The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-09-02
THE REVEREND JAMES THOMAS COFFEY,
Pastor of st. Johns Catholic Church.

The Reverend Father James T. corey.
pastor Of st. Johns Catholic Church. corner
Sixteenth and Chestnut streets. delivered
a caustic sermon to his parishioners yester-
day morning. Father Coffey takes the posi-
ton that society in high life Is honey
combed with immortality, and edduces facts
in favor OF his position. He said in part:
"a few weeks ago a prominent business
man of this city had occasion to call up his
family physician by phone. BY mistake
he was given another connection. which
was declared to be 'hades' by a young las
sie who was there. and attempted to speak
for an unruiy crowd Of merrymakers. He
investigated. and found that this partic-
ular 'kades. was the West End residence Of
one Of our most prominent and respected
citizens. The young lady in this instance.
when she found that her identity had been
discovered. begged the gentleman, whom
che had previously saluted as old Adam
not to tell her papa So we have 'hadeS
in the West End.
Last year two police officers OF the Cen
trail District had their attention drawn TO
q young couple who had left the dancing hall
on Olive street In the wee hours of a certain
Sunday morning. The girl seemed to be
about Is years old Her companion took her
to q rooming-house on Pine street. near
Fourteenth. The police followed them, and
waited tin they had retired. and then ar
rested them. In the station the girl begged
! b was locked up and her parents sent Tor.
She belonged to a very respectable family in
the southern part OF the city. Some time
again leave the dance hall and 20 to the
Pine street den. This is one victim of two
OF the many ante-chambers OF hell estab-
lfshed in this part OF town.
DENS OF INlQUITY
FLOURISH IN ST. LOUIS.
year ago an unfortunate young wom-
On wrote q letter to a member of the Anti
Wtneroom, Crusade stating that she had
ton venue The fellow who runs that in-
famous dive has Just rented a hall on Olive
street and the police tell me that
!fday night and Sunday morning
beggar Dante's description OF the Internal
resions. Young girls and boys intermingIed
Liquor wa sold in the hall. ar1 the crowd
was 80 great that there wal an overflow on
the sidewalk downstairs which had to be
dlspersed by the police because Of its bois-
Special detectives have been trying to
make a case against these places, but
soms good friend has given them the
tip, and evidently no case will be made
against them Another one Of these quiet
bells II now wide open within a stones
throw Of our church doors. No case can
somewhere that paralyzes all efforts made
70 remedy these evils. What that hidden
power 10 or how it works only the fully mi.
tfated are able to tell.
PROMINENT PERSONS
/. ARR OFTEN IMPLICATED.
I'm q raid on a dive some time ago
the stenographar OF q great commercial
hrm OF this city was driven from this place
with a companion Of more prominence than
herself. Men and women Of every walk Of
life make these sinks of iniquity their tryst-
ing grounds three and four times a week.
A large number Of the young women who
90 to these hotels are OF that class who
try to exc out a living on the small wages
paid them by the great philanthropists who
run the department and other stores of
this city on a strictly economical basis.
Their IS or = q week will not furnish the
latest styles in dress. which they covet. and
TO get the dress they sell their honor and
virtue In these houses to the meanest and
lowest set OF moneyed ragabonds In this
IA girl 1s years old. remarkably beautiful.
was caught at q hotel recently in the
company OF a prominent business man OF
this city. Instances Of this kim without
special detectives. No wonder that we
should stop in utter CONSERVATION and ask
ourselves Whittier are we tending?' Back
20 Inc e- Hays OF pagan gar, Rome. Religion has
lEion has gone morality. No love of Cod
NO fear Of him. either. There can be neitf-
CT IOV6 -nOE rear OF SOQ Wnen there. Is no
knowledge of him. In our anxiety for
worldly prosperity we have dared TO tram
pie underfoot tho Ten Commandments and
20 relogate religion to the ricefields of
China and the 5ungles of Africa. Religion.
to have any effect at all upon. the children
of our country. must be an essential part
Of their everyday training. We are fools
IL We think that to give It in homeopathic
Eunday-schep1 doses is sufficient to make
our children its standard-bearers to future
generation. We are fools II we try TO per-
euade ourselves that. these same children
may be sufficiently armed against the pow.
err Of his world by the religious drill of
an hour or two each week. And yet, these
sentiments largely prevail among church
people to-day. The result is just what we
have been alluding to. Notorious dance
halls and lens of. immortality. are patron
lied and supported by hundreds of our
young people who have little or no religion
at all.
1NMORALITY m
HIGHER 10ClETY.
I'm higher. society-Hadesi seances-sa-
tanic reyelries. and other equally abomin-
able and nasty -pastimes are being intro
duced to subvGt. the little religion that
may be found there-and precious little It
Is. 1ome time & a good clergyman who
was invited to speak In q West End church
took occasion to state some OF theae facts
pli1niy TO 6fe dfgffuR1fnfiad conversation