One of the Fruits of War.—
A friend sends us a clipping from the Durban Natal Mercury, South Africa, which contains an article crying out against the social peril. It represents the city as being overrun with lewd women plying their vocations of ruin in an open, shameless manner. The writer says: “If this is suffered to exist much longer, disintegration of society will follow, and in its wake a thousand and one evils, so graphically depicted in any manual of moral or social science.” Fearful disease is making great progress among the young men. The writer continues: “The greatness of a nation depends principally on the morals of its women.” He advises the authorities to keep them from landing if possible, as they are largely foreigners, but if not possible, to build two-room barracks, or two-room cottages, confine the women there, let them be inspected, certified healthy, and licensed. It is horrible. If it were not for virtuous women, nations would fall sooner than they do; but if the men were also virtuous, that would insure the nation’s safety. Why not shut up the men? Why should not the lewd and loose among them be treated as rigidly as the women? It is a simple, cold fact that nearly everybody will admit that there would vanish from the earth a great majority of the harlots, were it not for the demand of the baser man. Give him the treatment he deserves. He is no better than those he consorts with.