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By Root 10319 0

are, she is attracted by his clothes, his talk, and his automobile. He has what they call a line. He gives her a lot of soft soap. So Mary has a date with him. He is pleasing, and spends money. She thinks he is a nice boy! Like the spider, he is weaving his web. He takes her out again, and drives toward the country. He pulls out a bottle and has a drink. He offers it to her. She demurs. He looks at her as if she were a zoological exhibit. He can’t understand, because all the girls he knows drink. He laughs and asks if she is afraid. She shows her fear. So he tells her: `Come on Mary, don’t be a wet blanket. Once won’t hurt!’

“Cursed phrase; ‘Once won’t hurt.’ That first time seems so harmless and so easy. It seems to have such little effect. And it leads straight down the road to perdition and ruin. With it, he plays on Mary’s vanity. He convinces her with soft-soap talk that once won’t hurt. Then, he takes her to a roadhouse. There, they meet other couples. It is what they call a wild party. Everybody but Mary drinks. She is teased, and told not to be a kill-joy. Once hasn’t hurt her. Once more won’t, they tell her. Rather than spoil the party, Mary takes a second drink. Before she knows it, she is drunk. There is dancing, immoral animalistic dancing and petting. Then, there is another auto-mobile ride. Mary goes home, pillaged of her most precious treasure, robbed (he smacked his right fist into his left palm) of that gift which is a girl’s finest possession her virtue, her honor, her chastity.

“This is not an exceptional occurrence. Pray God that it were! It is ordinary, and happens every day. It is the way in which Catholic girls, girls like those of you here, girls like the sisters and sweethearts and old schoolmates of you lads here, are ruined, and dispatched along a path that can only end in misery, both in this world and the next. You girls who are now listening to me! If you have not already met such temptations, you will. And, you fellows, your sisters will meet them. For if these squirts had their way, there would not be a decent girl left in this country.

“And when you girls do meet with this temptation what are you going to say? Are you going to agree that... `Once doesn’t hurt?’ Or are you going to say: `See here now, what are your intentions? I’m a decent Catholic girl, and I do not intend to fling myself away on any rat because he has a funny-looking suit of bell bottoms and an automobile. Before I ride in any automobile of yours, I want to know why you want me to go, what intentions you have, what kind of a person you are?’

“And you fellows, if you find some cake-eaters trying to take advantage of your sister, what are you going to do? Are you going to shrug your shoulders, and say that you are not your sister’s keeper, or turn your head the other way to avoid trouble? I know of one such case. It happened in Marion, Ohio. The sister of a young Catholic fellow was ruined, and died giving birth to an illegitimate baby. And the spineless brother answered my questions this way. He said: `Father, it would have been such a mess. Father, I believe that each person has the right to live their own life.’ Well, let me tell you this: God won’t agree to such a principle on the final Day of Judgment.

“If there is an ounce of decency and red blood in a young fellow, he’ll not do that. When any one of these jazz-age, drug-store cowboys starts trying to fool around with his sister, he won’t mince his words. He’ll say: `See here, now, what do you mean, trying to ruin my sister?’ That’s what he’ll say. He’ll tell him to get out and stay out. And he’ll punch his yellow nose in for him. Because that is the only kind of treatment these wise young squirts merit.

“Why, if I had a sister, and one of them started monkeying around with her, I’d grab him by the coat collar, and I’d say; `See here! You’re not honorable! You’re not decent! Are you going to let my sister alone?’ And then I’d let him have one.”

Father Shannon paused, and again mopped his face. He glanced from face to face in the church. He spoke with calmness