Evening star., 1897-01-04
tions. which he hoped the league would
adopt, but he was much disappointed
These resolutions f01lnv,.

tons. which he hoped the league would
These resolutions follow:
| Whereas some Of the Washington
| clergy, vino, like children, travel on haK-
fare tickets. have their church property en-
| tireiy exempt from taxst tfon. labor princi-
paiiy on Sunday at immense wages, through
vocfferous exhortation, noisy revival meet
| ings, changing church BELLS Salvation Army
drums, &C, on the pretense of desiring
Sunday quiet, audaciously endeavor to pre-
vent the poor, honest Industrious news
| boys from selling their Sunday papers
! through crying them, regardless Of the
| TACT that reading newspaper is the quiet
| est possible way Of spending Sunday out
side of interment In a cemetery or sleeping
in church; and
Whereas from time immemorial theolo-
gians have forbidden men to taste the
veiled their insidious attacks on Sunday
| newspapers and other means OF dissenli-
mating knowledge under various hollow
pretexts: Therefore be it
Resolved, That the Washington Secular
| League earnestly condemns any attempt by
the enemies of knowledge to restrict its
dissemination through Sunday newspapers,
| and vigorously protests against the making
OF any city ordinances preventing news
boys from advertising their stock in trade.
Resolved, That a committee of the Sec
nlar League be delegated to the District
commissioners respectfully asking them
| to reconsider and revoke their order to pro-
hibit newsboys from crying their Sunday
papers, and issue instead an order prohis.
| lung the ringing Of church bells and the
| making OF other unnecessary so-called re-
| ligfous noises"
| The resolutions were referred to the ex--
ecutive committee. and. when approved by
| tnat body. were brought before the league
| for adoption.
Lively Debate.
| Nathan Parkins. young man. vigorously
| objected to the resolutions as dealing with
subjects with which the league, he de-
| ciared, had nothing to do. He said there
| was no necessity for attacking the ringing
OF church bells, and it was no business of
| the league how much the churches paid
| their pastors There was too much irrele-
| want matter in the resolutions.
| A motion was made to have the resoiu-
tons tabled. This brought Mr.. Groh to his
| Iee.' ana ne made fiery speech in favor
| OF MS resolutions, saying tine sons of lib
erty should march upon the enemy when
attacked a,1 and that only through cowardice
| audience applauded his fiery words h,1t
was soon won over to the calmer and more
| CONSERVATIVE arguments put forth by ".
BALDWIN Johnson, who said the adoption
| OF sCcn resolutions had been offered
would be shame to the league He said
! that 1t was desired to gan accessions to
the leagues membership, but that could
| NOT be done when the league was placed
| before the public in a wrong light by the
| adoption of such resolutions. He had no
| more liking for illiberality among free
| thinkers than he had for It when he found
1t In the church. The public would be dis
| gusted by the exhibition OF the league
adopting such resolutions. 1. was sufi-
| cle1t that they should emboly 4 ronGem-
| na;icn of The order prohibiting the CRYING
| o. rCWSpaDerS on Sundays.
| rms lively discussion was prolonged un-
| u: dusk came on, and the hall was getting
| darker and darker. Mr.. Groh pleaded that
his resolutions be adopted. as their defeat
| would mean that no action would be taken.
mere We're cries for a vote on the motion
| TO table the resolutions, and parts of the
| audience began moving from the hall.
viva voce vote carried the motion, amid
loud applause. in the midst of which could
be heard the voice of Mr.. Groh.
| Those are the last resolutions I will ever
| draw for this league" he called out, pas
| sionately.
The meeting then adjourned without
action on the subject of the Commissioners
| order.
| views OF Star Correspondents.
| Letters received by The Star from read
ers discuss different phases of the question
One point that is overlooked by some is
that the existing police regulation which
| will be annulled If the new order goes into
| effect. prohibits the crying Of papers Sun
day mornings before o'clock and after
| 1870 o'clock.
Harry Park, writing to The Star, says:
so far as 1 can see, nobody is seeking to
| deprive any one of their personal liberty
or taking bread out of the boys mouths or
curtailing to any serious extent their priv
| ilege of selling newspapers on Sunday. as
! some of the writer's assert. I am and al
! ways have been a resident of the downtown
| city, and to say that the early Sunday
| morning crying of the newsboys Is trying is
| putting 1t extremely mild.
| The boys secure their papers about $50
| am, and from the moment they are in
| their hands, they begin their incessant yell,
yell! yell! Now. this is all wrong. Every
| pody does not want to get up on Sabbath
mornings at any such hour, but 1t is utterly
| useless to try to sleep. 1 have heard boys
| stand on one corner and call to boys on the
| next block II they wanted to exchange or
| did they want to sell any, etc. That is
what our two reverend gentlemen are seek
| ing to STOP and not, as 1 understand il.
| the sale Of the papers. My suggestion is
| tnls: That the crying of papers be prohib-
| ited before o'clock and after IL am. With
such restriction it would not be depriving
| the boys or men of their means of living.
and any one desiring a paper before or
after those hours could easily procure it by
taklng the trouble to go to the door, instead
OF waiting until the usual call is heard
| w. H. Keyworth writes:
| Don't stop the boys from crying out
thelr Sunday papers. If their cries wake
boy sells all his papers, and then go to
sleep again Let them cry. They can't
| wake me-
| G. M. G. writes: Problem for Mr. Crof-
tut TO solve: If 300 newsboys of a Sunday
morning sell ten papers each and cry thirty
times for each sale, how many papers will
the same 800 boys sell on similar Sunday
morning without bawling their wares 80, $50
times! A great many people In this town
| ttlnk that not a single reader of the 1900
| would thus be deprived of his Sunday pa
per- They would either do as many do,
have boy deliver it regularly and with
| out the least trouble or extra cost to any
one, or they would step to the door and call
boy. so the poor newsboy argument falls
to the ground. The argument that the
church bell nuisance should be curtaiIei If
| the newsboys are to be restrained from
| waking everybody at daylight on Sunday
morning is beside the question. The church
bella very attractive element of a pas
toral community, but nuisance in a city
| ought to go. But even II 1t still disturbs
the repose of people, is that any argument
| why another much more widespread nui-
| sance should not be abated? 10 two
wrongs make right?