Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-02-16
TALKS ON GAMBLING
DIR. CRAIG DELIVERS ADDRESS
BEFORE AUDIENCE WHICH
PACKED BIG CHURCH.
"Why Gambling FIourishes In OF
Tumwa"-second In Series Of cot
tumwa's Gates of He'll" Sermons at
First Methodist Episcopal Church.

tumWa'S Gates OF He'll sermons at
First Methodist Episcopal Church.
"Why Gambling Flourishes in OF
tumwa" was the topic of the sermon
delivered by DR.. A. E. Craig at the
First Methodist Episcopal church sun
day evening, February 5. The sermon
was the second of the series entitled
"Ottumwa's Gates of He'll
An audience which packed the big
auditorium and the balcony and neces-|
STATED the placing Of chairs In the
aisles listened to the address. The
topic for the address of last Sunday,
February IL, was: 1.-THE City's Shame
full Completely With the Social Vice"
DR.. crais's Address.
DR.. Craig's address of Sunday Feb
ruary S, was as follows:
When the wicked beareth rule the
people mourn.--Prov. xiv, g.
To say that vice is protected in any
municipality is to make a grave and
damaging assertion. To declare that
the police powers are in league with
wrongdoers in their pillaging Is para
mount to saying that the army set by
any nation to protect its property and
lives has mutinied and is in collision
with the enemy that attacks the de.
lenses 1t is set to maintain. Certainly
q suspicion Of that nature must be
strongly supported to gain the cred
snee Of even the most gullible. 1t must
he more than suspicion that could
rebbet such a charge upon men who
have taken their solemn oath to do
their sacred duty. To find that vice
exists In any municipality falls far
short of proving such an offense. /
suppose we will never find a commun-
ity of men this side Of the Holy City
where vice does not prevail to some
extent in their midst. Let laws be as
severe as they may. let police vigilance
be as watchful as possible, let punish
ment be as quick and extreme as pos
sible, and yet there will always be
found reckless men and frail women
who will burst the bars of all proper
restraint and offend their fellows by
their untoward conduct. Our sugges-
ton is not based merely on the fact
that vice exists among us.
Accustomed to Winking.
Nor does it prove this grave charge
to assert that vice Is permitted. Po-
lice protection has never been per-
fectly ideal. 1t has always been in
the hands of men with their personal
prejudices and their personal opin-
ions, Frequently it has been found
that a spirit of laxity and indifference
seizes these authorities and they are
less vigorous in stamping out those
things the laws forbid than many In
the community could wish. They grow
accustomed to winking at certain Of
lenses that they personally do not re-
gard as extremely grave, and thus q
weak and inefficient administration
may be the result. But this while bad
in itself is not so bad as to be open
to the charge that vice is actually pro-
tected. 1t may argue culpability, but
it does not demonstrate completely.
To make good the assertion that
vice is actually protected it must be
shown that the laxity is of such a
prodigious nature that no other excuse
can condone the deplorable conditions.
If one thief steals a coat and gets
away that is no proof that the authori-
ties are In league with differing. If a
hundred thieves steal hundred coats
and all get away, that raises a grave
suspicion and compels the alarmed
public to ask where are the police that
such state of things is possible? II
those hundred coats are found to be
stolen right under the eyes of the po-
lice force and yet no arrest made, the
matter Is closed as far as the general
public Is concerned. They will say
"a 3, anl1,yciNy, hntu no
law protectors and the lawbreakers
But il it can be further shown that
there passes over the palm Of those
very police a certain payment OF
money. that is not authorized under
the law, at stated times and in regular
amounts, then 1t would seem to all that
the incident is closed.
Gambling is Crime.
believe can show you that this
last state of things is the very one
that exists In our midst. AT least will
present the evidence, you must be the
jury and draw your own conclusions
/ will place on the stand this evening
the gambler, because he is the most
glaring evidence of the thing I men
ton, and after show you the nature
and extent Of his operations and the
completely of our city with the same
shall be content to rest my case with
a fair-minded public. need not stop
to point out the fact that gambling Is
a crime under our statutes. What is
more it is generally regarded as a
grave crime. 1t is not looked upon
as one of those trivial relics of blue
laws that have come down to us from
nv nd >ti Of, Iao
letters on our statutes, but it is ev-
erywhere regarded by fair-minded peo-
pie as great wrong and grave men.
ace to the welfare of the community
Few indeed are the places in this
broad land where it is tolerated in any
open way by the public. But Ottumwa
is one of those unenviable few as we
will see in moment.
A Little Excursion.
/ am going to ask this congregation