The San Francisco call., 1897-10-25
The Plan to Turn the
City Wide Open De-
nounced.
Rev. John Stephens Takes the
Proposition for the Subject
of His Sermon,
City Officials Denounced for Their
Willingness to Surrender to the
Sporting Fraternity.

The pulpit has taken alarm a. the propo-
siiion to turn the city wide OPEN to the
Gam bling fraternity and last eve ening
Rev John Stephens fired the opening gun
in what promises TO become q vigorous
campaign on the part OF the churches
against the proposition on the part of
some of the police ot1ic ais.
At Simpson Memorial Methodist Epis-
copal Church, at the corner of Hayes and
Bucnanan streets the pastor delivered a
Xcture on "Shall We make San Francisco
an Open Town2" taking his text from
Paul's first epistIe, sixth chapter, tenth
verse: Love OF money is a root of ali
kinds of evil
Il have given the revised version of the
scriptures, " said the speaker ''for there
are many kinds OF evil and each has
many numerous roots, but if you Will
trace the different forms of evil you will
find that the love OF money is root to
them all, and that it bears a gigantic
tree of vice. l believe there is not one of
the ten command ments that IS not con-
stantly broken because of this all-sacri-
tcin2 love OF money.
Il sometimes think that our politicians
and office-holders would like to strike the
word not out of each OF the command
ments and make them read: Thou shalt
steal eIc.
The newspapers. I take il, are the
phonosraphs that record the sayings ana
doings of a comm unity. For some days
The CALL has stated hat a plan is being
matured by some OF our officials to throw
the city wide open to gam bling. Some of
you may be surprised to learn that
gam bling is not wide open here now, from
Il
machines that stand conspicuously on the
counters OF the cigar-stands. l do not
know that this plan to welcome the
gamblers includes brass bands, iIlumi-
naed arches and the like, but l believe
1t permits Them 10 conduct their games
openly and without tear of interference
1t IS amazing that any BODY shouid
have he audacity to propose such la
n this progressive city, thai nyDody
should have such an utter disregard 10 r
the mora welfare of our people. Parents
in San Francisco are sometimes lei 10
desperate straits 10 keep their boys and
girls IN the right path, and one would
suppose that those VINO have the welfare
of the city in their control would lend
their aid TO these distressed parents. But
no. it S proposed BY them to throw The
town wide open to the very men VINO are
Il COrrup ing our chiluren, and bi them
welcome to carry on their nefarious call
ing.
Chicago once was a wide-open CITY, but
laws have been adopted AMI enforced that
have changed all that. Olher Eastern
cities that have been wide-open in the
past have put a stop to it, and now these
Eamesters, like lost spirits, have no D ace
20 go, out II is proposed TO have them
swoop down upon US.
And go san Francisco is to be thrown
wide-openl There are hundreds of homes
nere tonight whose nmates are listening
for the footsteps of somebody who has
been ensnared at these gaming IL bies
But these officials propose 10 make it even
worse. The boys who are with you to-
night are to be dragged down, for the pro-
moters of this scheme are not content
with what has already been done to cor
rupt the youth OF the cily, but they want
10 lake your boys, too.
They only offer one excuse for making
TINS a Wlde-open .toWn-that il would
bring money here. Suppose it were so;
suppose gam bling did bring plenty OF
moneytO US. No am unit Of money could
compensate Us for making this wide
open town with its attending crime ana
VIC and suffering.
How of en- do we hear that gam bling
IS pre-emlnently our national vice-and
apparently with good reason. | seems to
nave taken hold OF all classes; ii seems to
be infectious an e id mic. Our business
houses seem to be gong into the lottery
business, while even the churches have
not been Tree from that EVIL.
II a h you how far Is the practice Of
playing cards at home and in society re-
sponsib!e for the gambI ng la bit? l have
read statements OF police authorities that
1t IS the primary school of gambling
[ There l. another aTistocratic class OF
J. gambling, and that IS racing, but there
+ no form Of he vice more destructive
than racing The giIded ga oon may be
las ionable resort, but it is Just as de-
structive as he groggery."
DE- stephens closed with an appeal TO
his hearers TO do al In their power to pre-
vent the plan to turn the city "wide
open"