Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-01

great force, which was loudly appiauded.
with the sentiment. Il loathe gambling
in the Utmost depths of my soul. l con-
denim it in the name of every virtue dear
to manhood, In the name of all the good
women of the city, In the name of the
| vital business interests of the city, in the
name of Jesus Christ, whose pale lips re-
| buked it, and in the name of God, who
| forbade it in the thunders of Sinai"
In conclusion the speaker said If by
| any fate of fortune he should become an
| exile from Birmingham the recollection
| that he had lifted up his voice for God
| and His people would enable him to die
| happy.
Rev. Father o'Reilly was, then intro
| duced by Judge Head. The reverend
| gentlemen, after the applause which
| greeted him permitted, said he was ready
| now and ever to help stamp out such a
: public evil as had been deadly visitor
! for two weeks to Birmingham.
| I'VE are not here" he said, ito make
! restitution to those who put up and lost,
| or to restore the 100000 taken by the
| races from Birmingham. 1t would not so
| much have mattered had we lost only
| this material wealth, but have we not
| lost what is of more value? Now let us
| do away with this school for scandal
| Before the races business men were UNI
| der false impressions as to promised BEN
| efits. Go among them now They Will
| tell you, with few exceptions, that the
| ness men in their own interests should
| rise as one man to join in this movement.
We all know that in great many in
| stances those of our people who went
| out to the fair grounds We're not Wander
| bits nor Goulds. daughter.) But they
| thought they had the right tip Qaugh-
teT and found out they'd made slip"
Qaughter)
/ Father o Reilly emphasized his convic-
ton that with gambling came the evils
s.,k. md nfh
| vices. He made an eloquent appeal for
| citizens to fall into line and raise their
voices loud and strong against gambling
| on the races.
Cen Rufus N. Rhodes who occupied a
| seat a little shy of the center, near the
amen corner, and whose rotund physique
| and beaming countenance were. regarded
up to this moment as chiefly ornamental
| to this exposition of public virtue, was
| called for and came forward promptly
| and made himself useful in helping TO
| frown down the evil which he confessed
| he had for twenty years been smiling
| upon and playing with. General Rhodes
was greeted with mingled applause and
| laughter He regretted the condition OF
| his throat, which prevented him from
making an extended speech. THE good
| men who have preceded me- he said,
| "are mere theorists. daughter and APP
| plause0 speak from practical expe-
rience." Much laughter) General
| Rhodes told that his boyhood had been
spent near the line that divided Ken
| lucky and Tennessee; he had been
| brought up as it were on the sport and
had become so fond of it that he had at
| tended a race at least once year, and
| had never seen one that he didn't bet en-
it, And he had done so on this recent oc-
casion up to the fifth day of the first
| week of the inaugural meeting of the
| Birmingham Jockey club. When he first
| began to go to races the horses were
| owned by men of wealth and the methods
| were different. He told how, in his opin-
| ion, the sport had passed into the con-
| troll of gamblers, so that the public got
| the worst of it, He said he observed that
| nobody condemned betting more than the
i man who bet General Rhodes related a
/ very pathetic incident to explain What
caused him to quit the races ana the
| bookmakers 1t was of the mother OF a
| former employe of his, who came to him
| and weeping told him her boy-a young
| man of % or %, had lost his month S
| wages The general said his quickened
conscience impelled him to offer her that
| bows lost wages. She declined. saying
that though her boy had followed his ex,
ample he had a power for good as well
1 as evil. and he then and there made
| compact that he would not bet on another
| race in Alabama. He said he was not
| going to let his own personal weakness
| stand in the way of his condemning what
4 KNEW
of his own observation of the lives OF
| bright young men that were wrecked by
1 gambling This meeting should speak
| out in trumpet tones. LET 1t be under
| stood" said the general, with great In
| sistence, "that the laws of Alabama must
i prohibft bookmalxing in Birmingham,
Hand that the law shall be enforced: CAP
| pIause) Mr. Rhodes concluded by de-
| claring that no mothers son should ever
| again accuse him of leading astray by a
| bad example. and praised the character
Of the meeting which included Jew and
| Gentle. Protestant and Catholic stand
| ing together in an inspiration to higher
| endeavor for the hope of home and the
protection of all the people.
| The applause which greeted General
| Rhodes entertaining confession of near
| ly a quarter of a century of weakness
| and wickedness was renewed when Rev.
| DR.. Barbour remarked: II am reJolced
| that Brother Rhodes is at the mourners'
bench. And I'm happy to think that he's
| come through
| Here somebody wanted to know if the
| general was willing to abandon hts
gambling sins outside as well as inside
| the state. He responded to the call of his
name but this time his speech was more
| impromptu than the first effort. There
| was a good deal of laughter and good
| natured noise at the function, but the
general rose to the occasion and said he
wouldn't make any great pretensions,
| but he hoped to do better.
DR. Barbour then said he thought
| Brother Rhodes would better stay on
the mourners bench while longer but
| he was glad he had made that manly
speech, and he hoped his magnificent