Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-04-27
SAYS LABORINGMENM US)T ENTER
WITHOUT CHARGk !.
That Is the Commissioners )Idea-He
VIII Make a Strong Appeal in the
Lslborers' Behalf-He Knows the
Clergy VIII Kick But He Intends
to Fight Hard.

reacneU IQe Guy To-Day ana VIII remain
some time to confer with his associates
on the national commission. Senator
BeckWith is determined that the world 5
falr shall be open on Sunday and will
make a most earnest appeal to the com
mission to throw wide open the gates
on that day that all may see.
He has the assurance that MANY of
his cOnfereeS will stand by him in this
effort. L have IA plan of action before
the commission" remarked the sena-
tor, (which l may carry out to secure
the opening, of the fair. Ii the greater
minds OF the commission agree that we
have right to proceed, l will 90 my
best to secure the passage of 4 resolu-
ton that will make Sunday the laboring-
mans day.
The sense OF the resolution will be:
Open the gates each Sunday and charge
no admission. Let every working man,
who otherwise would have no oppor-
tunity to see the fair, so to that great
museum Of instruction and better his
condition. The fair will not be injured
financially by this just act. Untold
thousands will be here to see it, and
they must necessarily spend days in
making exhaustive researches. The fair
must be open on Sunday. 1t is the
right Of man to see it and how we can
legislate to keep it closed on the Gay OF
all days for the workingman l cannot
see.
All, but | can even now foresee Il Gi-
gantic opposition to this proposition
The clergy will madly declare that the
sinful thousands will flock, to the things
earthly at the fair grounds and forget
God. They will declare that having the
fair open on Sunday free of cost will be
worse than opening it Sunday at the
regular price. | would fOreStall their
venom by making arrangements to
assign certain parts of. the grounds to
representative ministers of every de
nomination, where they could go and
their beliefs. l know the ministers will
hot like this. Their excuse will be that
they cannot leave their: churches to
preach out in the open air in the hot
suns rays OF exposed to inclemencieS
They will be still further diSpleased
because of the further order that might
be embodied in the Sunday opening reS0-
Iution, that no tithes be collected from
those who gather to hear the ministers
There is where the shoe will pinch the
hardest. AS it is now, the saloon ele-
ment and the clergy are working side
by side against the fair: and for their
own pockets.
Il want to see the worllingman, his
family, anybody who is constrained to
work week days, to have a chance to
see the fair on Sundays. If the min
isGers must spread the gospel let them
go, down there and preach to the thous-
ands who will eagerly seek to avail
themselves of the opportunity to study
mans greatest tributes to progress,
civilization and the Creator. That is
my unqualified stand on the Sunday
opening matter Furthermore, / would
have it that no liquors of whatsoever
nature be sold on the grounds on Sun
day when the crowds are there. By
prohibiting the sale no one can attack
the management that is conducting an
international fair with the claim that
it is but a catchpenny affflir. / have
every reason to believe that the other
commissioners wiz see this matter in
the same light that / do
I'm your opinion, Mr.. Beckwith, do
you think that the government has
abrogated it's right to dictate to the
worlds Columbian exposition that the
fair gates should not be opOen Sunday
by Withholding u part of the money
promiSed?"
II want to be preSenS tomorrow when
the national commission assemblies to
do battle vida this question, the most
Of any yet brought up. There
are learned men ia that commission,
deep in law and technique, and if they
do not arrive at the. conclusion that the
fair can be legally opened on Sunday
III make mistake. I'm not Il prophet,
although / do live. within a few miles
of Utah, but I'll venture the prophecy
that the fair WEI be open Sunday. #
not in the usual way, with fee for
entrance, why as I may propose-free
to all no tithes, no liquors, stands for
ministers Of all denominations TO preach
and no eXacting money. I am in re-
ceipt Of letters from influential people
in the west almost daily advocating
the opening Of the fair on Sundays,
even if the sacrifice of the gate receipts
has to be made. The purposes of the
fair cannot be subserved, they say, if
poor people are barred from seeing its
wonders"
The senator is an enthusiast on his
scheme for free admission on Sunday,
and a number of local directors are Of
opinion, providing that some scheme
be advised to enable them to
charge an admission fee. Senator Beck
with does not wish to be arrayed as
against religion, society and the welfare
Of the people in speaking of the efforts
of the clergy to close the fair. He is a
mason Of the highest degree possible
for a man to attain, and lives by the
motto: DO unto others as you would
be done by" He thinks the nations
epresentatives-the national commits
sioners - should assert themselves
against wasting many precious days by
closing the fair Sundays.
General J. w. St Clair, the big West
Virginian, too, is an advocate Of the
open Sunday He said today:
''The question will come up before
The commission tomorrow. / am in
;lined to believe that there are enough
friends of the open Sunday in our body