The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-11-26

upon tine Local Abamlnatlons
Which He Thus Brought to View.
l.e.. DR.. G.. NJ. Githn, of the Elm
| Park Methodist Episcopal church, last
night delivered a powerful sermon, in
the course of which he urged his hear
ers to open their eyes to the true state
! of municipal affairs, and in paying II
hearty tribute to the reform work done
| by the Mems union, declared that the
good labor should not be confined to
| the few, but should be joined in by all
| who have the interests of the city ut
heart.
He chose as his text, And when !
| looked. behold IL hole in the WALL
| Ezekiel. vii:7. Dr.. Gitlin began his
discourse by saying:
TO the ordinary person wall always suggests
| something shut in well rs shut out. ahd rs
rule. any one who comes to wall makes some
| effort to see what is concealed by it. Therefore,
this hole in the wall OF the text represents the
opening through which the prophet dug his way
till he reached the door. upon throwing open
which he behcd to his surprise the denominations
Vi the city.
Now, want to peep through the wall anl show
YOU few OF the denominations OF our own city
Many persons think the proper thing to do
would be to stop up the whole in the wall anu
prevent any sight of the denominations That
disposition has caused many of these faults. II
is many years since the time oi the tylant o
Syracuse who ordered to his death every mrs
,cngcr that brought evil tidings. lie paid no
regard to these prcsages OF evil and the result
was that hc fell with cup OF wine in his hhi,
and song his lips. Thus we should not shut
our eyes to the present condition when we might
better it.
TIE RESPONSIBLE ONES.
'rs the Indifferent ones who continue the aw-
ful state OF affairs. l am glad to know that
there seventy churches in this city, and many
institutions OF noble nature, but what ii the
work accomplished by them merely lifts few
into the sky and leaves behind the multitude
sunk in sin. The meil who are bold and wise
enough to discover and reveal the pools OF
sin should be much lauded and have greatest
gratitude But is il 80? II is dcporablc fact
that the most hated man in the city is not the
greatest villain. hut the rctormcr and have
myself hcarl while about the city much gnashng
OF teeth and n,preca,ons against the Mems union
for the great work they carrying on.
And right here want To express, rs a Scran.
tonian, my appreciation of their efforts, Of the
results accomplished by these citizens who have
stood up and pointed ont iearlcssly the itching
palms. and have shown where the unlicensed
a terrible condition. and | have come to the
conclusion that it is not only undermined by evil,
but is honey.comhed with structures Of vice.
We can well understand that the people
indignant at Ezekiel and ut the truths which
hc told about the Holy City. Before Thankseiy-
ing, our great national feast. | wan, YOU to halt
and look at some municipal facts. What alarms
nc is not nilcl, that the cities arc hcing
dhrkcncd and dcsolatcd but that the ,on'aminat
ing influences are extending 10 the rural districts
and these arc now being stained with vice
Looking through the hole in the wall, growth
in the denominations is discovered, and il :.
shown that with Ia, enlargement of the popu-
lation comes a d>proporlionac increase III
crime. There has been an advance in numbers
ard IN nastness Only the other day | rca,
that in Buffalo, while a short while ago the vice
of :hc city WAS confined to certain streets, nov
it has spread to the out"distrcts and road houses
nn the way to the rural possessions, regular
stations on the road to hell
POLITICAL ACCUSATIONS.
And now. regarding political accusations. 1t is
common thing for the kettle to call the pot ,
black, and know that often good men are cast
int" an lnsavory light by the anipu;;ion Of
Sc"undrcs and charged with things Of which |
they could not easily acqu' thcn,sclyc6 But the
r'!inors OF political sales, which have oc,u heard |
OF in this city arc enough to blast its nalns. |
The men elected TO positions OF trust and honor |
should be made TO feel that they are something |
to the people who elected them.
am glad to read tia, in New York the police |
are being taught that when an honest clergyman !
comes to tlien with a report TO be- al tended u. |
that he is not to he driven away as an intruder. |
We. too, should teach the men who hold posi-
ti"ns here in our own city, that they are ac-
conntablc 10 the citizens.
And now. another thing. do You know that in
spoohs are beine daily consulted, and thar clai.-
voyanrs and other charlatans who flock hcre have
no other place in the country where they find
so many dupcs and gullible per-
sons as in our midst. think that it is the duty
of the police to protect the public from these
impostorS.
As to speakrasirs. | am astorncd to thinl;
oi the rebels in our midst each n lay-hrcakcr,
on par with the mooIi>hinclsi OF Kentucky and
Tennessee 1t grieycs me greatly too, to notice
that many of these ,oa,ors oi the law are wo-
men. certainly believe that we have enough
open saloons here, without any secret ones. The
officials who are cndcavorng To root ont the
speakeasy doing noble work and should be
given every ones support.
GAMBLING PLACES.
Another thing which is revealed through tho
hole in the wall are the gamblin, places
the city. Don't YOU suppose that the
police know what these houses with the
lights burning in their windows so late. Each
OF these should be closed.
Now in gazing through the aperture | SEQ
which makes me sigh. Tie houses o,
shame. Many are as wel-known to the police
and people at large the Elm Park church. |
These vile traps for young girls and men should
be done away with. ! am ashamed 10 Say tlmt |
am told the greater portion OF patrons oi these
llens are married men, false to their marriage