Arizona republican., 1906-11-20
THE THEME GAMBLING
 IN PHOENIX CHURCHES
The Sermon by Rev. Mir. MacLain of the First Methodist Church Last Sunday.

thus handled by Rev. Dr. MacLain of the First M. E. church.
 By the express invitation of the best men of the various churches of this city, and of men who are not members of any church. every pastor in Phoenix was requested to talk on the city's curses with especial reference to the election to be held on Tuesday next. to determine whether Phoenix shall have gambling or not. It hardly seems nec- essary to select a text for this sub ject. and if 1 do I may be like the old | itinerant preacher who was in the hab- it of taking a text, and at the outset of his sermon he would depart from the text and never come back to it. How ever. I have selected as a text, Prov IA. 34: Righteousness sxalteth a na- tion. but sin is a reproach to any peo- pie"
 The Coliseum at Rome is the great est of the worlds ruins. It stands to- day as a representative of Rome's , cruelty and the abominable degradation of Rome for hundreds and hundreds of years. One of the most pathetic sights in all the world is to look back over human history and contemplate the terrific desolation of the great na- tiOns of antiquity. Nations that were in the worlds eye; nations that were powerfully organized; nations that had far reaching influence; nations that commanded strong and powerful ar mics; all of these have passed away. It is interesting to notice that the great empires have fallen and crum- bled in obedience to the word of prophecy Daniel prophesied the fall of Babylon; Daniel prophesied the ! fall of Assyria; Daniel prophesied that the great Roman Empire should fall to pieces. Tyre and Sidon fell by the word of God through His servants. All these ancient cities and nations fell because they were unworthy; they fell because they were vile and corrupt IL is a terrible thing to behold the wreck of a great man or a beautiful woman. A man with colossal brain power and extensive culture. a man qualified to occupy conspicuous post ton in society and to make an indelli- ble impression upon the times; it Is hard to see the wreck and ruin of such a man. Last winter a gentleman came to Phoenix in the capacity of a tramp.
 
 time had been an esteemed member of the faculty of one of the great univer- sities. Through drink and kindred evils he had lost self-control and had become wreck at the mercy of his passions and lusts, a vagabond in the world.
 l heard an eloquent speaker at the of the Chautauqua gatherings in the east say that unless the United States of America shall work out her destiny under the stars and stripes. shall abol- ish the saloon and put down the drink traffic. the time will come when the owls and night birds shall screech in the corridors of the great capitol at Washington. and the jackal and other fierce wild beasts will roam the banks of the Potomac.
 The people of Phoenix. anxious to have the gambling evil abolished. should remind the voters of the great responsibility resting upon them at this time. We love Phoenix: We love this valley; and we love the homes of Phoenix. We want to make this a great up-to-date modern city instead of a country town: to make this a city noted for good schools. fine churches, and refined citizens; a place where strangers coming 70 our midst for homes and investments will be well pleased. We are told that the drink traffic, gambling and the red light dis trict are a source of great revenue to the city and that if these evils are abolished the city instead of becoming more prosperous, will become a dead l ar,I .I, ! a lesson from the experience of Fl Paso and Tucson. A few months ago Fl l Paso abolished gambling. and instead of wreck and ruin befalling her as ! prophesied by those who favored gam bling. it is the testimony of the leading citizens there that during the nhort time since gambling was abolished, ! Fl Paso has been more prosperous than during the whole of her past history. i More good buildings are being built. and more desirable men are engaging in business. Buildings formerly occu- | pied by gamblers are being rented and occupied by grocery stores dry goods stores, etc. The improvement of the moral atmosphere is very noticeable. | Never have there been such good times before. and such great demand for 1 business houses. Tucson has rXper- fenced the same prosperity and increas- ' ed business activity as Fl Paso since abolishing gambling there. There has been more building since voting down gambling one year ago than in ! the five years before. There has been greater commercial activity and i'm proved religious life. The abolition of gambling has been of untold benefit ! to Fl Paso and Tucson.
 l I hardly ever read a Sunday paper. but l read one this morning. Read of what Mayor Coggins and his coadju- tors are doing and am convinced that their efforts will bring untold bene- | fits. once the saloon. gambling and | the red light district are banished from our midst. the news will be car ried to the eastern states. to the northern states and to far-off Canada; and enterprlsing business men seek | ing investment and a good moral att mOsphere in which to live. will come l into our midst and make investments and build up the city and country. Phoenix has a wonderful climate. pr. , Mcintyre. who has travelled all over the United States and all over the world. told me that Phoenix and the l Salt River valley have the most beau | tiful climate of any country in the