Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1896-08-05
A Letter FROM THE
CITY BY THE SEA.
Sunday amusement Ordi-
nance moves s1ou1y.
AND II NAY NOT get There" At ALL.
THE BACKWARD SEASON. THE sUPREMELY
SANCTIMONIOUS. THE NEW BOARDWALK.
THE ROSE AND DAYTON RAILROAD FIGHT.
POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES &C &C.

The season is a late one this year,
| but the hotel men will be a happy lot
| OF fellows if August will only pour in
its accustomed crowd OF pleasure seek
ers. Nearly every one who comes to
| Atlantic is pretty sure to come again
at some time or other. There is a charm
about this neck OF sand that induces
| the traveller to return as surely as the
Mahometan points his footsteps toward
Mecca. There is life, and health, and
| strength in these magic breezes that
| sweep shoreward over Neptune g wide
| domain.
AS l predicted last week the Sunday
Amusement ordinance is still in transit
and will not reach its destination in
| seasonto hurt anybody. Itisstill suspend
ed, like the Sword OF Damocles, over
the heads OF the poor fellows who have
paid extortionate rents along the Board
walk, but nobody seems to want to
| cut the string until the first week in
| September, and even then it may be
| thought best to let the old blade dangle
another year. think this wise policy
for it seems pretty tough to charge
g. fellow big rent and then shut him
| off from the best trade of the whole
week. This argument would not hold
good if less reputable places were closed
up, but as long as they are all left wide
open, why then serve everybody alike
and let the harmless Sunday amusements
have a chance. 1 find I am not alone
in my own view OF the matter, for I
have heard opinions expressed quite
| freely in regard to it. That shows that
some people on the island read the Press
| and that they take an interest in the
current comment OF the day concerning
vital topics OF the deepest interest to
| Atlantic City. The natives ito the
manor born are very Jealous of their
reputation, and you have to handle
| them as tenderly as doctor would
approach the gouty toe OF patient
worth about two and hall million
| dollars. These very good people I mean
the sanctimonious and supremely good
| always convey the idea the earth and
the fullness thereof is exclusively for
them especially that part OF the earth
known as Atlantic City. 1t never occurs
| to them that ninety nine ne-hundredths
OF all the visitors who come here never
| heard OF them and never want to. It
| is matter OF cold fact that people who
come here come for their own pleasure,
comfort and convenience, !; and when
| they think they do not get q reasonable
return for their money they will go else
where. This seems so plain to me that
1 don t think it ought to require surgi-
cal operation to get it through the skulls
OF some OF the goody-goodies who appar-
emily think that people come here exclus-
lively for their benefit. Now, Mr.. Editor,
I don t want you to set me down as
heather. l am not quite that. At
least I am not cannibal who boils
people in pots and then picks their bones.
1t is only the goo-guos who do that
by usurious practices and impossible
extortions. On the contrary l am a
citizen, a Taxpayer, church member,
and Christian l trust st-but one who
tries to look with easonable composure
upon a fellow-man who approaches
salt waite with no worse intention than
to take bath and irrigate his interior
with a glass OF beer. 1t is unquestion-
ably the TACT that people come here and
wash both the outside and inside Of
| their anatomy not always however
in the same fluid. Some use too little
OF the ocean and too much OF the rye
| Juice and malt extract. We cannot arrest
every man as soon as he deposits his
| foot upon the depot platform and put
| him through a catechism concerning
his intentions. We must take the vast
crowd as it comes in its entirety and
| deal with it as best we can. The one
| or two out OF every hundred who are
| hunting for trouble can easily be disposed
| OF when they find what they are looking
| for. The other ninety eight or nine are
well-disposed peaceable individuals who
come and 60 with no thought OF kicking
up rumpus, and intent only upon
| getting as much comfort and pleasure
as possible in exchange for their money.
| menotunreas sonabletO demand
that the minority OF one and the majority
| OF ninety-nine should be differently dealt
| with. Give the one the law and sll Of
it he desires. Give the Others the widest
possible latitude within bounds. A man
| who feels that he is too good to remain
| in Atlantic City, or who hasn t got the
| moral stamina to resist the seashore
temptations, should, like the Wandering
Jew, move on" to more harmonious
surroundings and congenial associations.
An imated with such lofty desires he
could gain admittance to Ocean City,
Ocean Grove, Island Heights, Asbury
Park and other places where people
stand SO straight that they tip right
over backward. At all these places,
l am reliably informed, good brother
when he wants his morning liver arouser
has to drink from an umbrella handle
or a flake" hymn-book, and has to have
his case OF beer shipped down in a crock
cry crate or in a box marked Ivory
Soap. Now this is awful to man who
is suddenly stricken with the Camp meet
ing thirst AS many are during the
dog days when old maids are plenty
and huckleberries are ripe.
On Wednesday last ! was talking
1 with gentleman who told me he had
been coming to Atlantic City every seas
before this c. for twenty-five years
| but this year he is at Sea Isle. l asked
him why he went to Sea Isle. He replied
that he liked our city best, but there
werdoo many here VINO wanted to
make it '.blue law" place. I think
| Continued on fourth page.)