The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-06
RIGIDLY OBSERVED SUNDAY.
Success of the Liquor Leagues Efforts
to Enforce the Law Yesterday.
No Arrests Made, but the Spoilers for the
Saloon Men Active in Gathering Evidence
fer Prosecutions During This Week.

Everybody seemed 70 bs Observing the day
yesterday In every quarter of the city the gen
eral appearance was that of quietude. The few
strangers who were about the hotels were
amazed at the decorum and sobriety of the
crowded streets. To-day reminds me of what
indianapolis used to be-" remarked an aged citi-
zen, as he sauntered down Washington street,
and saw all places of business closed. 1--WE used
to know when Sunday came, but for several
years it has been hard TO distinguish 1t from any
other day. Since the Liquor League got their
clutches on the city. their hasn't been much
Sunday. and Tor one. hail with delight the new
order of things, and only hope the police can
keep this up for time indefinitely" The
quietude of the day, however, was not equally
gratifying to the saloon element. The white
aproned laborers, by reasoning with each other.
could not convince themselves that there was
anything in the business pause that they
could welcome with unfeigned joy. They
characterized it as introduction Of
the iron rule of the Jewish Sabbath. Indian
apolis is digging her own grave" said one sol
emn, red-nosed individual as he stood in front of
his saloon and gasped for breath ashis customers,
one by one, came up, tried his door, and found
it locked. Look at Cincinnati / was over
there the other Sunday. Everything goes
there, and money is plenty. was passing down
the street over there and was directed by my
friend to group of laborers, fifty or more with
coats off and sleeves rolled up, working on the
street Past them went the solemn. go-to-meet-
ing faces, and they said nothing. Nobody
seemed surprised at it. The saloons,
and nearly all other kinds of business
houses were open, and the money earned during
the week was put into circulation, and did some
good to the city. don't object to people going to
meeting, but am not in favor of diminishing
the dividends" This saloon keeper was one of
few who spoke as he thought. The great major
ity of the professional law breakers were wear
ing out their shoe-leather Iramplng up streets
and through alleys hunting for persons to prose-
cute. One citizen expressed generally APP
proved opinion when he said they reminded him
of devils in angels dress.
The members of the League were alone in
their detective work The constabes refused to
take any hand in the business, and the refusal
of the sduires to swear in any extra constables
left them without the aid of legal officers. The.
League spoilers could do nothing more than
sneak around and take the names of men whose
doors they found open, and who they had reason
to believe were selling. They made very
thorough inspection Of the city, and they
were greatly disappointed in getting names on
their little blank books, with which they had
been supplied. The rebuke they got in Dog
berry row last week somewhat disheartened
them, and they limited their surveillance to
drug stores they suspected of selling whisky or
cigars and cigar stores. The street cars ran as
usual. The butchers. with a few exceptions,
kept their doors open and supplied their custo-
mers with of the necessities of life. The gro
GERS all closed and the police last night reported
that they belived there was not grocery open
in the whole city. There were but few places
where cigars could be had outside of the hotels,
and these places were restaurants, where the
proprietors claimed that the law entitled them to
sell cigars to their boarders the same as it did
hotel During the afternoon Bernhamer pa
trolled the town. and, in company with his asso-
ciate, Fritz visited several of these restaurants,
bought cigars and winked at his partner. as if to
say: There is case make out your affidavit in
the morning." Ir was noticeable that the at
torney of altered tal!ey sheet fame would not al
low Fritz to go into a place alone. The men who
didn't get shaved Saturday had to wait until
to-day, for OF the three or four hundred
shops in the city not single was open.
This fact was the occasion for considerable com
plant from strangers about the hotels who came
in late Saturday night If a stranger spoke in
condemnation of the state of affairs In the pres
ence of a Liquor League representative he was
entertained with a lecture on the folly the
'hoiier than thou people had committed by COM
pelng the League to take the step it had. "But
this will not last long" they all argued
AOE ocAOEc d HAIL 0UL0u Ouuud1S nave paSS6U
the citizens will be sick of the whole bust
ness that they will plead for let-up" The
''cltizens," however, did not take any such view
of the matter, and the only fear expressed was
that the pety of the League would not hold out
long enough.
The spoilers" had evidently been instructed
to pay special attention to Sergeant Fredericks,
and during the day at least a dozen of them
marched up to the little stand whore the survi
vor of the arctic expedition Is striving to make
a n LIVING trla nt0 tic
window, and with disappointed look moved On.
Mr.. Fredericks was invited to spend the day with
friends in a distant quarter of the city, and did
not return until late in the evening, when his
door was open.
To the chagrin of the League who had prophe-
sied that the hotel business was utterly
ruined" the patronage of al the hotels yester-
day was larger than for several Sundays, and
there was very little complaining among guests.
The Denison cigar and news stand was closed.
The Bates sold both cigars and papers, and was
not molested, while the Grand sold papers, but
no cigars.
On many of the saloon doors were hung
notices intended to be funny or to express ridi-
cule of the state of affairs. One read as follows
"Irvington is city
Southport is the same
Indianapolis is city at ALL
But Simeon gets there all the same"
And:
For next Mayor-Simeon Gov
For Chief of Poce-Stephen Mattler."
There were hundreds of notices headed ITO
let" of which the follow pg is specimen:
ITO LEr-Biis will be received by the LIQUOR
League at their headquarters until IL o'clock any
night. for the erection of fence around the city
TWENTY-FIVE feet high 10 order that strangers may be
kept out With said bids will also be let cow and hog
pasturage inside the fence very cheap"
OF course many stopped and read these notices.
The opinion generally expressed was that the
Liquor League would be ito let" before many
" mr. g fnr
one to help them let 60 Of the knife that was
cutting their own throats
The leaders of the League were unwilling last
night to give any information in relation to what
they had accomplished during the day or what