Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-04
REV. MR.. ABORTION SPEAKS OF
THE BUTTE MORAL WAVE
AND ITS AFFECTS,
OFFICIALS ELECTED TO
ENFORCE THE LAWS.
Good Citizens Should Stand Shoulder to
Shoulder With officials in Put
ting Down Vice.

Episcopal church last night Rev. j. l..
ABORTION gave very pertinent talk on
the public treatment Of the officials. both
state and local, elected to carry out the
laws of the state. While speaking
strongly ON the subject of violations of
law, which are so prevalent, he men,
toned the moral wave which is sweep
ing over the whole country. even into
Butte. and urged the people to give the
officers the support due them as men
and the chosen representatives of the
state. He said that many an official
who gets name. either with or without
good grounds, for the doubtful distinc-
ton of being an untrustwortny man, is
made so by the Indifference and neglect
of the better classes, who should treat
him as an honest man and put him on
his honor to perform his duties. Ignored
by suspicious good citizens but sur
rounded and tlattered by the bad he mas
every incentive to go wrong, where
little judicious encouragement would
keep him in the right path.
Following is the brief address:
A great moral wave is sweeping over
our land. While in some places it takes
upon itself the form of almost if not fan
atheism, yet it is the pent up desire as
sorting itself for something better than
We have. In Kansas the long outraged
justice leaps forth by the hand of women
ard saloons that are positively prohib-
tied by law are destroyed. the furniture
smashed to pieces. and many of the best
citizens stand by and say it is just.
In many places where a conviction
for the worst crimes cannot be had, the
people rise up in mob violence and lay
hands upon the guilty culprits and, taxi
ing the law into their own hands. lynch
the offender. and the people stand by and
say it is too bad, but not one of the Of
tenders is ever arrested. Again, the
common laborer is so pressed by the cor
porations that union after union is or
sanized. and strikes are started. business
is suspended, the labor;ng man very
often gets the worst of the bargain. or if
he succeeds in getting his request grant
ec. there are other frauds perpetrated
that leaves him we'll nigh helpless.
What has this to do with the question
presented?
Very much.
Our officials are elected by the people,
the most of them, and all--drectly or
indirectly. A majority of the votes cast
elects the man to office. When elected
he takes an oath to see that the laws
with which he has to do are executed.
He is the officer Of those who voted
against him, just the same as for those
who, by their suffrage, placed him in Of
flee. The officer should be trusted by
all the people until he has proven him.
self Incapable or unworthy of public
trust, then he may be impeached, and
his office taken from him.
Rl,f of do Co 10
our officials and mock the very idea
that they will execute the laws, and re-
fuse positively to give them our support.
This is the very thing we should not
do. l believe four-fifths, possibly nine
tenths of the men elected to offices of
trust enter upon the work with a desire
to do their full duty, but those whom
they have the right to expect help from,
fail to give them their support, and those
who wish to see the laws disregarded
set around them, and lead them away
from the path of rectitude, and the fault
is mainly on the part of those of whom
we ought to expect better things.
Nov. the moral wave which we
referred at the beginning of our talk, has
struck Butte, and some of our officials
promise to see that the laws are en-
forced, and some of the laws against
concert halls, where women are the &C.
tors, have been closed, and the law
against gambling is being upheld and
respected.
What decided change in the general
moral tone is observed now in compare
son with few weeks ago.
Our legislators will not touch the
present gambling law if the law abiding
citizens opposed to gambling will only
speak out and give them their support
Let us support our officials in every
good thing they do, and let us believe
them to be men of integrity till they
prove themselves otherwise
The tone of the> press. and especially
the press of Butte is encouraging. I
have never known a place where on the
whole the press was more willing to help
i'll the cause of morality. than in our
own city, and our newspapers deserve
our warmest commentator for what
they say in favor of the right, and
against the wrong.
We are seeing plainly that Butte is
no longer a mining camp, but city, and