26 JULY 1913, Page 3

It is a preposterous policy to strain at every gnat

of social hygiene and swallow this monstrous camel in silence. It is, we believe, sometimes urged that such disease is the just reward of vice, and should be allowed to continue unchecked, since systematic remedy can mean only the recognition of vice. We cannot believe, however, in the accuracy of this boasted dispensation of justice, since it allows those who corrupt innocent girls and ruin the homes of married people to escape without its penalties. Those who signed the letter have done themselves credit. Many of them are known as men of strong religious feeling, and nothing but careful thought and a high sense of public duty can have induced them to make this declaration. They have earned our warmest thanks.