The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-10-01
SOMEWHAT sHRnoH1m.

Those who 20 to the Post Office be
fore daylight on Friday morning to get
this copy of the REGISTER expecting
to find in it, displayed by startling
head lines, detailed account of the
proceedings had at the Police Court
two or three days this week, with the
four-line Plea caps, will be disappoint-
ed. The said details and.'the aforemen.
TONED names are not given for several
reasons. In the first place the REGIS
TER Is not sensational paper. Ithas
no ambition to achieve notoriety by
means Of its reports Of Police Court
proceedings. In the second place it
does not see that enough good would
be accomplished by publishing these
names and details to begin to atone for
the modification and sorrow that such
action on our part would bring to the
hearts Of great many good people.
In the third place. we have been re-
quested not to do so. Let what appears
to be the facts be generally stated then
as follows: Last Saturday night q
half dozen or more young men, belong
to some of the best families In town,
assembled in the upper room of q busi-
ness house. They had with them
some wine which they got by express
from Kansas City, and some oysters,
and 1t is fair to presume they ate and
drank. About eleven o'clock they
went down onto the street and went
into one of the billiard halls. From
there they went to another billiard hall.
At this latter place the city marshal
appeared and attempted to arrest them,
claiming that they were noisy and
were disturbing the peace Of the
neighborhood. They broke away from
him, but he secured their names on
Monday, swore out complaints against
them and had them arrested. One
Of them pied guilty and paid his fine :;
one was tried and discharged and the
case against the others was dismissed.
1t doesn't appear therefore that the
boys committed any very grave offense
against the law and their arrest was
perhaps ipjudicious and uncalled for.
But has it not occurred to the bows
that, taking their own testimony for
1t, they have committed an offense
against themselves? They are bright
and sensible In the main, all of them,
Are they not bright enough to devise
a better way to spend their evenings
than guzzling wine. hanging about
the billiard halls and tramping the
streets at eleven o'clock at night?
True, there is considerable good litera-
ture extant which would lead one to
think that this was the proper and or
thodOx way for young man to enjoy
his youth. There are fascinating tales
of the Elysian nights spent by Addi-
con and Steele ct al, about the festive
board, where the wit seemed to follow
the wine. But are there not other
tales. equally true, that tell how as the
hours passed the wit grew scantier as
the wine flowed more freely, until
when the morning came the merry
company were on the table or under it.
no longer merry, nor witty, just simp-
ly drunk? And let no one imagine
that because they drank wine and
were witty that they were witty be-
cause they drank wine. There is no
wit In wine. There is only foolishness
and recklessnss and headache
and regrets IN 1t. If the boys
are taking these men for models.
let them inquire carefully whether
they are Initiating them In the first
hour of their sitting or the last.
But suppose that none of these bad
effects follow. Suppose there are no
headaches in the morning, nor weary
eyes, nor summons before the Police
Court. We appeal to the boys them
selves, Are you entirely satisfied that
evenings thus spent were we'll spent.
even happily spent? Did you honestly
and thoroughly enjoy yourselves as
much as you tried to make yourselves
believe you did? Do you look back
upon them now with unalloyed salts.
faction I? If some business man should |
wish to employ you in any capacity
and should ask you for evidence OIL
your competency, would you proudly
call his attention to the fact that YOU |
were commonly ON the streets until |
midnight or whereabouts, that Won oc-
casiOnaliy drank q little wine or beer
ito get which you evaded or violated |
the laws of your State) and that you
generally took your exercise, after the
confinement OF the day, walking
around billiard table? Suppose 1--WE
know You will laugh. but just sup
posel that some Of these times you
should ask pure young girl to marry
you. Suppose she should ask you las
she should if she were sensible) what
preparation you had made toward pro
viding her with a comfortable home
and making Of yourself q high minded,
honorable man. whom she could be
proud Of: Would you then ''point
with pride" to the nights You had
spent "having good time with the
boys: ?" You are all near the verge OIL
manhood. Some Of you are past it.
You Will all have YOUR own way to
make. Are you very snre that the
nights spent this way are the ones that
will help you most to make it? viii
they give you sound health, well
trained minds. firm wills, pure mo-
tives, high purposes, noble ambitions ?
Will they send you into the battle with
armor aud arms, for defence and Of.
Tense, or will they send you naked and
empty-handed, beaten before q blow "a
struck? But II none of these personall
move Yna1 has a. ~