Newspaper Page Text
Jan. 16, 1918.
The Curse of Profanity
faking God’s name in vain is such a
np pastime that one might suppose
s present generation utterly ignorant
the ten commandments. On a recent
gade hike all the swearing necessary
the entire Twenty-Ninth Di
sion for the duration of the war was ex
uted with nothing short of the mule
sr flourish and finish.
One may pass by. the vile obscenity
ne np in profane epithets as so dis
sting to any near-gentleman that none
ve the depraved or mentally deficient
suld ever degrade himself by resort to
ch low speech. This is the sewer va-
Jty. The only thing to cro is to summon
e sanitary squad. Then there is the
terly blasphemous, the heil-sounding,
■aven-hating, God-defying sort which
irdles the blood of even the respectable
an, about which we do not need to write
iy lengthy admonition. None but the
creant dastard could so despise his heri
ge as to descend to such levels. This is
e 1 ell variety. Only God can forgive it.
But then there is the respectable swear
g. at least folks who are respectable
dulge in it, and arrogate to themselves
le divine right of damning almost any
>ing or anybody. Some of it is good
atured and affable, a sos/t of recognized
lode, of complete understanding in sol
■ier camaraderie. Some of it is ill na-
■ tred and uttered in hot ctispleasure. Like
■ie Greek of old against his enemy he
■ ould implore the wrath of the gods. But
■ither way it shows a man's limitations.
Jor a man to have to be profane in or
■er to be sociable is as bad as the fellow
■■hose heart is so niggardly that it has
■o be soused tn whiskey before it will
low with social spirit. Then, too. the
Bellow who thinks that thus he is being
Igreeable forgets how disagreeable he
makes himself to thoughtful men. As
lor the hot tempered, swearing Jack, his
jvit is all run out. He has nothing left
Ivith which to defame his neighbor,
lie argues his mental weakness by un
lioly curses. A man of intellectual
itrength does not have to fume and curse
o be forceful. He relies on real powers,
I “he strength of straight, clean-cut speech,
he force of will, the fixed gaze of a clear
■ye, and the control of an ordered mind
knd the sure grip of a commanding per
sonality. Swear, and you corrupt the
power of speech. Swear, and you weak
en the will. Swear, and you muddy the
bye. Swear, and you soil the soul of your
personality. Public profanity is a confes
sion of personal weakness.
I Science has discovered that more blas
phemy is heard in the home of the idiot
than anywhere else, and second to that in
the hospital for the insane. It is no com
pliment to our mentalitly that we have to
listen to so much profanity in an army
camp. If the cussing word-vandal is good
natured about it. he borders on idiocy. If
he is mad about it, he verges on insanity.
Then it is a crude corrupter of fine
speech. Many a man who would other
wise have a splendid vocabulary has it
stolen from him by the cheap. substitute
of vulgar profanity. He can’t think of
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an adjective—so he swears. lie has for
gotten how to reinforce his verbs—so he
swears. He wants to put final emphasis
on a statement—so he swears. If he
wants to be negative, he swears. If he
wants to be positive, he swears. He thus
becomes negatively positive and positively
negative. Facing any emergency he must
swear.
The story is often told of the colored
muleteer, the minister.-the balky span of
mules and a beautiful Sunday morning.
The preacher admonished Sambo to be
cautious, not to lose his head, nor pour
forth his curses upon the brute creatures
which the Lord had entrusted to his
hands. Finally the elder was going to
be too late for his meeting, and told
Sambo that he might let out a ' beetle."
This Sambo proceeded to do with vigor
and facility. Instantly the mules under
stood and the balky brutes made good
their pace for the meetin’ house. Few
have heard the postscript. The next Sun
day the same combination came to the
same hill and the same turn in the road
with the same old balk. Again Sambo was
worried. Again he muttered in silence.
But this time the preacher took the reins,
and this is what Sambo heard. "You
poor, miserable, contemptible, corrupters
of public decency! Yoy low-lived, long
eared, four-legged. rhinocerous-hided
slumgullion! You degraded, debauched,
degenerate . diabolical demons of the
damned! You flippant, fantastic, fulmi
nating, filibustering fiends of the Furies!
You boorish, ill-bred, make-believe, ban
tering, blatant hybrid equines! You rois
tering, rollicking, rock-ribbed, rowdyish,
ribald rebellious unregenerates! You
spiteful, hateful, sodden, stilted, stentor
ian, stoical, stubborn steeds of Belial! You
capricious, carnivorous, case-hardened,
cantakerous, cankered, culprit curmudg
eons, You —
And with that teh mule team ran
away. Sambo fainted, and the parson
preached to jiis congregation on "The
Curse of Profanity!"
THE 28TH dTvISION
The Sons of Pennsylvania
Have fallen into line
And formed a great Division,
Disregarding Father Time.
There are fathers, sons and brothers
From the famous Keystone State,
And they’re going to lead all others
Into the jaws of grim, dark fate.
Some are old with years of service—
Years they gave to Uncle Sam.
Some are young and may be famous,
For they’ll do the best they can.
These brave men are all united,
For a great and humane cause:
To eradicate a monster
And uphold our rights and laws.
Pennsylvania will be proud
Os the glowing reputation
That will always enshroud
The good old Twenty-eighth Division.
—Henry D. Cox.
Headquarters Co., 109th U. S. Inf.
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