Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-08-18
A WOMAN'S VIEW.
The President of the MissisSip-
nj w. G.. I. L. on the Du-
ty of Statesmen.
The Chicago Saloons and Sun
day Closing of the Exposition.

Editor Mississippi Leader:
l notice in a recent Issue of the
Clarion an editorial line introducing
an extract from a letter of Senator
Manderson, of Nebraska, on the sub
ject of Sunday closing of the Colum-
bian Exposition, which says that as
all the saloons of Chicago are open,
front or rear, on that day, that Sun
day closing means the encouragement
of vice and that virtue is not afforded
fair chance for competition, etc.
Such reasoning is utterly unworthy of
those who are to legislate for n great
nation, though, perhaps, to be expect
ed from Senator of a State whose
chief city has licensed saloons, gam
bling and prostitution. Two wrongs
can never make a right, and because
the saloon is always and in every COM
munity in which it is tolerated per-
sistent, defiant and incorrigible law
breaker, is no reason why our law
makers should bow to this state of
things and recognize it in their legis-
lation.
The laws of Illinois, like those of
our own State, declare that saloons
shall be closed OIL Sunday, yet the sa-
loon there, as here, openly defies the
law. Now if the saloon cannot be
made amenable to law, as other bust
ness is, and States and municipalities
are pOwerless to execute their own
laws regarding it, it is preferable that
the strong hand of the Government
should come to their help in this mat
ter instead of weakly yielding to its
eneroachments, and this the moral
element of the people will demand of
Congress at no distant day in such
terms that it shall not dare longer to
disregard them.
There is one test of the morality of
Sunday closing which should be ap-
piled and it is this question: "Upon
which side is the saloonf' Senator
Manderson has stated in Congress that
Sunday closing will result in largely
increased revenues to the saloons of
Chicago and for that reason Chicago
saloon keepers favor it.
A correspondent of the New York
Voice has interviewed the prominent
saloon-keepers of that city and all,
without exception, favor Sunday
opening. One Fagin, proprietor of a
palatial saloon, run in connection with
one of the largest gambling houses in
the city, said in this connection
"One would naturally think that
from a mercenary standpoint we
would favor Sunday closing, bat that
is not the case. YOu see if the Fair
is closed, people will not stir about
the city so much--at least they will
have no particular object in coming
down town-while if it is open the
people from the north and west sides
of the city will have to come down
town on their way to and from the
Fair, and all of them will have to
change cars. This will make tre-
mendous crowd In the business part
of the city, and, of course. that will
make our Sunday sales run up to very
much more than on week days"
On the subject of this lawlessness of
the saloon, a recent report of the sec
retary of the Liquor Dealers Protec-
tive Association of Chicago is so sig
nificant that l cannot forbear quoting
a few lines. He congratulates the
mem bers of the association on the fact
that only one in sixteen had been
prosecuted for violations of law, while
of outside dealers. one in every eight
had been prosecuted, and boasts that
"the agents of the Citizens League
do not relish the idea of attacking a
man who has this association at his
back On this the Voice comments
as follows:
"Think of it! an association OF
tradesmen openly boasting before the
world of the success with which they
have terrorized the community so that
they can violate law with compare
tive immunity! In the Worlds Fair
city, tool"
Having seen good deal on the
other side of this question, l shall be
much obliged if you win publish this,
from Your truly,
(MRs.) LAvINIA s. MOUNT,
President Miss. w. C. T. U.
Greeuville, Aug. 8, 1892.