The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-23

Inc common AOJLSry ana ROllcy
Shows a Great Attraction for People
Who Have Once Visited It-A Gem
eral Fight on the Politely Players.
The pastors of the colored churches
carried out their programme last night,
as announced in yesterdays MORNING
News, of making an unanimous attack
upon the policy-shop evil and all species
of betting and other forms of gambling.
The lottery question was attacked from
every side, not only as contrary to the
teachings of the Bible, irreligious and
sinful, but as Improbable and a foolish
waste of money
Beth-Eden Baptist church. gave a very
able discussion of the subject.
His text was from Jonah II: "And
they said every one to his fellow, come
and let US cast lots, that we may
know for whose caue this evil is come
upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot
fell upon Jonah"
THE CASTING OF LOTS.
Beginning with his text, Rev. Ellis dis
cussed the ancient manner of casting lots
20 ascertain the will of God. To know
the will of God, ne said, had been enc Of
the aims of man i'll all ages. For this
to oracles and auguries. The urim
and thummin of the ancient Hebrew
temple, he said, was the priestly oracle
resorted to by the priests in cases of
doubt Their prophets, too, were resorted
to for the same purpose, he said.
There is only one place in the new
testament, he said, where the casting of
purpose. This is in the first
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles
where lots were cast to decide whether
Justus or Matthias should succeed Judas
as an apostle. This, Rev Ellis said was
done after earnest prayer for spiritual
guidance.
THE MODERN SIN.
From this exposition of the ancient
custom of casting lots, the speaker
turned to a discussion of the modern lot
terry system, which he described as a pro-
fame degradation of an ancient religious
custom. Lottery playing of all kinds and
especially the form known as policy"
so generally favored by the colored
population, was denounced in the strong
est terms as sinful, dangerous and hurt
full. Rev. Ellis exhorted his congrega-
tion against gambling in all forms, and
especially the vicious policy lottery.
GAMBLERS AND THEIR DUPEs.
Rev. E. X. Love at the First African
Baptist church came down heavily upon
the gamblers and lottery men as well as
their dupes. Gambling was denounced
as the most pernicious evil of the day and
the gamblers who foster the evil as no bet
ter than murderers. DR.. Love told his
people they were fools to go up against a
game where the proprietor made his own
wheel and the tickets too and was bound
to make certain that the losses were
never on his side. The hope of winning
800 and $500 at time was an illusions he
said, that might as well be given up.
Women, he said, members of his congre-
cations, had told him of dream
ing of plates of gold and
seeing the number which was
to win it. They might as well buck
into bank and steal the money, he said.
1t would amount to the same thing when
they came to the bar of heaven.
TO GET MONEY WITHOUT WORKING.
Gambling is nothing but trying to get
money of another without working for
it, and it is the same thing as stealing in
the sight of God.
DR. Love said he had had plenty of op-
pOrtunities to observe the evil among his
own flock. An officer of the church, in
making written charges against an
other member, had inclosed a
policy ticket by mistake He
had discovered an old brother who
was soliciting nickels and dimes for his
support, investing his money in lottery
tickets.
DR.. Love said that the city is honey
combed with policy shops, and on every
Saturday afternoon the crowds could be
seen fiocking into the lanes where the
shops were located, to get thenews of the
drawings.
He told his flock in conclusion that
policy playing was something that had to
be stopped, and that if he caught anv
more of them at it there would be trouble.
Rev. L. b. Maxwell preached at the
! Congregational church on Harris street.
on the same line as did the pastors at
the other churches, in opposition to the
practice of gaming. The evils of policy
playing were graphically pictured. The
preacher called for an abandonment of
gambling and the closing of the policy
| shops.