The Irish standard., 1897-02-20

those facts have come under my personal
to me that it requires terrible murder
| like the one that occurred last Sunday
afternoon to arouse public attention to
this utter disregard Of our laws. Some
times it requires a big thing, something
like this to stir the consciences Of the
! public and make the people feel that
| such things are going on in defiance of
| our laws.
The speaker also referred to a dance
| hall, billiard hall and wine-room ex-
listing right under the shadow OF the
| church in which administer the conso-
! lations and the truths of religion. as
sure you that all the good work that
such a church or a hundred churches
| like it can do is entirely neutralized by
the DEVILS workshop, under it's shadow
in the name of this billiard hall, wine
| room and open Sunday saloon.
Many and many a Sunday night after
| having dismissed an immense audience
! of people from my crowded church be-
fore I retired to my rest could see the
blazing lights of this open Sunday saloon
doing the DEVILS work and undoing the
work that the servants of God have tried
to do. To my personal knowledge and
the knowledge Of the officers Of this city
girls have been debauched in that insti-
nd
have made their arrangements with the
manager of that concern, and have taken
young and innocent and inexperienced
girls away from their mothers and their
! homes in this city and consigned them
to houses of ill-fame IN certain places in
the state
These things are known not only to
me, but they are known to the officers
of the city, and nothing has been done.
(Applause.) Why? Because people are
not disposed to believe that such mis-
chief is going on. If I, or others like me,
stand up and denounce it, we .are,s of
course, in great measure compelled by
our tender regard for the feelings of
the afflicted family, Of heart-broken
mother, of a disgraced and dishonored
home, not to make public things that
have come under our observation, and
if we make even an indirect allusion to
them, why the public imagines that that
is part Of the business Of the extrava-
CANT temperance crank. But these
things are taking place in this beautiful
home city, this cultured city, this city
with it's great university, and there is
| nothing being done to stop it.
You have heard read here to-day the
names and the number of saloons that
have been wide open on Sunday. They
are open just at the time when the diff
ferent churches send home their congre-
cations, that they waylay if possible the
weak and the unwary or the incautious
and get them to desecrate at least the
rest of the Sunday.
We are not here specially appealing for
the observance of the law with regard
to Sunday saloons, alone. I believe, of
course, that one of the greatest mis-
fortunes that come to us is the violation
of the law by the saloon element on Sun
day. But the violation Of the law by that
very same element on every other day o.
the week and at all hours Of the night
and with regard to miners and habitual
drunkards, and with regard to giving
shelter to the dsreputable classes of both
sexes, is doing as much harm among our
people.
made and it was met with general ap-
p'anse, that the highest test of civili-
zation was the enforcement of law I
took the liberty of disagreeing with that
statement. and I disagree with it now
l do not believe that the highest evidence
of enlightened civilization is the enforce
ment of law, but I bslieve the highest
and best test of enlightened civilization
is the observation of law. (Applause.)
I believe that when you have elevated
the people to that lofty plain OF self
respect and intelligence when they will
observe equitable, just and proper laws,
you have presented the best and highest
test of progressive and enlightened CT
vilization. And this is true not only
of the Sunday law with regard to saloons
but it is true with regard to the other
laws.
Although am temperance man, and
am an irreconcilable foe OF the saloon
because Of the mischief that it does to
the people, I declare to you in all hon
esty and candor that the great evil that
is at the root of the matter does not rest !
with the liquor saloons, but it rests with
the great corporations that Sunday after
Sunday are violating the law. .(Applause) |
A great many of our people here do not
know that there are many in this city |
many families, tax payers, honest pro- !
ducers who contribute to the wealth and !;
prosperity of the community, husbands !
and fathers, who do the best they can to ;;
give good example to the children they
are bringing up and who will be the
fathers of the generations yet unborn,
men who never have one Sunday lin the
365 days of the year they can call their