The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-16
is A MORAL VICTORY
DIR. Milburn Discusses the Results
of the Late Election.
Indianapolis Has Proven Herself No
Mean City-Gambling and Liquor
Selling-SOme Advice.

1t was but natural that in the recent mu-
nicipal contest, with the line so clearly
drawn between the better and the baser
elements of society, the churches of the
city should have taken a deep interest in
the outcome. In many of the city churches
yesterday there were prayers offered for
the safe guidance Of the new administra-
ton. DIR. Milburn. of the Second Presby-
terrain Church, devoted his sermon to a dis
cussion OF the result. 1t is given in full, as
follows:
A citizen of no mean city.-Acts xxi, &c.
This past week has been great week for
Indianapolis. The moral howl has done
its deadly work, and the hypocrites have
triumIned radiantly. 1t had always been
my impress sion that the hypocrite
rara avis, but / am glad TO know that
there are 1928 hypocrites in town. When
the hypoc-ite stands for right am for the
hypocrite, and when the saint Is against
the right am against the saint. 1t was
glorious victory for right. The issue was
clearly one. not between party and party.
but between right and wrong, between
what is good and what is bad; between de-
cency and indecency, and the better cause
Won
MARKS AN ERA.
Last Tuesday should be an era, a step
ping stone in the progress of our beautiful
city. Indianapolis henceforth should be am
bilious TO shine as a light unto the world.
1t should have one supreme ambition, and
that is to be the best city in the United
States. domianted by the finest conscience
and guided by the highest political ideals.
Cities, like men, have characters. They
have their special excellences and defects.
They have their peculiar elements of
strength and weakness. India iapois CAM
not be a city OF great comm ercial power
IL IKE Cnicago. nor can II nspe 10 attain IN
Boston tt is not impregnated with the
literary atmosphere as Boston Is, nor can
II be. 1t has no Harvard College TO DOM
mate and TO determine it's intellectual tone
and taste as Boston has, nor can 1t have.
Neither can 1t enjoy the social prestige nor
the literary and artistic life of city like
New York. In all these particulars In
dianapolis must be subordinate; but in
there is no reason why indianapolis should
not be supreme; why IL should not be q
light unto New York, Boston and Chicago
Why II should not blaze forth with a
unique glory upon the world. But to at
tain TO this moral pre-eminence we must
have an efficient and rigid civic admins
tration. OF course, character, morality,
righteousness are primarily matters that
touch the individual and the home and for
ultimately responsible No city, no matter
how strenuous and rigid its administration
may be, can make bad man good, an un-
clean man clean, or manufacture a con-
science for the vicious The basis OF right
is the individual, and the great nursery or
character Is the home. But 1t Is none the
less true that the civic authorities have an
indirect influence upon the morals or the
community. They can make 1t easy or
hard for young man to be good; they can
make it easy or hard for u young man to
be bad. They can do much to maximize or
minimize the moral standards; they can
do much to enforce or undermine right
eousness. BY lifting up the standards or
virtue and duty high they can lift up the
conscience of the city. BY bedragglinS the
standards OF virtue and duty in the cutters
they can defile the conscience of the city
ard dull it's constituencies; they can fetter
ri a
Our civic guardians are our mroal guar
dams. They are powers that make not
material improvements, viaducts and cleo
trio lights, but also for the moral well be-
ing or for the moral woe OF tne community nv.
of the size of Indianapolis can do more to-
ward its moral elevation than any other
h mam 81 m mean Within e its limits And the
Board of Public Safety, by Its realty TO It's
obligations. can 90 as mucn 1or tb 1ne youns
women and mothers of the city, as all the
churches can combined. For the church
size by word and example the beauty and
the sweetness of the good; but the Board
OF PUBLIC Safety can inhiDIt the PAD ana
saw to the weak and unfortunate. with an
emphasis that they must obey, Ye cannot
lie life the men associated with the civic
administration OF city, have the finest
Opportunity to write their names in great
and the lovers of their felIow-men. They
can be burden, hindrance, moral pes
thence to community: on the other hand.
they can be an inspiration and help; con-
SENATORS of the public conscience and re-
deemers in large and noble sense.
THE CURSE OF GAMBLING.
There are two great curses resting upon
the spirit of our city, and 1t lies in the
power of the present city government to do
much towards the abatement of these two
great and growing evils One great curse
Is gambling. and it Is great curse for
three reasons: first, because it Is an eva
sion of natures law that man shall earn
his bread by the sweat of his brow. The
gambler earns his bread by Incidence, cum
ming and deceit, and that is not Gods
method Of bread-winning. Again, IL is a
great curse because it foists upon the COM
Gambling and gamblers are a dead weight
upon the back of humanity. Their habit is
their function is the ' function of
the parasite. They do not live
on their own EFFORTS Effort they live on the efforts
the men who are known as gamblers have
hearts; have no doubt that many of them
gambler in this community whose hand /
would like TO shake-not because he is a
gambler but because he did a most gra-
cious and noble act and came to the rescue
OF woman in a manly and chiyalrous way
in her hour OF need. There is another
gambler in this city; whose name has been
on almost everbody's lips during the last
campaign. who, likewise, to my knowI-
edge. has done al least one gracious and
worthy deed These men have hearts
many of them, and doubtless there is a
good side which they hide from the world
As men we should feel toward them the
same love that we should feel towards all
our felloW-beings, but as gamblers they de-
serve no pity and no mercy and they
should be ruthlessly crushed out. AS men
let us love and help them. but as parasites
let us do best 70 bring the species to
an end. The third reason why gambling
and gamblers are a curse is this. and this
IS the most serious reason: They debauch
the conscience of our city, they debauch the
conscience of politics. they debauch the
conscience Of orr parties they debauch the
conscience of our public officials and they
debauch the conscience of our young men.
They have prepared. TO my knowledge, the
way to States prison for more than one
young man within the last three months.
and / have not the slightest doubt that
they have prepared the way for many
more. II these young men have not gone
20 jail II is not because the gamblers have
not done their best TO put them there, but
because some kind and merciful spirit has
come 10 them i'm the hour of their sore dis
tress Gambling is an unqualified vice and
an unconditional curse. There is not one
word TO be said for IL; there are ten thou
sand words 70 be said against IL. 1t has
not a single solitary virtue; Ii is wholly
and altogether bad. Here, then. is field
In which the new administration may
work II is it's duty 10 do its utmost to
root out gambling. That IL win eXtirpate
the passion OF gambling from the human
10 - l.