The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-01-01
A Problem That VIII Not Down.

TN A SPEECH made before the
Church club in New York city on
Il Monday night, as reported in
the New York Tribune, Rev. DR..
William Rainsford, one of the most
popular and influential of Manhattan
islands Christian pastors, uttered
| some sentiments which at one period
in the worlds history would have
earned martyrdom for him and which,
even in this liberal age, would in
many communities, end his acceptable
| ity as a. minister of religion.
His theme wes the communities at
titude toward the saloon. He was con-
sidering by what means church peo-
pie, and more especially, we suppose.
| Protestant church people, in a city
like New York, with it's many social
problems and contrasts. could arrive at
a more sympathetic and useful basis
of understanding with the hundreds of
| thousands who, for purposes of dis
| tinction may be called the saloon
| people. The men he was addressing
| belong to a class who seldom or never
go into saloons, and he said to them,
among other unorthodoX things:
'"rhe first thing you would learn if
you went there is that the saloon is a
most extraordinary institution, and it
has come to stay. Any man who
speaks of wiping it out / have no time
| to argue with. He does not face facts.
| 1t is not simply an evil place. 1t is
IL, x,c l.,
people. The man without a home goes
| to the saloon because he can get more
| for five cents there than anywhere
| else. 1t is an institution that pro-
| foundly affects hundreds of thousands
OF people in the city of New York. The
saloon has gradually taken a hold on
the people and you can't suddenly up
root it.
"There is common cry today that
| those who would open the saloon on
Sunday attack the Christian Sabbath.
/ don't know any statement that seems
to me so absolutely foundationless as
that. You. can't find a worl1ingman
who wouldn't laugh at that statement.
We would be fortunate if we could
get the rich people of New York to
keep the Sabbath as we'll as the work.
ingman does. What he wants is to be
left to so his own way. You need not
have any fear that the American Sun
day is going down. The more our fac
tories operate and the more our cotton
gins roar every year, the more the
working people respect the Sabbath.
AS question in rest it IS settled. The
question of liberalizing the laws is not
one to be easily dealt with, but if l had
power by raising my finger to produce
changes in this city, one of the first
changes I would make-and / would
do everything l could to encourage it
Is to institute a series of games OIL
Sunday afternoons. You drive people
to drink because Sunday is such slow
day. You can't do anything better for
your bodies and narrow chests than 10
get out on a Sunday afternoon and
exercise. / would have a great play
ground, and /, as a Christian minis
ter, would use my time and money to
take the people there The question is
whether liquor is going to be sold
unlawfully all the time and lawfully
part of the time, or lawfully all the
time"
DR.. Rainsford said much more to
similar effect, and Bishop Potter, who
also spoke, agreed with him. Just
where this kind of argument will lead
cannot clearly be foreseen. At present.
it seems assured that hope of securing
local option for New York must be
abandoned. 1t has also been an
nounced that the new commissioner of
police for New York. Colonel Part
ridge, favors a liberal Interpretation of
the liquor laws. "or," in the language
of the Sun. that saloons known to be
trustworthy as to character and man
ner of conducting business shall be
enabled to sell on Sunday under the
present law. Putting it bluntly, on
Sunday the liquor law is to he Off
cially labelled blue and openly rele-
gated to the lumber rom for statutes
that are practically disregarded." That
such u programme will invite sharp
criticism is inevitable; but the charac-
ter and numbers of those who are
pledged to its support as presenting
the only alternative to a return of
missed lightly from consideration.