Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-12-09
Wickedness in Town and Country

I
Does the aggregation of men favo
the growth of wickedness? Does tn
crowding together of people in larg
bodies blunt their moral perception
and make them more lenient to mani
festatious of moral obliquity thar
when isolated from each other in Tn,
country? In brief, is there an urbai
and a rural code of morals? 1t ha
happened in Texas that we have
condition that justifies the sober ask
ing of these questions.
Gambling had tlourished in Dalla.
for years, undisturbed, save by spor
adic raids that were compromised in
the police courts the following morn.
ing by the payment of trining fines
Gentlemen of the green cloth throvc
and waxed fat, insomuch that one OF
the chiefs of the sports" came to be
reckoned among the Healing citi.
2ens" of the town, whose wealth, pub
lie spirit aud enterprise made his
presence of value to the city. The
"eminently respectabler were subdued
by his wealth and his gentlemanly adj
dress. and society respected him and
his family. His vocation was over
looked, and society took him and his
family to ito bosom. A grand Jury was
selected as inquisitors of public doings
and private misdoings. The Jurors
mainly were drawn from the
country, and they knew not,
on respected not, the social
eminence of the men who preyed off
the weakness of others They in
dicted the gamblers by scores, and
they plastered the indictments on
deep. They were in war paint, and
the states legal representative stood
with them, They proposed no terms.
The enemy must evacuate. as well as
pay prcuniary penalty for past vio-
lations of law. The story is known
how the merchants aud citizens of
Dallas put in their "inhuenoe" for the
gamblers, and were snubbed hy the
grand jury for their interference. The
country arrayed itself against the
town, one declaring that the "gam-
hlers must CO. the other exhaustine
legal ingenuity TO protect them. The
issue is one sharply defined, the boun-
dairy between the contestants being
the boundary OF tho corporation of
Dallas.
Waco presents like state of affairs
but az yet ii has not gained such cele-
ority as has Dallas. There also if il
Tue grand jury that grimly puts its
lace against making terms of COM
with the gamblers, which the
'tate's attorney had suggested I'VE
nave sinned and yc must bear the
penalty OF your transgression,r they |
'ay, and forbid the attorney to enter n |
'o@c in their cases, on condition TINT
hey leave the city. Not only must
hey leave the city, but they must
'ay Tor the evil that they have done
These cases illustrate the strict.
less of feeling in the couu rv
nd the laxity of feeling
II town against gambling. They
now The variance of sentiment among
ownspeople and country people upon n
neslion of morality or legality. In
hese cases the country people are for
he law. the town people Indifferent
'ut there is another question of law
reaking upon which there is as great
vision OF feeling between the conn
y and the town as upon that of I
The indwellcr condemns +
'nce-cut'ing MS strongly AS the rural {
ieprobates gambling, while the Int. ,
II views this manifestation of crip,a i
ith equanimity. Aud it is further q
ngular fact that that very form of t
which each condemns {
PES not affect the hostile marty I
nile each tolerates that which is a
ost fuinous to 1t. The farmer is NOT C
irt by gambling, yet he IL "soIIdp c
'ainst ii; the town, on the contrary v
men Is not directly affected by fence. "
lung, or is but little affected by II il k
lanimousiy against it. d
we propose compromise to this an. Al
sohism of the town and country II
i,e'i must be satisfactory to both d
~ calh@t fail to be of benefit p,,, q,
matter to vote. Let the town :,
whether or not fence.cutters shall '
h'lnue' and let the country decide o
ie'hef or not the gamblers must 90. !,
&c pan viii commend itself to all -
ie, possibly, to those most immedi. Ri
ny commemorative cutter and the :.
mbler. OF
TRINITY church bell at Mobile fell Al
no basement over 100 feet, hurting NO !,