The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-05-26

itory law while the Topeka club stands,
while the Elks stand, and 1 am one Of
them myself; while there are the Tur-
ners and the Arions because you can't
get anybody base enough to disturb
gentlemen in these duties.
y. G. Wood, who believe is to speak
here tonight, gave an opinion that it
was not a violation of the prohibitory
law for these clubs to drink. If it is
possible for gentlemen to go by them
selves and have what they want so
long as they do it in an orderly way
these fellows who are so sOlicitOuS are
going to have a hard time convincing
the poor man that he might not also
have drink when he wants it. And he
is going to consider 1t as a part of his
manhood to exercise such a right and
will argue with himself that ne may lie
if you choose to make a liar and per
jurer out Of him.
DO you want to continue this more
than q years and do you want it if
possible to get Worse2 Som ebody said
this would be Nick Chiles' meeting. It
don't look to me like it. You have had
great excitement in this city. Another
law that is not enforced is that against
mobs. There are lots of soldiers of the
cross welding the sword of Gideon and
the battle-axes of Jehovah, and the re-
yolvers and shotguns of the Prince of
Peace"
Following the playing of the 'Star
Spangled Banner by the band G. c.
Clemens spoke. He began by a recita-
ton Of the facts as he knew them re-
garding the call of the meeting and the
opposition which he had encountered in
the Ministerial union. He also paid his
] compliments to certain neWspap erS
! which he claimed had treated him IN
/ fairly in their Saturday and Sunday
/ announcements of the meeting. And
| Rev J. 7. Mcfarland" he went on
/ that angelic, Oily-tOngued one of Gods
] elect, in the Capital published a list of
! those who would applaud. / am so I'M
/ fhp oh l1o 17caa
I don't know whether the applause has
| been coming from J. T. Mcfarland or
not. From reading the newspapers and
| through other means I do now con-
clude that the penitentiary is the abode
of the saints and n Ost of the criminals
are still at large There is talk all the
| time of law enforcement; they used to
mean the enforcement OF the prohibit
tory law. Every crime that has been
| committed with the exception of one
| in this community within the last year
has been by these law enforcement peo-
pie. They even broke into barns and
| smashed mirrors that were stored there
and into a cold storage house down
here. And the city marshal even came
| upon this platform and advocated the
support of these law breakers.
These law enforcerS fought to keep
Mayor Parker out of his office. And our
police judge, he was daisy cOuldn t
make out a transcript for a case to be
brought in court. 1t is my theory that
/ never saw one yet that an ounted to a
continental You got police Judge af-
ter your own heart and imported a man
for chief Of police. The police Judge
knew enough to violate the law. He
fixed up q conspiracy with Mr.. Stahl
that as soon as he could adjourn court
in the afternoon Stahl should send out
and rake in a few people and lock them
up. You have an assistant attorney
general and he's daisy, too. This is
| the only county in Kansas to have ar
assistant attorney general; and Topeka
is the only first class city to try tC
enforce the law and the only city tC
have an attorney general and what has
he prOVed2 He has had a poor gray
haired woman in Jail and has beer
| compelled to go to the governor to gel
with justice in Oakland, arresting {
man inside the city and taking the case
outside the city for trial. The Objeci
| was for Mr.. Redden to get S35 for every
count upon which he could have hin
convicted. Although Redden had go
the supreme court to let Jessie Morrison
out Of the penitentiary he was unable
/ to have the man convicted for the Of
tense of merely selling beer. These PEG
pie have been the principal law-break
ers within the past year. protes
against this thing as immoral. Th'
prOhibitOry law is immoral as I have
found from personal and bitter exper-
fence. It raises young men up trying t
keep them away from ten ptatiOn anC
sui De a man. our boys nave only u
go to Kansas City to see this common
practice of eminent men, including tn,
bishops of the church. You have laugh
your boys q lie, as I was taught, to le
the glass of beer pass, when I cam,
here, q years old Then I began t.
mix up with the people of the city tn
bankers, the governors, the prOminen
business men; and I found not on.
that to drink and play billiards was no
only the custom, but on the quiet t
own some of the saloons.
But don't forget that the worm ha
turned. The meeting this afternoon is it
first turning We are going to fight yOl
= all summer and are going to thrash you il
the end. There never was so little drunk
, enness on earth as there is today; bu
you can't get rid of a habit of a THOUSAND
years in an hour. 1 can take you t
twenty green mounds, the graves of mel
who in the last two years have beel
killed by defective scaffOlds built by con
tractors, or of bad railroad bridges. AS
Mrs. Thorpe where the little orphans com
| from. You ought to interest yourselves il
other great problems. child labor, and tn
tax problem, for instance You are bu
| scrapine the frost of an iceberg to kee