The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-08-12
Voice of The eopIe
LETTER FROM GARY MINISTER

Gary. Ind, Aug. I, 1909.
Editor. TIMES: Mr. Englehart has
said that his lots will doubtless in
crease in value, so it will after the
cleaning up. and other think the same
No man wants to live in a town that
he has come to where there are slums
like a hogpen. l prophesy that it win
be necessary to Kill the hogs before
we get rid Of them
or course, we could have gotten rid
of these places long since If the law
had been enforced. l think that if it
is not the churchs duty to get at this
matter, the pastors do not know their
places in the law, if we get our law
from the book Of books. the Bible.
| The Bible tells US to stand on the
Goals. and not to see men go down to
hell and drag men, women and chill
dren with them. ! say not.
| We should stand there to hear the
word at his mouth and to give them
warning that they may be saved.
] If we should take that stand we
could not have issued a statement to
the various papers deploring the no
\ toriety which the press Of the country
/ has given Gary. The newspapers ex-
posing conditions in Gary are not hurt
ing the town: they are benefiting 1t by
turning on the limelight OF publicity.
and I still say it Is and was the exist
ing conditions that hurt the town and
not what the papers said.
What worse mob violence could be
added to a man than to drag his soul
out Of him By leading him away after
those things that will cause him to
destroy himself and home and respect
for civil laws
1 told one Of the ministers to let
the law take its course. 1t did, in the
person OF Mr. J. E. Sears. But what
could he do with that great Knots BY
himself?
Now. If we ministers had gone to
work two or three months ago and
issued a statement deploring the out
rageous conditions in Gary, we would
have done our duty.
We who stuck the match to the
magazine wanted to see it go UP. i
is the conditions and not the notoriety
coming from 1t that those ministers
should have deplored.
Of course. they showed their weak
ness when they issued that statement
If they had gone and helped THE TIME:
} expose the thing, after we had started
r the wheels rolling, the crusade would
Z have aided Gary to get rid Of thu
: plague spot which should have beer
< moved long since. But they did no
5 help.
So Father Jensen and myself brough
2 the gun into the camp of the enemy
e and THE TINES took courage and en-
. tered the fight, and now l think tina
t If the ministers had not the courage 4
enter the fight they should have KEEP
quiet and not have come out agains
u.s. They don't know whether Their
was a mob or not in the four tina
caught me on the street about 4 o'clocl
n IN the afternoon. who said after / es
r capped that ! had better run, and O.
the night Of the same evening som
9 one came to my shack with quar-
5 bottle Of oil and set 1t on fire. and /
q both attempts I escaped.
= 1t was not their fault I escaped
i was through the will Of God, who sal
= He win be with US all the way. G
course, 1t takes moral courage to d
tn ework or take up the fight, but Go
e has few that will do their duty at a
hazards.
s This is all we have this time. Your
truly for the betterment Of all men,
Y REV. SHEPHERD NJ. KING.