The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-02-19
QUINN PREACHED.
Two Sermons on Gambling
Yesterday at the FL
sey Chapel.
PROGRESSIVE EUCHRE AT HOME.
Refused to Talk Of the Recent
Action of the Jersey City
Ministers.

John P. Quinn, the converted gambler,
who is engaged in a crusade against gam
bling, talked to Jersey City audiences yes
terday for the first time this year. He and
his partner Golf came to Jersey City in their
special car several weeks ago. They made
arrangements with the leading dominies to
talk in the largest churches in the city.
They, and the ministers with whom they
made their arrangements, expected thou
sands to flock to hear them. But then
Quinn eloped with his partners seventeen
year-oid daughter, and all the domlnles can
celled their engagements. When all the
churches and all the preachers went back on
Quinn, Brother John Elsey, ex-Falth Cur1sg,
sx-Salvationist, ex-Methodist, who owns a
little chapel on Jewett avenue and is himself
preacher, board of trustees and board OF
deacons, in fact, sole proprietor m man
ager, who believes that salvation should be
free, who takes up no collections and conse-
quently has no congregation to boss him,
who cares not a whit for public opinion, IN
fact, John Elsey, of Elsey Chapel and Wash
ington Market, fish man and fisher for souls,
came for ward and offered his little house of
worship to the gambler. Quinn accepted
his offer, and that is how he was enabled to
reach the ears of the people OF jersey City.
Flaring circulars were distributed by
! Brother John, announcing that Mr.. Quinn,
who is ''unqualifiedly endorsed by pulpit and
press wherever he has spoken" would ex-
pose the frauds of the gambler, bunko and
confidence man at Elsey Chapel morning
and evening. The day or date was not an
nounced, people being left to infer that 1t
was to be on Sunday. Maybe it was because
the date was not made known that only
thIrty-fve people gathered yesterday morn
ing to hear the crusader. He was there, but
alone, his partner of life not accompanying
I, him. He is an elderly looking man with
gray hair and a smooth face. He wore gold
trimmed spectacles, which covered a pair OF
keen gray eyes. That he is a very nervous
twiching his head, twirling his thumbs
,or wiping his spectacles all the time
she was on the platform. After the singing
*of a few hymns and a prayer by Brother
! Elsey. Mr.. Quinn was introduced and spoke
! for about thres-quarters of an hour. While
} he talked for a long time he said very little
other than to tell b he has already done
in other cities and to give an accounts of his
, conversion. He had his gambling apparatus,
advertised to have been captured in Chicago
gambling dens, spread cut all around the
y Bible. but he did not use them, probably on
account of the small audience. In this audi
ence, by the way, were noticed several well
+! known gamblers and policy sharps, who
watched attentively every move the speaker
made and who went away disappointed that
he did not show how the swindling is done.
The substance of what he said is as fol-
lows
I cUINN's sERMoN
ssGambling affords no equivalent to the
general good. The happiness of the winner
Is the misery of the loser. Prof. David
Swing says:-s'There is no such thing as luck
with the gambler. The only way for him to
be successful the year round is to resort to
fraud When l started out on this gambling
crusade, I got down on my knees and prayed
God to point out to me what to 10 in this
matter. My friends said / would make a
failure, but God has been with me all along,
and he is with me this morning stronger than
ever before. These MISUNDERSTANDING to
his gambling apparatus have been
Instrumental in saving over 2,0O0
precious souls ard from IS to 30
thousand people have signed my pledge
never to gamble again. It is humiliating TO
stand here and tell you of the wicked things
/ have done, but l do it for the Lord. Last
night | received a letter from the wife of a
man / used to work Whimsical with would
be better-asking me if l would send her sol:
After l reformed / met that man and offered
him money or anything if he would reform
too, but he said that he couldn't, and a short
time afterwards, bounded by the officers of
the law and desperate, he committed suicide.
] am afraid the devil has goI that man.
"(With a nasal twang much visible emotion
and twirling of thumbs) Oh! my friends |
~ 81 Aa1 u W Save OAoh A0A A4C AdA6
himself. That is the fate of many gamblers.
dropping again into a natural tone of
voice Gambling makes thieves. This vice
will touch the greatest minds the age hes
produced. There is nothing in it but a
sneaking hope of success. The great trouble
with Christian people is that if you go and
tell them of other peoples boys gambling.
they will saY:-1 don't care But let some
one come n tell them their own boy is
gambling and they will yell:-'Helpt Help
at the top of their voices. The great trouble
is that people get more out OF a pack OF
cards than they do out of the Bible. You go
to a home where they play. progressive
euchre for prizes and you will find no morn
ing prayers in that family. The most serious
question of the moment is:-What shall we
do to save young men. that are going down
the stream that sucks them into the whirl-
pool of despair? l believe in prayer, but it
takes more than prayer to close the gam
bling houses. 1t needs a sledge hammer and
an officer true to his oath. Gambling is
authorized and protected by the authorities.
have not got my money it is all right.
A man who will protect a man who is
Tobbing his fellow-men is a greater criminal
than the man who robs. He takes an oath to
protect his fellow-men and enforce the law.
If every Christian would speak his senti-
ments and vote his sentiments we would
have better citizens and a country where we
would not need SO many officers to enforce
the law"
HIS PRISON SUIT.
Quinn wound up his discourse by exhibit
ing the suit he wore while confined in prison,
and told how he was converted while there
through the death of his wife and boy. He
was confined, he said, for a crime of which
he was innocent, and was pardoned after
fourteen months, the real criminals being
caught. When he left the prison in Novem-
Der, 1888, he started on his crusade against
gambling, and has kept it up ever since.
Leaning over the suit he said, with tears in
his eyes:-sThat old suit burns into my
heart like hot, burning iron. That and the
implements / use are consecrabed to God.
Lesus pray
HIS TALK WITH A NEWS
After the services I had an interview with
Mr.. Quinn.
win you stay long in Jersey Cityaa l
asked.
~ don't know he answered. II leave
tslat to the Lord. win go wherever he
may lead me.'
How long do you think you win remain
heregn
Il can't say. Ihave already received a
number of letters calling me to lecture in
other places. don't now whether to go or
not
What do you think of the actions of the
XXY-