Evening star., 1901-02-12
TOPEKA JOINTS" CLOSED
RESULT OF CITIZENS MASS MEET
ING SUNDAY.
PrOprietOrs Given the Option OF
Quitting Business or Suffer-
ing the Consequences.

A dispatch from Topeka, Kan, last night
SAYS: AS a result of the meeting of the
citizens of Topeka all the joints Of the city
are closed tonight The citizens made the
peremptory order that the saloons be dis
continued by noon today, and 80 far as Is
known the order was regarded.
Early this morning Chief Of Police Stahl,
with some Of his officers, made the rounds of
the joints and notified the keepers as far as
they could be found that they would be
expected to close at once. They were in
each case presented with printed copy OF
the citizens ultimatum. and commanded,
in the interest of law and good order, to
close at once.
Chief Stahl told the jointists that there
was an army of thousand men waiting to
march on a minutes notice to close the
Joints of the city, and that they were OF a
class that would not be frightened out OF
performing their duty they interpreted
it. Notices were slipped in under the doors
of the closed places.
The Mass Meeting Sunday.
Three thousand male citizens of Topeka,
Kan, in mass meeting in that city sunday
decided that the numerous joints of the
city must close their places. They issued
an ultmatum giving the jointlsts until FIJI
day next at - o'clock noon to quit busl-
ness If this shall not be done warning was
given that 1000 armed men would 1mme-
diatey move on the joints and remove
them by force. The meeting was called by
committee of the Law Enforcement
League and was attended by nearly all the
prominent business men OF the city; Inc
meeting was opened with prayer. After
few short, snappy addresses, which worked
the audience TO a high degree of enthusi-
asm an ultmatum was proposed and passed
amid the loudeSt cheering
The ultimatum, which was adopted by
rising vote, follows:
ITO those Immediately engaged in the Illicit
business. whether wholesale or retail:
I'VE have TO say that the long contro-
versy of the public with you must now
come to an end. You have openly and per-
sistently defied our laws; you have made
yourselves the agents of even greater GRIM
inals outside of the state who have sups
ported you in your unlawful traffic; you
have gathered about you a criminal ele-
ment that is perpetual menace to the
safety of the community. and have main
tanned places that engender and encourage
all vices; you have introduced the most
corrupting and demoralizing factors and
influences into our local politics. and for
years you have scorned all appeals and
warnings that have been presented to you
by the Virtue-lOving people of this COM
munity.
Time for FOrbenrance Past.
'Now we feel that the time has come
when we must speak to you peremptorily.
We cease now to endeavor to persuade-we
command. You must stop this lawless and
iniquitous business, and stop 1t at once, and
we hereby notify you that we must have
unquestionable evidence, absolutely salts
factory to the committee Of public order
which we today constitute, that all your
Illicit goods together with all the associat-
ed fixtures and furnishings Of the places
where your unlawful business has been
carried on shall have been removed and
shipped from the city before IL o'clock
noon Friday, February 10, 1901. Upon the
strict and literal observance of this demand
we shall insist, and If 1t shall be disregard
ed we will take whatever measures are
necessary for its rigid enforcement.
.'If a long outraged public shall be COM
pelled to resort to the fundamental right of
standardization against criminals and their
abettors, the grave consequences to evil
doers which may result from such a return
must rest with the defiers and nullifers of
our laws and the obstructOrS Of our gov
ernmental machinery.
1.-The jOintistS, the men who rent prop
erty to jointists, and the men who have
violated their oaths in tolerating crime
these are the disturbers of the peace, and
not the affronted and wronged public,
which, as a sovereign has both the right
and the duty to see that its will and judg-
ment shall be respected.
The ultimatum was written by a commit
tee of which Robert Stone, a leading busi-
ness man, was chairman.
There were a number of addresses, In
which Mrs. Nation came in for her full
share of credit
Twelve hundred men signed their names
to cards pledging themselves to be ready
at a moments notice to Join the army
which has been recruited to stamp out the
Joints by the time the limit set by the ulti-
matum expires.