Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-04-30
DR. TALMAGE ON ROLLERS.
WHAT HI HAS 70 sAx ABOUT sRAx.
ING R1wKs.
Tho Tabernacle Pastor FavOFs Them
when There are Suitable RemtRlcs
tiOns-KHe DemOunces FIfrtaafOns

tiOms-He DemOumces FEartaafOns
The Rev. DIR. Ta!mage preached be-
fore q very large audience on THE
Good and Evil of Roller Skating" 1.-THE
noise of the wheels over against them, !"
and THE noise of the rafting of the
wheels were two texts which DIR. Tai
mage selected from the Old Testament.
Tin one home, he said, fare the wheels
of help and in the other are the wheels
of destruction. The good or the bad
wheels of this world will determine ITS
destiny; wheels of railway trains. of
printing presses, of sewing machines,
balance wheels, belt wheels, driving
wheels! And now the wheel has been
applied to amusements. Are the roller
skates wheels of help or wheels Of de-
struction2 Never in my time has there
been 80 much discussion of the subject
of amusements as now. For the last
twenty five years have been looking for
some healthful amusement for the rescue
Of this nation. Of honest healthful
amusement there has been an awful
scarcity. There is no lack of gambling
saloons. There are plenty of grog-shops
where the owner. by the expendi-
|. ture of $l2 for alcohol, can make mix
turc that he can sell for $500. Plenty
of gates of hell, and all of them open
but of honest. healthful amusement there
is scarcity. Seven o'clock in the even
ing finds thousands OF men at home, at
boarding. house or at hotel How shall
they spend the EVENING" Go to prayer
meeting, says one Well, that will do
for two evenings of the week and for
Sunday evening. but what of the four
evenings left for secular puposes2 Go
to lecture on astronomy you say. but
the young man is tired out with adding
up long rows OF figures, and trying to
make people buy what they don't want.
lie doesn't want TO know anything
about other worlds, for he has a hard
enough time in this.
What our people want is some recre-
alton that will help body and mind, and
will enable them to 60 to sleep at II PM.
and awake refreshed at z A. M. That will
make them not merely splinters of human
ity; not masculine and feminine apollo.
giles. People are asking If the skating
Kinks are providing this kind of amuse-
ment. You ask me if favor them.
answer yes, with restrictions; without
restrictions, no. Some of them have exhil-
arated the body and mind, given health
and strength, and afforded innocent
amusement. But there is as much diff
ference between skating Kinks as between
heaven and hell. Skating rink exercise,
with proper precautions, seems to me to
be the most healthy Of all amusements.
It eclipses bat and ball, croquet and
lawn tennis It is good for the nerves,
for the muscles, and for the spirits. 1t
has all the advantages of the gymnasium
and the old-time skating on ice ponds,
without the dangers. It would be we'll
II all our young men took one hour day
of this exercise. 1t would be we'll if our
American women who decline to adopt
the English habit of the constitutional
walk would turn their back on their
housekeeping and try for an hour day
this exhilarating sport. The great de
mand of this country is for some honest
amusement for its women. who are dv-
ing for the need of it.
There are possibilities for good in
roller skating which can see in no other
amusement. But now / come to the re-
strictions. Let there be an end TO young
ladies going alone to any place of amuse-
ment. And If a man tips his hat to q
lady whom he does not know at
skating rink let the pro-
prietor conduct him to the door and a..
sist him down stairs with all the momen-
tum necessary. Let not the bright lights
and the music tempt you to senseless
prolongation Of tho amusement. Let
the department Of the par.or be the de-
pertinent Of the skating rink It is time
that the people understood that Irritation
is damnation. When on Broadway or
Fulton street, when the world of bust
ness men are returning home, see the
daughters of respectable families with
giggling and unseemly conduct trying
to attract masculine attention. remem-
Der that the vast majority of those VINO
make everlasting shipwreck carry that
xind OF sail
Nothing pleases me SO much as to
see young people having q good time.
that is, an innocent good time. People
are apt to forget that they were once
once boys and girls. Go back forty
years and think what was best for Won
then. Rheumatism is Incompetent to
rive advice to q sound ankle. But
amusement IS not st for anything that
does not iit us for usefulness. Alas for
the man who makes amusement deple-
tion instead Of an augmentation
Coffee made with distilled water Is
said to have kfeatlp improved aroma.