The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-05-13
Dp Wssrwoop's LEcrURE.-The an.


nouncement that DR.. Westwood would
preach, or rather lecture, last night on
the Coffee Houses of Wheeling" filled
the Fourth Street NJ. E. Church to its
utmost capacity. There was hardly
standing room in the church. Before
reading his text the Doctor said he
wanted to make an explanation that
was due to himself and to another per-
son. Last Sunday evening he had
occasion to speak of a decision rendered
in one of our courts in rather severe
terms. He had since been informed
that the Judge had complained OF the
remarks made on that occasion as re-
fiecting on his integrity. The speaker
disclaimed any such intention. be be-
lieved him to be man Of strict integrity.
I say this on my own motion, said
DR.. Westwood: | have not been asked
to say it,
The text was taken from the four
teenth chapter ofLeviticus, commencing
at the thirty-fifth and ending with the
forty-seventh verse, the subject being
the "Signs OF leprosy in house 1t
refers to the plague Of leprosy in the
DAYS of Moses, but will answer as well
for a more terrible plague spreading all
over this country to-day.
Seventy-four persons or firms have
invited inspection of their houses by
asking for licenses to sell liquor, and
the City Fathers also invite inspection
BY proposing to grant these licenses. /
have sometimes thought since have
been in Wheeling that these coffee
houses spread greater plague than in.
fected the houses in Moses time.
The coffee houses of this city are not
credit to it architecturally. The de-
scription given in the text where the
walls are described as having "hollow
streaks in greenish or reddish" They
are places, also, where men rendezvous
for no good purpose. They might be
tolerated if men met there to propos e
any good for humanity. But they do
not, and the candidate for office who
gathers his inspiration in such places,
gathers it from the lowest and meanest
of the city. They encourage the gath
ering Of bad men and OF idlers. A
man who has no time to waste is never
found in coffee houses. There is no
difference in them. The most respect
able-if such term can be applied to
them-are as bad a. the worst. They
call young men from home, learn them
to drink and do worse, and they entail
misery and want on innocent persons.
The proprietors OF the places, said
the speaker, add nothing to the gen
eral fund, and they are engaged in q
business that adds nothing to the wealth
and prosperity of the State. They are
idlers and should be discontinued as an
injury to the people at large.
These coffee houses, said DR.. West.
wood, offer every temptation to their
fellow men. They call their places
gardens" and saloons, and ornament
them with flowers and pictures, adver-
tise fancy drinks, and add the gaming
table to their attractions.
The City Council puts these fellows,
these whisky sellers, into the city and
permits them to scatter their poison
broadcast. II all the editors, nailers,
smiths lawyers and the like were to
attempt to leave the city, yon would
stop them and say, stay with us until
we can supply your places. But if
every whisky seller in the city were to
leave no one would stop them, but In
stead an universal Thank God would
60 up from every mother, wife, sister
and good citizen in the land.
Coffee houses are the avenues to pow
erty and disgrace. There are no stats
teal tables Of the want and misery
caused by liquor in this city, because the
men whose extraordinary modesty
caused them to call these mouths OF
hell coffee houses, would not make any
statistics; but | have no hesitation in
saying that the great mass of poverty
and disgrace in this city is caused by
them. No mans pocket is deep enough
to stand a protracted spree.
These coffee houses are the recruiting
offices Of hell. In the City Council
there are some, prechance, who objected
to recruiting Offices being opened in
this city to enlist men to fight under
the flag OF their country, who wink at
and permit the existence OF these re-
cruiting offices OF hell.
| arraign them, said the speaker, he.
fore the bar OF public opinion, and !
have the right to DO it. | arraign
them as the worst enemies the city has
Because | choose to carry on this in
spection, am told We are abridging the
s;.l.. ~ MAN all NO