The Jersey City news., 1891-09-14
THE HOODbUM SUNDAY.
Mgr. Seton's Singing Re-
buke Of Mayor
Cleveland.
PURITANIsM BEFORE LICENSE.
An Organized Effort Against Rum
Selling to be Made by the
Roman Catholic Church.
PuRITANIsM BEFORE LICENSE

M0n5fRnor seton OF Jo3epnS IL. y.
Church, Baldwin avenue, preached last
night on Sunday observance and rum
selling. His remarks were characterized
by earnestness, sincerity and courage, and
the sermon created some discussion
among politicians and saloon keepers, of
whom there are many in DR.. Sexton's
parish.
The preacher took as his theme an in
cident which occurred recently, when
Mayor Cleveland welcomed to the town
the convention of liquor dealers. Mgr.
Seton said it was a revolving spectacle to
witness the chief magistrate OF great
city pandering 70 class of men which
represented collectively the worst influ-
ence at work in the community.
His Honor even went SO far" said he,
s'as to intimate that he felt honored at
the privilege OF addressing the rumsel-
lers. a Mayor of a Christian city has no
right thus publicly and in an official
capacity to offer an affront to the better
sense of the community. IL Is repulslve
to every honest mind.
'sLiquor-selling should be repressed, or
at least kept within strict bounds, in
stead of being honored openly and its
representatives held up as an industrious
If not necessary class in the community.
My idea of a good citizen is man who Is
. sober, honest and industrious. ! place
sobrietv first because IL that Is wanting
it is all but impossible that the other
virtues should exist. Liquor conventions
do not promote sobriety. and the saloon
is not the training school for good clti-
zenshlp.
PURITANIsM BETTER THAN LICENSE.
81 have no love for Puritanism," said
he, ''but if we must go to one extreme or
the other, give me the Sabbath OF the
Puritans. with all it's narrowness and
limitations, in preference TO the Sabbath
of hoodlumism. We must not close our
eyes to plain facts. The liquor traffic is
undermining the best interests of the
country and is source of decentralization
to the laws of both God and man.
drunkenness and the corrupting in
f1uence of the saloons are running our
young men; yes. and in many cases.
through the brutality and neglect OF
drinking parents. leading our young
women to lives of shame. The saloon
keeper, through his heelers and hench-
men, is corrupting politics and throttling
legislation with an iron hand. Not only
are bad laws enacted through the in
strumentality of the rum power. but
good laws are overtnrown or rendered
imperative. The moral teachings of the
Church and the schools are, to a fright
full degree, nulIitied owing ito the bane-
full influence of the grog shops upon the
rising generation. The day of the Lord
is desecrated, and untold sins are COM
mitted because there is no healthy pub
lie opinion to coerce the saloon keepers
into closing their places on Sunday.
what is the use of enacting laws IL
they are not obeyedP The politicians are
controlled by the rum powerand they are
afraid to enforce the observance of the
laws of the State. 1t will not be said,
though, that the Catholic priesLs are prov
ing false to their trust.
1.-THE Catholic Church Is the natural foe
of hoodlumism and the dishonoring of the
Lords day. The priests will not shirk
the duty resting upon them Of raising
their voices in defense OF morality and
civic decency.
.'rell me not that rum selling is respect
able and legitimate. Granting that it
may be so under proper conditions. that
is not the phase of the question under
consideration. We are not TO look at %
broad subject of tLis kind through a
microscope. Everywhere we see the hane'
full and demoralizing results OF drink,
and the agonizing cries of helpless women
and children cali out TO us for protection
and mercy.
..In all civilized countries the dispens-
ing of Intoxicating liquor is merely toler-
ated, but is never raised to the dignity OF
an honorable avocaLion. 1t should be
hed9ed about by such legal fences and
walls as would minimize its power for
evil"
DR.. Seton SAID plan was being dis
cussed which would doubtless go long
way toward counteracting the corrupting
influence of the saloons in politics as we'll
as upon the morals of the people. The
Catholic pastors of Hudson county were
considering the advisability OF making u
united attack from their pulpits the sa me
Sunday against rum in politics and
against the desecration of the Sabbath.
1t is said that DR.. .Seton's sermon is the
opening of a crusade on the part of the
Catholic pastors against the liquor in
terest. inspired by report that scheme
is afoot to repeal the high license law at
the next session of the Legislature. At
the sametime many of the saloon keepers
intimated that DR.. Seton must have modi-
fed the views he entertained on the sub
ject of selling beer at church picnics
since the Rev. Father Hennessey and ne
had their famous dispute on the subject.
Father Hennessy condemning and Dr..
Seton defending the practice.