The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-21

l the guilty could not hope to break 1t down. Indeed it bore the very stamp of truth, and was bound to carry con- Viction to the mind of any unprejudiced
 judge or jury.
 | It Is sufficient to say that the Norwich
 league has won every case that it has
 brought. Policy is no longer played here, disorderly houses are closed and
 Sunday liquor selling has received a
 very serious check, if not wholly stop ped"
 So I might report from many other towns, giving results of a similar char
 acter; but let me speak briefly of the city of New Haven, where have lived | for fifteen years. When the league was | organized there existed a score or more of gambling dens by which I mean pol | icy shops, lottery agencies, roulette wheels. pool rooms etc., which were | robbing the people of more than a mil lion dollars annually. Sunday saloons were open ip every quarter of the city; | houses of ill-fame fourished; vice of all kinds was rampant. Our two years
 work in New Haven has not made the city paradise, but we have wrought | marvellous change. We have driven | out the pool rooms, have burned up rou lette wheels have broken the back of policy playing and lottery selling, the | most pernicious of all gambling schemes; houses of prostitution have
 been closed; we have exposed the rot tenness of our police system, and have
 smashed the machine which was dic-
 tating in the interest of misrule. What has been done in New Haven
 and elsewhere can be done in Bridge port. What Is needed to bring about this change is unity of action on the part of the righteous forces of your city. The work we have in hand at present will accomplish little for the mirpove- ment of Bridgeport, unless followed up by a determined, efficient organization of its law-abiding citizens.
 The local Law and Order league forms a nucleus for the mightiest moral force
 ever felt in this city. Will the citizens of this community stand back and crit icise motives, methods and plans or will
 they rally around the only standard
 lifted in behalf of good government?
 Isn't there patriotism enough in the city of Bridgeport to strike a success full blow against lawlessness and in be-
 half of common decency in high and
 low places? I believe there Is, and
 shall be sadly disappointed If the local
 league is not supported in it's effort to punish crime and make it harder to do wrong and easier to do right than at present Honest officials should well come and encourage the league in it's work, for 1t is seeking to assist them where they acknowledge failure. This league should have the united support of the Christian church, for who shall stand for righteousness in a community
 if the church does not?
 Temperance organizations, Catholic and Protestant, should lend their unit ed strength in this movement. I have noticed in the papers that certain sa- loon keepers of Bridgeport have refused to be assessed for the purpose of de- lending law-breakers. I hope that is true, for wiser step could not be talk en by honest liquor dealers. The men who have not violated the law ought to join in an effort to punish those who nave. Whatever we may say about the liquor traffic as such, the liquor dealer who obeys the law is entitled to re- spect, for he is conducting business, whatever may be its moral character, as lawful as that of selling dry goods.
 Now, word of caution. Let no one make rash statements or charges with out positive evidence in hand. Do not hid in circulating rumors Be temper ate and charitable in discussing this important work, First be possessed of
 he facts, then use them wisely. Show no vindictiveness in prosecuting this work, Remember that the authorities need the hearty support of all good cit lzens. United effort, cautious manage ment, eternal vigilance on your part and better Bridgeport will be your reward.