The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-08-08
AN OLD AUSTINITE CALLS THEE
MINISTER'S TO A
HALT,
AS WELL AS THE VERY ABLE AND
PIoUS CHURCH MAN.
de Advises Them to Mend Their Own.
Ways, and Then There Will be no
Danger of amy Corbett Fights
Within the Limits of
Texas.

and he was seated i'm front of the DriskilI
reading The Statesman. A reporter
sauntered up and exchanged the com
pliments of the season. The old gentle
man had rather a PARKWAY look on his
face and he finally blurted out: "WeIl,
see they are moving about Sunday
might shows and the prize fight still.
All want to say on the subject is, why
not start at the beginning. Who can
tell but what this Corbett- Fitzsimmons
tiStlcuff is the beginning of better things
after all in Texas, for you must remem--
ber that it is a long lame that has nc,
burn. For some years the water has,
been boiling away i'm steam, while the
fires have been cracking under the pot
while the moral ebb has gotten very low
The reformer for the most part has been.
going backward or swinging around I'M
circle. Twenty years ago here in,
Austin religion and morals were both in.
higher plane and moved in purer
atmosphere than they do now. was
here then and i ann here now and know
whereof | speak. We had our preach
ers- God-fearing and man-loving men
they We're, too. When they went into
| the sacred desk there was solemnity,
reverence and worship. Not one of them,
would have turned loose in a TRADE of
Billingsgate abuse, slang, vulgar foul
mouthed discrimination and vile abuse
of city officials, of business men and of
quiet house women who attended to their
domestic duties. But reform move
ment came along and new era set in
on us. The roaming evangelist hove i'm
| sight and swept down ON us. His pro-
| gram was to separate men and women
in their worship because he wanted to-
| say something to the men too foul
mouthed, villainous and dirty for women
to hear. He wanted to give them his
own experience, portraying a degraded
sot, vile debauche, debased creature,
and he invariably wound up his little
story with the theatrical display-"that
man stands before YOU" Our men and
boys went to these meetings, and going
| they learned more of THE inside of vice
and were seduced into making the ex-
pertinent for themselves. In short, these
sermons to men only were, of course,
vulgar language, profane doctrines and
foul-mouthod abuse of everything and
everybody. Then the ones TO women
only. Men were mot admitted to these
even though our own wives and daughters
were asked to hear what we could mot.
The old-fashioned Cody preacher with
solmcn words of warming as to perdtion
and words of winning eXhortation to
souls to- come away and be at rest i'll
|
soberly, speaking evil of mo man and be-
friending adj, was out of date. The
whole moral tome OF society went down.
How, you ask? Wehl, just this way. These
preachers, so called, were hired-so much
money contracted to be paid them-to
| visit certain localities as an advertising
card to boom town. Excursion rates
were arranged with the railroads. Ii
put money in their pockets, you know.
And Sunday, instead of being a sacred
day, was mace a day of gain, of froic,
of dissipation and wickedness under the
flimsy pretense of religious worship. The
same men in Dallas who are today de-
lmanding that the fight come off and are
putting up their money to bring it off
are some of b e same men who put up their
money to get Sunday excursions and
build tabernacles i'm % town full Of
churches-and make Sunday great re-
| ligioIs frolcing day TO advertise their
town and make money. The same rail-
roads that offer reduced rates to the
fight, rendered the conditions and for the
same end, TO make money for the evan
gelist fake. Sunday street car work
never paid ilf amy town in Texas till ar
Irangements were made with preachers
and churches TO abandon the town
churches, take the cars and go out to
some tal erlacle Ito be amused and en-
tertained. These fellows started the
wind, and now the whirlwind is ON u.s.
The men and women who were laugh to,
| go to the Sunday tabernacle frodcs are
now demanding that these same street
cars run for other amusements whioE
they claim are not any worse than che
iSunday religious entertainments. Churels
members are officers and stockholders in
the street cars, pleasure boats and pa
viliOns-ind If they can reap the profits,
Why can't the masses have their fun2
Let Jhe churches and the preachers set
theit houses in order. When the lead
ing lights of these big religious adyer-
Using shows and tent tabernacle displays
stop going to Sunday bull fights every
time tney visit the City of Mexico, as
have seen number of them do, let
them stop contracting with these corpo-
ratiops and religious tramps to divide
gate fees and basket collections and get
down TO old-fashioned religion and make
Sunday a Christians day. Let the
churches and preachers put on trial and
expel the guilty-those Christians who
own these modes of conveyance or Sab
bath breakers. Let the Young Mems
Christian association say you men car
not be officers and directors in our order
till you stop making money out of your
Sunday frolicing traffic Well, young
man, | mustn't talk too much ON this
subject, but you just let the wiseacres.
follow out my plan and when that is
dome, Corbett and Fittzsimmons and Dan
Stuart will all stay out of Texas"