The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-11
VICE STALKS TRIUMPHANT.
GAMBLING ROOMS IN PRINCIPAL
STREETS WITH DOORS OPEN.

ZION Dealt win w
Gambling Rooms Located on the
chief Business ThOrOughfares.
They Menace the Bodily, Mental
and Spiritual Health of the COM
munity-An Appeal to the City Fn-
theFs-lsr. Morgan Decries Their
Acquiescence In the Continuance
of the Evil.
Rev. Z. F. Morgan preached at the Sew
enth Street Methodist Church last night
a vigorous sermon on the current evils,
carried on in open defiance OF the law, in
Savannah The extent of the gambling
evil, its temptations and ruinous conse-
quences. were dwelt upon at length, and
the congregation called upon to unite with
the respectable element of the city in a
crusade for the suppression of vice and
crime.
Rev. Mr. Morgan.s subject was 1.-The
Result Of Spiritual Indebtedness, his text
being from Rev, AZ: Nevertheless,
have somewhat against thee, because thou
hast forsaken thy first love" The ser
mon brought to the attention of the con-
gregation the announced truth that Chris
tians have forsaken their duty and re-
sponsibility TO weed out and suppress
crime and permit the Arch Fiend full Ii
cense to entice the youth Of the city to
sin and to the ultimate destruction of
body, mind and spirit. Words were not
minced. There was no indication of a
desire or inclination to refer to a spade
as an agricultural implement and the NOR
al degeneracy of the city was discussed in
good, vigorous Anglo-Saxon.
ITO combat successfully the organized
forces of sin, il is essential that the on
posing force should be organized also. To
carry out the mission that the church of
God has always had, it is necessary that
the church should be able to present a
solid front and to move on its enemies and
the enemies of the Most High in close and
strong array Disunited, undisciplined
soldiers are nearly worthless in the bat
tie. 1t is the united sturdy God-reIiant
attack upon the stronghods of sin. that
brings the fixed assurance of success"
Thus did Mr. Morgan frame the meaning
and intent of his appeal.
Il declare to you" he continued that
there are in our city vertable dens of
wickedness and corruption, whose exist
ence is a continual menace to the we'll
being of our people, the safety of our
youth and the salvation of our souls. It
is the mission of the church to eradicate
evh and to fight sin wherever ii is found
When it is in high places, ii should be de-
stroyed as surely and as suddenly as In
any other case. We should not shrink
from our burden or seek to escape bear
norton haCqI1gp ic
should not fear to excite opposition or in
cur criticism. We should not desert the
standard of right, because 1t is arrayed
against the powerful"
Il can make my meaning clear 10 you
by an example, a well known generally
acknowledged, bald, unvarnished fact. 1t
should set you to thinking, it should de-
termine you to do what you can to make
this state of affairs better. You win par
don me if l state the case without circum-
locution"
In the five blocks between Abercorn
ana Jefferson streets on Broughton, the
principal business thoroughfare of the
city, there are four large gambling halls.
adorned with all the attractions that serve
to allure and entice youth to enter and TO
sin. They are ablaZe with lights and
alive with a throng of feverish and anx-
ious men. The doors are wide open, and
from the street one can hear the whir of
the wheel anu the call OIL the NUMBERS.
In the crowd of players are every rank
and every age, from the callow youth
with the first down upon his lip to the
gray-haired man With them all is the
thirst and lust for gain"
There IS no effort at concealment. A
glance al the rooms reveals their charac-
ter; the sounds that penetrate to the street
show what is going on. Knowledge of
these places IS common to every one but
the authorities; the doors are open to all
but their representatives. They find it
Impossible 20 collect evidence or arrest
the offenders
within the space have mentioned a
variety theater opens its doors to the
street. The voices of the women, raised
i'm song entice the thoughtless and the
young to enter, where they may drown
minds and souls in the fumes of alcohol
In Congress lane, between Abercorn and
Jefferson streets, eleven policy shops are
located, thronged twice a day with a
crowd of negroes and the poorer class of
white people. Every where there is sin
corruption and iniquity, open, fragrant, I'M
checked Vice stalks triumphant and I'M
afraid, while Virtue hides her head and
remains carelessly indifferent"
The city authorities permit these evils
and when they are asked the reason OF
| their supine acquiescence in their exist
ence, smile and say that the state author
/ tiles ought to look after them. Gambling Is
not violation of a city ordinance. Yet it
! is within the knowledge of all that the city
officers will enter the hui of some poor ne
gro to arrest him for petty theft Neither
do the city ordinances prohibit larceny
| Why, in the name of all common sense
and common decency. cannot they enter
the house of some rich gambler aud. take
him in their tolls. If they have not laws
enough, they have the authority and the
right, and should have the courage to
make them They ought to face the issue
squarely."
Mr. Morgan besought his congregation
to unite with the better element of the
city, of every class, sect and creed 20
purify the moral atmosphere. II the paid
| representatives of the law fail 10 enforce
it., it is time for the cirizenry to take
hand in affairs.
GOOD BUSINESS OUTLOOK.