and
I hope to see Nebraska ldad the fight. The women
f are hqrei; their consciences will bo with, us; their
' influence' will help us. How dare we longer dis
criminate, against woman and givo to. the ,'im-
' moral man, a respectability that wo deny to her?
1 1 bdg you to consider whether this is not tho time
for Nebraska to indorse tho single standard of
morality. Man and woman will stand side by
sldo before the judgment bar of, God; If they
must stand on an equality thero, wo should not
give ono of them an advantage over tho otlier in
tho tribunals which man creates."
SOCIAL EVIL HAS NO FINANCIAL BACKING
The tasks of society are successive; tho ener
' gios of society are continuing. Reforms may bo
compared to crops; The ground is proparod; the
sedd is sown; then follows a period of growth,
and finally tho harvest is ready for tho sickle.
Tho earth, the sun, and tho moisture are the con
tinuing forces; tho crops come annually. So with
reforms. During the early years of a reform
.those who preach it are like "tho voice of one
crying in the wildernoss," but "a truth once ut
tered can never be recalled." It echoes and
echoes- and echoes until the echo drowns put all
other sounds. It is God's way, and we could not'
, worship Him as wo do if Ho had not provided
-as surely for the triumph of every righteous
-cause a3 Ho has that seedtime and harvest shall
follow each otlier year after year. Is it not t'lnio
for the energies of society to turn' to a new re
form? The -oyer throw of the saloon would', of itself,
havo been sufficient to proparo the ground for the
rtjform which we, have 'under'' consideration
Itjlnce nlcohpl contributes in many ways to sex-'
ual immorality. It unlooses the atiimal in man,
paralyzes tho will power, and thus lessens resis
tance to evil. The saloon was tho copartner of
every vice and tho promoter of every form of
' sin. It not only emboldened man ton assault
, .woman's virtue, but it used woman to lure the
unwary into temptation. If not prevented, by
law the men engaged in tho liquor business would
have capitalized tho attractiveness of. women
and made the. occupation of barmaid the most
remunerative position open to them. The coun
try went more than halfway toward tho elimina
tion of the social evil when it banished the drink
ing place.
But the advent of woman into politics makes
tho present time even more opportune in fact,
compels society to givo attention to an evil that
brazenly reduces woman to tho basis of the brute
and measures her value in physical terms only.
In speaking to the momhers of the Nebraska
Constitutional Convention, I made, I repeat, only
three applications of the theory upon which I
would havo them write the Constitution of my
State; first, no segregation of sin; second, no
licensing of vice; third, the penalties for im
morality to bo enforced impartially against the
two sexes.
Tho attempt to segregate sin implies a recogni
tion of it as legitimate and, therefore, legisla
tion permitting it is based upon tho theory that
there is a double standard of morality, one ap
plicable to man and one to woman. Who would
suggest setting apart a district in which stealing
or killing would be permitted?
The same is true as to the licensing1 of this
vice, whether the licensing be formal, as in some
countries, or Implied as in the case of periodical
fines which carry with them tho promise of im
munity for a certain length of time. The public
found to its sorrow that tho licensing of a saloon
was at onco seized upon as an evidence of legiti
macy, and men engaged in the business indig
nantly protested against interfdrehce with a
"business recognized by law." The fight against
sexual sins will be much easier than the fight
against the saloon, because there are no vast
combinations of capital ready to furnish an un
' limited corruption fund. The social evil has no
considerable financial backing; the supporters of
a single standard of morality cannot be black
listed,, browbeaten, and driven out of politics by
rich and powerful organizations. Then, too, in
the social evil each single act is a sin, while it
was not a single drink, but the drink habit, that
aroused opposition, v
It will bo comparatively easy to eradicate en
tirely every semblance of legality and make the
social evil a vagabond.
The larger task will be to correct the in
equalities in the law and put man and woman
upon the same level fn the matter of punishment.
I speak now of the punishments enforced by the
law!" but they will increasingly influence public
sentiment, which has heretofore made glaring
discriminations between the sexes. It is when
one comes to examine the penalties for immoral
ity that he recognizes how clearly they conform
to the double standard theory. Three illustrations
will suffice.
In one pf the States the law, until a few years
ago, permitted a husband to obtain a divorce .up
on proof of a single violation of the marriage
vow, while a wife was compelled to prove habit
ual violation on tho part of the husband. Tho
law now accords equal rights.
In the matter of bastardy tho penalty .exacted
of Hie man is usually insignificant as compared
with the penalty enforced against the woman. As
a rule, 'the man escapes upon the payment of a
few dollars, while the woman must raise the
child and suffer social obstracism.
The age of consent is another illustration. In
many States it has been raised within the last
few years, in one, where it still remains at four
teen, I found that the woman must be twenty
one in order to make a valid deed to real estate.
That is, she can barter away a priceless virtue
when she is fourteen, but she must be seven
years older before she is considered mature
enough to convoy a piece of stumpy land. If our
lawa are written upon the theory that men and
women must live up to the same standard of
morality, the penalty for sexual sins wUl be en
forced with impartiality against the sexes. This
is not only a matter of justice, but it will be of
incalculable value in the way of education.
SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE '
However, in every moral movement, law fol
.. lows .rather .than precedes public opinion. When
; public, opinion; has reached a ,point where it can
- compel legislation, its further progress- is ac-
celerated by tho influence which law cxerta wt
Tr- M'liT , uetore iaw is possible i
aftd a rapid.doyelopment of public opinion along
thin Htia a nrnlmMn "uufc,,
Science will greatly aid in this new crusado
it will reach some who vill nnf fm rt
ligious appeals. The investigations are now suf-;
uumuLiy uuuijmulu iu roDjovo every excuse that '
has been made for immorality, and to support
warnings so terrible that' no man rnrinhi nf
sdning can disregard thorn. The study of eugenics
a comparatively recent science will support
the Bible declaration that the sins of the father
are visited upon tho children even- imtn tho m-.i
and fourth generation. However harsh this law
of nature may seem to be, it cannot be violated
with impunity. But who will bring an indict
ment againt it when he understands how neces
sary it is to strengthen man against overpower
ing temptation? If one is indifferent to himself,
he may hesitate to afflict those whom he loves
better than his own life. And it must be remem
bered that the same law that visits sin upon de
scendants gives us assurance that righteousness
may bo bequeathed from generation to genera
tion. "The right of a child to be well-born" is
thus doubly secured, The pure blood of a virtu
ous parentage is a richer inheritance than royal
ty or lands.
GLORIOUS PERIOD IN HISTORY
The church will naturally lead in this reform,
for the Bible speaks in no uncertain terms on
this great subject. The Master protested with an
emphasis unequaled by anyone before or since
against the discrimination then existing and
still existing against women: "He that is with
out sin among you, let him first cast a s.tone at
her," is a ringing challenge to that spirit of in
justice which stones the women to death while it
excuses the man,
It was Christ, too, who went to the root of the
whole matter when He exposed the beginning ot
sin. "But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath com
mitted adultery with her already in his heart."
While the church will avail itself of all argu
ments, scientific as well as economic, its strong
est appeal will be to the conscience. It will ap
ply the law of service andhfse the power to love.
While it holds up before the woman the ideal of
perfect purity, it will force man to consider the
unspeakable' selfishness of one whot for a mom
ent's fleeting pleasure, will blast a human lifo
and drag down to the. bottomless pit one made
in the image of the Creator.
What a goriou period in which to live!
Schoolboys are wont to look back, to some Golden
Age of the past and express regret that they did
not live their brief span in those days. There
has been no Golden Age like the one. in which
we live no time when the average ideal was so
high and the average purpose so' exalted. In no
former time were the opportunities for service so
numerous and so large. The United States is
"blessed above all other nations of the earth in the
courage which its people possesa'to undertake
great things. Never since history began to record
the doings of man havo the people won at the
polls such a moral victory as our nation won
when the saloon was banished from the land. No
where have . women ever exerted' the influence
they have in the United States, and" that influence
will be increased in the immediate future. On no
other subject has man so cruelly misused wom
an; at no other time does he show such a con
tempt for her higher qualities. Here, surely, is
a cause in which every woman will be proud to
enlist, and she may hope to call to her side all the
men most of them coerced into active coopera
tion by conscience, the remainder shamed out of
opposition to her plea for justice.
WV J. BRYAN.
The retailers-continue to assert through the
, newspapers, their earnest desire . that prices to
consumers be lowered, ..They, are like the auto
mobile man, aghast at having run over a pedes
trian, who said, when asked why he did not
stop when he saw the man. ahead of him, that he
. never thought of it. Perhaps the retailers never
thought of reducing prices to their customers
as one way of getting reduced prices for con
1 sumers.
Sugar prices continue to hover about the IS
to 25 cents a pound average, notwithstanding the
fact, that a determined effort has been made in
Various quarters to force the profiteers to have
mercy outhe consuming public. The profiteers
manage , to .keep the price away up, possibly on
the theory that revenue is sweet.
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