SEX HYGIENE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 214, 12 August 1918, Page 3

SEX HYGIENE.

MAJOR W. H. PETTIT’S LECTURE. There was a large attendance of inen at the Hastings Municipal Assembly Hall on Saturday, and again at the Municipal Theatre, Napier, on Sunday afternoon when Major W. H. Pettit, N.Z.M.C., gave his most instructive lecture on the sex problem. With the aid of an effective set of lantern slides the Major explained the laws of sex in plants and animals, and as regards the human race, he demonstrated vividly the baneful moral result if these laws were broken- He showed the effects of venereal disease and syphilis in their various forms upon the race, and disclosed in a most startling manner how the sins of the fathers and mothers were visited upon the children upto the third and fourth generation. He spoke of the power of religion to strongthen the weak in the hour of temptation. The affinity between alcoholic indulgence and immorality was strongly stressed. Telling extracts were made from the speeches of the late Lords Roberts and Kitchener and Admiral Jellicoe as to the necessity of strict temperance in the interests of citizenship and national efficiency. Dealing with the menace to the health of the nation owing to the contagious nature of the syphilis, he said that the worst feature of it is that, like gonorrbtea, it may be conveyed to innocent persons, and he warned people against using wash basins, baths, towels and even soap in places that are open to public use. Then he went on tv show that a man who believes himself cured may pass on the disease to his wife and children. Many a noble woman is robbed of the joy of motherhood because of . her husband’s sin. If a living child is bopn its life may be blighted by inherited syphilis A victim’s constitution is undermined, the body often wasted and covered with sores, and the face wizened and scarred. The bones and joints of the child may become diseased, and the teeth also show distinctive signs of inherited syphilis The awful fact that a man may thus become the betrayer and murderer of the woman who loves and trusts him, and may blight and destroy the life of his child before it comes to birth ought to constitute an irresistible appeal for a life of purity. Ella Wheeler Wilcox in her powerful poem entitled “The Price He Paid” has shown how terriole and far-reaching may be the effects el the disease.

THE PRICE HE PAID. I said I would have my fling, And do what a young man may, And I didn’t believe a thing What the parsons have to say. I didn’t believe in a God That gives us blood like fire, Then flings us into hell because We answer the call of desire. So I had my joy of life,: I went the pace of the 1/own ; And then I took me a wife, And started to settle down. I had gold enough and to spare For all of the simple joys That belong with a house and a home And a brood of girls and boys.

I married a girl with health And virtue and spotless fame I gave in exchange my wealth And a proud old family name And I gave her the love of a heart Grown sated and sick of sin My deal with the devil was all cleaned u» And the last bill handed in.

She was going to bring me a child And when in labour she cried With love and fear I was wild— But now I wish she had died For the son she bore me was blind And crippled and weak and sore . And its mother was left a wreck. It was so she settled m.v score.

I said I must have my 7 fiin» And they knew the path I must go ; Yet no one told me a thing Of what I needed to know. Folks talk too much of the soul From heavenly joys debarred— And not enough of the babes unborn, , By the sins their fathers scarred. LIFE’S CONTRASTS After reciting the above stirring verses Major Pettit said, that if •Dt* contrast between a diseased and healthy child fails to bring to any man an irresistible appeal tor a clean life there is nothing left within him to which anything on earth will appeal. 'When a young man faces the great choice between purity and impurity he must realise that it is not only his own health and happiness which are at stake. If he chooses aright he may some, dav become the father of a healthy, happy child. If he makes the wrong choice he may be responsible for bringing into the world . a child cursed and blighted by inherited disease. He will never be a husband and a father worthy of those great names. Many a man would give his right hand if he could efface for ever the memory of one deed of shame. How terrible it must be for a man to find that when he looks into the trusting eyes of his wife the face of another woman rises up before him. Oh! that men would realise how infinitely great is the reward that comes to a man who keeps his manhood clean. What are all the vaunted, pleasures oi passion compared with the love ot wife and child and the joys of a true home. When a man stands in the presence of temptation he should let the memory of his mother or his sister call forth all the best that is in him. Surely for every man there is enshrined in the person of some true and noble woman all that- he regards as most uplifting in ns thought of womanhood. Let us not forget the appeal that comes to us to live and play the game for the sake of those we love The lecturer concluded with a strong appeal to those present to get on the side with the leaders of thought in the great fight for moral reform, with special reference to the responsibility of each individual to so mould his or her habits as to he*p to establish a high and pure standard of conduct amongst the rising generation. By special request. Major Pettit, wilf repeat the lecture at the Assembly Hall, at Hastings to-night, commencing at eight o’clock. When ne was thanked on Saturday for thus consenting he said: ‘‘the thanks I want are not words, but a big audience of young men on the threshold of life. Give me this, it is all I want.” The invitation is given to all men. Those who accept will profit greatly by it. Those who stay away will continue, to live in ignorance of that which is of most important to their future well-being.