The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-09-15
THE BLINDNESS OF PREJUDICE.

A former resident Of Wichita, a
bright and shining advocate Of prohi-
bition, who finding the wickedness OF
this city too great removed himself,
with his family. to Kansas City, Mis-
souri,, where. in enjoying greater moral.
religious and educational privileges he
and his, would be saved the contaminat-
ing sights and the crime and terrible
experiences growing out Of the whisky
traffic, writes us, in a sarcastic vein,
that the troubles which the Eagle pre-
dicted would accrue from the crusade
havenot been borne out by the facts. Our
fin-di-sielce friend visits the X. G.. Y.
NJ. c. A. building every day. where he
finds the Eagle on file, and so believes
that he concludes and writes advised
ly. The same criticism comes to us
through another channel, that Of the
columns of a contemporary.
No facts which we could state would
penetrate the ironclad prejudice of 4
man who had gone from Wichita to
Kansas City, Missouri, in search of
an improved moral atmosphere, nor
any truth we could utter convince the
cotempOrary referred to, but here is q
paragraph which they might possibly
read for the imagination and romance
which it contains:
AS result of the first month Of the
crusade which was to make IAN ex-
ample of Wichita" for the benefit Of
prohibition at large in the state, up
wards Of fifty families have left the
city, together with sixty-odd single
people, principally women; eighteen
business rooms and sixty or seventy
resident properties and homes have
been vacated; one wholesale house,
one manufacturing firm, two grain
firms and two livestock firms have
gone to Kansas City, and others are
threatening to follow; two retail stores
are closing out; in the consequent
falling off of business there has been
more distruSt, discomfort and appre-
hensiOn than at any previous period
in the history Of the town; ill feeling
arising out Of divisions of sentiment,
have distracted two of the largest
church congregations in the city, weak
eninS the influence Of their ministers,
and decreasing church attendance in |
nearly all Of the churches; from |
Misrepresentation of the facts through !
outside papers the people of the state |
have been prejudiced against this city; |,
officers have been removed without |
cause, a judge depOsed by fanaticism; |
a number Of suits have been brought |
and prosecuted at great cost without |
securing a single conviction, or any |
promise that there will be any, but in
the prosecution of which hundreds OF |
men have been taken from their bust
ness by summons as jurors or as wit
nesses; but, through 1t all and over it
all, the fact remains true, and is I'M
disputed, except by the men who were
set on to do this work, that the Illicit
traffic in liquors has not been curtailed
to the amount Of a single gallon for
the entire month.
That is pretty long sentence. q
whole paragraph within itself, but it
facts sufficient to convince
anyone Of the folly Of such a fight,
save such as he who removed from
to Kansas City to better his
moral and religious surroundings, and
who writes us his hypocrisy and sar-
casm under the thin guise of a Chris
tan well-wisher desiring only to point
put to US the errors Of our way.