The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-08
ENFORCE THE LAWS
REV. ED. f. COOK APPEALED FOR
CORRECTION OF EVILS.
WENT STRAIGHT TO CORE.
OF CONDITIONS THE GOOD GOVERN
MENT LEAGUE ABHORS.

|
suppression OF Liquor Traffic, MIR.
Cook DecIared-Men Who VIII En-
force Them Are Needed-Man Who
Has Not the Fear of God An Ills
Heart Unfit for a Position In Which
He Is Called Upon to EnfOce the
Lnw-Pastor Denounced the Gam
bIers and the Liquor Dealers who
Have Declared for Boycott.
| Straight to the core of conditions that
the Good Government League abhors In
Savannah went Rev. Ed. f. Cook in his
sermon at Wesley Monumental Church
last night.
Rev. Mr.. Cook took his next from Exc
dus, 1S:2O-2l: And thou shalt teach them
ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them
the ways wherein they must walk, and
the work that they must do. Moreover,
thou shalt provide out of all the people
able men, such as fear God, men of truth,
hating covetousness, and place such over
them, to be rulers of thousands, and rul-
ers of hundreds, rulers of ffties, and rul-
ers of tens"
The pastor anticipated his text by a
reference to it, declaring that it sets forth
injunctions for the governance of state
or a community that should be closely
followed and that, If exemplNed in Sa-
vannah, would be productive of far bet
ter conditions than those that prevail to-
day.
THE necessity and utility of laws" said
Mr.. Cook, were the first facts that God
imposed upon his people He gave them
His commandments. and their utility may
be appreciated now. They were the foun-
dalton principles of right, justice and
| equity, and they have endured Upon
them to-day is based the fabric of human
| laws.
Perfect laws are of no avail unless the
right men are employed for their enforce
ment. The finest code of laws would
never serve the purpose for which it was
| devised If it were not supported by Off
| Gals chosen to enforce ii who were not
covetous, not corrupt and not dishonest.
I'm this city and in this state, were
they only enforced, there are laws enough
| for the protection of rights, the guaran-
| tee of privileges, the punishment of the
| iniquitous and the assurance of good gov
| ernment. Only one exception could I
| make and that would be for a law that
would drive out of existence the nefarious
traffic in liquor. The time is ripe. We
| must have legislation that will put stop
90 this debauching and corrupting bust
ness 1t is corrupting, and to it may be
traced responsibility for the abuses
| that exist In offices from the
lowest county may give 90 those of
| the highest within the gift of a nation.
Only this legislation is required to make
the laws we have entirely adequate for
| the needs of good government"
.,N,, - ~
of the law and the punishment of crimi-
nails was dwelt upon by MIR. Cook. who
contended that the fear of the law is the
| greatest restraint upon the wicked and
| the impious, the greatest protection of
| homes property, liberties, rights and
| lives. Allowed to practice their lawless-
ness, confident of the immunity that they
| gain through the neglect of those who
should enforce the laws, the scoundrels
who prey upon their fellows Mr.. Cook
said ply their nefarious vocations, what
| ever they may be, and escape the penalty
that the law imposes.
| Il declare in this presence" said Mr.
Cook that no man is fit and competent
| to discharge the duties of government,
whether in state or municipality. who has
not the fear of God in his heart and
whose judgment, whose thoughts and
| whose actions are not guided by the die
tates of a conscience that can get its
best promptings only from On High. The
mistake that has been made in this COM
munity has been that we have not placed
men in the government who have had
the fear of God in their hearts, and the
thought of God in their minds.
1.-The blessings of God in their fulness
and perfection. can only descend upon
a people when they are ruled by God
fearing men, men who are not covetous.
men who love the truth, men who will
see to the enforcement of the laws. I'm
punished violations of the law mean the
uprooting of the institutions established
for our safety and for our welfare.
1T is with regret that l say 1t, for l
love the town in which 1 live, and In
which my associations are so pleasant,
but here in Savannah criminals have done
deeds at which the law stands aghast
and by which good people are shocked,
while officials of the law have connived
at the offenses and have feasted and
grown fat upon benefits that they reaped.
Savannah has been the dumping place
of blackleg gamblers from all Georgia.
Atlanta, Augusta and Columbus have
boosted that 1t is to this city that they
have sent their social vampires their
gamblers, whom, in fits of moral cleanli-
ness, they have driven out from their own
borders. These gamblers blots upon the
city, are still here. They may be i'm dread
eTing about, but they are still here. They
are here in the hope that evil may pre-
vail over right; that those who have sup
ported them In the past in their crimes
Will continue to support them and will
draw the veil OF their protection about
them when this agitation, this effort OF
law-abiding, respe ctabe citizens, to break
up their ruinous practices has failed. But
fail II will not, for the hearts OF the good
people of this city are In the work. and
they viii prosecute II successfully"
Sunday liquor selling was scored by
Mr.. Cook. He said that last year the
Mayor had declared that he knew moth
ing of the viola ton OF the law demand
ing that barrooms be kept closed on Sun
day. The Mayor had said that IL the
ministers and others wanted to close the
places they might employ detective md
get evidence to do so, as he had investi-
gated and could find nothing to show
that the places were kept open.
I'VE have acted upon the Mayors adj
vice" said MIR Cook land the result Is
that we have met with contempt. abuse
and trickery We face absolute defiance
OF the good people who have only sought
the enforcement of the law and the up
holding of its sacred dignity and author
ity. Aud we are cursed Tor the work we
attempt In the cause Of right. As 1
boarded street car the other DAY
heard one man, pointing me out TO his
fHa. ltuf