The age-herald., 1898-02-08
MINISTER'S ROAST /.
 THE GAY MASKER Who Make Merry in Mardi GraS Cele-
 bFatiOnS. THE RELAXATION OF LAWS
By the Police Vigorously Condemned
 in a Resolution.
STAID wEARERs OF THE CLOTH
Look With Disfayor Upon the Quantity of Liquor Consumed During Carnival-Not Part of Mardi Gras, Proper, Says
 President Lesser.

The Mardi Gras carnival with it's pa geants, it's labyrinth of figures, some 1is- gused in the costufne of the clown others in the mantles of princes or kings, and incidentally it's practices if immortality was the subject of adverse discussion at the meeting of the Pastors union in the par lors of the First Methodist church yester- day morning.
 Some of the ministers condemned the me-honored carnival of festivities in toto contending that it should be stamped out new or never. It appears that it had be- come a fixture in Birmingham and it's al- legea immoral features were condemned most vigorously, while cooler heads pre- vailed and the celebration proper as car ried on under the guidance of the best citizens was left untouched, although the atmosphere did not tend to predict such g finale at the beginning of the meeting. The following resoM was adcpted
 Resolved, That while we recognize
 that in the parades and trades displays
 incidental to the carnival there may be
 a stimulus to trade and an innocent di-
 version, that we protest against the
 many improper scenes that have been
 enacted on the streets, and against the
 relaxation of the laws on that occasion,
 and that we warn our people from par
 ticipation in it's morally objectionable
 features"
 The ministers probed the question thor oughly and the masker and the element from which he or she came, was roasted with the vehemerce of the speakers at a republican mass meeting, paying their re spects to the Chicago platform. Either from hearsay or personal observation the preachers had learned of the '"Three Well Known Gentlemen Balls" and others of like ilk, of how the demi-monde sphere come so focibly in evidence and deduc- tions as to the amount of evil to accrue were drawn in the arguments that followed the introduction of the question:
 How n Minister Illustrated It
 In discussing the question outside of the meeting one staid wearer of the cloth de- scribed to the reporter some of the nu- merous practices alleged to be so pernic- ious to public morals. He told of how men masked, wearing feminine apparel and how. (whether in conformity to fashion or not he did not say) their costumes were very much negligee. With gestures and an expression of disgust he manoeuvered his
 
 false breasts were used. Then he dwelt upon how other males came along in frolic- some mood and did lay their hands upon that portion of the form which nature failed to supply man. and in impersona ting a female he must resort to sham to make up.
 The camp of the carnival promoters d1o not resemble a pastors meeting when sev- eral of the leaders were informed of the action of the ministers. They're med' ding" and other words and phrases that wouldn't look well in print made up some of the expressions. It remained for the president of the Carnival society, Emil Les' ser. to quell, in a measure, the feeling by philosophically asserting that the ministers had not jumped the carnival proper. He declared that the Mardi Gras and those who made it a success had no hand in the immoral practices condemned by the pas tors.
 I've do not encourage such things" said he. 'The carnival is an old custom, with nothing immoral or debasing attached to it. These other things are outside features conducted by outside parties"
 By Dr. KeIly's Paper
 The discussion of the carnival by the pastors was brought about by a paper of pr. xelley's on '"The Attitude of the Pulpit to Current Political Questions In regard to municipal politics the question of the relaxation of the laws during the carnival was brought up, and a resolution was of- fered condemning the entire Mardi Gras celebration. The argument in support oi fIat A1,a carnival was a fixture in the city of Bir- mingham and that it must be stamped out now never.
 A more conservative amendment was of- fered, condemning only the morally ob- jectionable features of the celebration This amendment is embodied in the above resolution.
 There was a great deal of discussion or the resolution, and speeches were made by Drs. Handley, Gray, Kelly, Hale, Speigle Curry, and several others Some of them were very vigorous. They thought that the drunkenness, which they said was ap- parent everywhere upon the streets, the open looseness of morals exhibited by cer- tain classes and the many other alleged fragrant violations of the laws of moral ity and good government, were a thousand times more pernfcious in their effect than the good done by all the money that was brought into the city and all the advertis- ing the city received.
 A plea was made for the young men who, it was said, seemed to consider the carnival as a season of license. when they could do things which they would never think of doing on any other occasion, and unless some action was taken condemning all such liberties, the young men had a perfect right to think that the churches and the preachers of the city sanctioned these practices.
 Had Good Side
 But the more conservative members of the union argued that there was a good side of the carnival. and one that should not be condemned. To advertise a city by