The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-12-17
COL. TOFPEY SCORED
The Rev. Mr.. Gates Says He
Has Broken His Anti
Election Pledges.
JUDGE LIPPINcoTT'S JOKING
Republican Promises, the Minister
Says, Make Him Tired-Wants
Saloons Closed ON Sunday.

The Rev. NJ. L. Gates, n his prelude
to his regular sermon at Grace M. f.
Church, Tonnele avenue, last night, made
some pretty pointed and scathing re-
marks about Sheriff Toffey and the Grand
Jury. The announcement that he would
touch ON the subject increased his usual
Sunday night audiences considerably.
"Grace church, he said, took the in
~itiative step in the fall of 1893 in the
formation of the Reform League, through
whose influence the overthrow of the
ring was assured and Sheriff Toffey and
other municipal officers were elected
This pulpit preached three sermons on
the subject of political reform, and after
reading Sheriff Toffey's pledge, which
said substantially that he would do all
in his power to wipe out Sunday liquor
selling and gambling in all it's forms, 1t
urged upon the voters to cast their ballots
for him. He was elected on the strength
of his pledge and on the presumed hon
esty of the man and his sincerity to carry
it out. He has not kept his pledge.
JUDGE LIPPINCOTT JOKING.
Now. Judge Lippincott assigned two
reasons for the existing state of things,
neither of which is true to the facts. l
believe the Judge was joking. No man
of good Judgment would dare say in
the face of the overwhelming defeat of
the Jersey City ring last November a
year ago, that the public sentiment of
this city is adverse to the enforcement
of the law. The other reason, that the
Sheriff cannot find twelve men in this
city who are not liars and are honest, is
equally ridiculous. This church alone
could supply him if he is short of men.
Such twaddle makes the healthiest man
sick, and 1 am e~ternally tired of the
Republican County Committee sending me
a vigorous exhortation just before the
elections, urging me to preach in favor of
reform md the Republican candidates.
and after my people nave voted for
them and such candidates are elected by
the n~on-partisan vote of the city, such
committee and candidates ont care a
nap for either preacher, votes or pledges:
longer remaining the mere football Of
both political parties, and the preachers
and pulpits and church people of this city
played with and treated like Maltese
Stop SUNDAY LIQUOR SELLING.
Mr.. Gates read extracts from Judge
Lfppincott,s charge to. the December
Grand Jury in which he scored the Sheriff
on the question of Sunday liquor selling,
and dwe1t with particular emphasis upon
the necessity of putting a stop to policy
gambling and pool selling. Continuing
he said that policy gambling was better
under control than it has been for ye1cs.
and spoke of the rad of 7. B.. Leste. s
place on Saturday night. He also SPOKE
of the work among the green goods men
in terms of praise, and Continued
But pool rooms and saloons on Sun
day are as bad as ever. There are TWEEN
ty-fve indictments against saloonkeepers
today in the Prosecutors office. They
have been brought before four different
Grand Juries, and not one of them took
any notice of them. The open saloon on
Sunday and the pool room business is
no a whit better under Toffey than it
was under Stanton. Every boy knows
this. and I demand in the name of this
pulpit at least that the Sheriff be about
redeeming his solemn pledge to do all he
can for the suppression of these evils,
or that he stand before the moral ele-
hent of his city as a demagogue and a
p~erjurer, biding the time when his term
of Office Shall have expired to relegate
him to the oblivion of public disgust,
ignominy and shame.