The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-02-05
SHE GOT THE CROWD.
Mrs. Stryker Talks to a Vast
Audience
ABOUT THE MINISTER'S SHORTCOMINGS
She Says They Dare Not stand fol
Moral Reforms for Fear of Losing
Their Situations.


Moral Reforms for Fear of Losing
Their Situations.
An enormous audience attended the
meeting of Mrs. Althea Briggs Stryker
at Hamilton hall last night. Those who
couldn't get in stayed and crowded
against the others at the doorways. The
hall never was so crowded before No
convention or meeting ever called for
political, social, medical, mechanical and
scientific purposes ever so completely
packed it.
A half hour before the time Mrs
Briggs tryker began to speak, not only
was every chair in the auditorium taken,
but people were standing il the aisles
and were packed like cigars in box,
around the doors. Seats on top of the par
tltlons to the cloak rooms were at prem
lum. so great WAS the jam that there was
great danger that the weaker ones
would be injured, and twice was the
speaker interrupted by gentlemen on the
platform who pleaded to those who
couldn't get in to go away. Mrs. Stryker
spoke for an hour and half and the
crowd stayed by her.
1t was mixed crowd. People of all
faiths and of no faith were there
Friends and enemies of both the clergy
and the Topeka club were present. At
one time during her address when she
accused the pastors of being Indifferent
TO the cause of temperance there were
audible misses among the cheers.
Rev. NJ. F. N cKirahan, Rev. r. Wake
and Rev. Mr.. Dill were the only mem
bers of the ministerial union who were
present The first named prayed at the
opening of the meeting. and Mrs.
Stryker was introduced by Rev. Jerry
Botkin. chaplain of the senate He
said: "Three things in the world deserve
universal contempt They are hypo-
| critic, sham and a coward We find
these in politics and even in the church.
! 1t Is duty we owe to drag thesa into
the light and condemn them"
At first glance Mrs. Stryker appeared
to have on a red dress, but later it dawned
on the audience that it was blue dress
with red sleeves. The skirt was quite
| overshadowed by the sleeves. She be-
gan her address mildly. The speaker
didn't become fierce for several minutes
She Is young and comely, but her ora
tory is stilted and throaty.
After some preliminary reference to
the beauty of Ginning church bells and
their effect on the soul, she stated her
own creed in this wise:
81 love my redeemer and the gospel of
Christ L may seem severe to some of
you, but will say nothing but the truth"
Labor" she continued, clocks to the
| church for relief, and the church says,
'Sh-h, be quiet, capital rents the pews
and pays for the choir and contributes
largely: Can't you go to the soup
! house?' The cry is no longer, Here am
l, send me, but here is my check, send
somebody else Many churches, 1 be-
lieve, are more in the nature of social
clubs than temples of the living God"
Just at this point the big crowd around
the entrance was seen to sway and there
was great hubbub.
! Something was evidently wrong. Mr.
Botkin stopped the meeting and found
out that some women were trying to get
out.
II hope you gentlemen will step aside
and let those ladies out" said Botkin
They positively can't get out here"
replied man who was holding his plug
| hat above his head to keep it from get
ing smashed. Let them go out the
back door,
"You can't see as I can," replied Mr.
Botkln, The hall is just as packed back
there as it is in front" Mr.. Botkin here
started up the good old Methodist tune,
"All hail the power of Jesus name, Let
angels PROSTATE fall" in e fine clear tone
that was too high for even the women
Meantime the people who wanted to get
out succeeded after a most tremendous
struggle. The meeting went on. Mrs
! Stryker continued:
The church has put on its garments
of fine linen, and says, Lord, l am glad
| am not as other men are The church
is the great octopus, which has stIded
religion, and driven men from salvation,
and led them to doubt the very existence
of God. They tell us misIortunes are
| from Or0Vi6Auop hnt 7 foil van 10 h
never brought soul into this world he
didn't have room for.
"Christ drove the money changers out
of the temple, and in doing SO he didn't
stop to ask the mayor or the town mar
shall if he had right to, or didn't ask his
church to do it" Mrs. Stryker said a
friend of hers once asked fifty-two
preachers in St Louis to preach tempe
rance sermons, and only two responded.
The rest were afraid they would lose
their places.
'They don't preach temperance dur
ing the campaign, but Immediately
after the election they suddenly take
a notion to have big temperance
revival, and make peace with the Lord
The preachers talk prohibition, but on
election day vote for whisky soaks and
beer tubs, and after the election organize.
Civic Federations. The preachers nave
to let drunkards stay in the church, an
they have to let boodlers and libertines
stay in the church, but if a woman de-
parts one iota from the straight line
which has been marked out for her, it is
not hard for them to find an excuse for
! turning her out
81 have never been in the Topeka
club, but hear strange stories about it.
l learn that several ministers were en-
tertained there wild applause) and one
minister even drank beer there wilder
applause with whoopsl
''You often find more genuine Chris
tianiry outside of the church than in it
The Topeka club has recorded one grand
act. l have reference to Mary Hedrich.
The women of the sewing circles passe d