The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-06-12
Are Famed by Cool Breezes
While 36 Members of
Bridgeport Pastors AS
sociation DenOunce Them
AS Against "Law and
Order"
Members Of Association
Unite in Denunciation of
Mayor Buckingham for
His Refusal to Interfere
with Discretion Vested in
Criminal Authorities.

While members of the Bridgeport
Pastors Association denounced May
or buckingham, and Sunday baseball.
from thirty-six pulpits, $1,000 men
and women wended their way to
Steeplechase Island and 5000 others
took trolley cars to Savin Rock. OF
those who visited Steeplechase 5000
tattended a game of baseball to which
an admission of a quarter was charg-
ed for each person. Some came on
tfoot some in carriages and some IN
tautomobiles.
! There they were and there they sat
I'm spite of certain and divers statutes
under which any person malicious
enough to make a complaint to
tduly authorized prosecutor might
khave stopped all proceedings and re-
Fturned them to their homes.
The sky was blue. and the breeze
was blowing in from the Sound. The
grass was green. There was music.
RThe ball game proceeded In I1sure-
fly way to a vietoTy Tor the nome ne
/ persons sat, or walked about, or 9TH
/ erwise innocently enjoyed themselves.
kalthough they knew that from some
pulpits 1t was being charged that they
were miserable sinners" that they
were turnultously arrayed against
-slaw and order" under the guidance
and countenance Of one certain may
OF, who had failed to understand the
bitter error of what they were doing.
These thousands Of people knew
that they would be described as sin
ners, but they were Americans with
common school education, and a
reasonable acquaintance with the
principles of Christianity and they
didn't believe it.
The assemblage included not a few
of the leading citizens of Bridgeport.
It was a well dressed assemblage and
it knew what it was about.
1t was a crowd capable Of self gov
ernment, as all American crowds are.
no disorder. The air and the breezes
and the growing grass were not more
law abiding than these people were.
Upon the Island were some so per-
sons in adj who were doing paid"
work that the 81 900 might be served
of gentlemen who were devotedly
working at certain devices of speech
and oratory, as difficult on a hot day
as baseball. to convince somewhat
| that their other fellow citizens, head
! ed by the chief executive of those
citizens. were engaged in q crusade
against law and order"
And here are some of the things
said, because these $1,000 persons
] to which admission was paid.
Rev. Gerald Fl. Beard said that In
| refusing to interfere with Sunday
/ baseball at Stsep1echase Mayor Buck
fngham is against law and order. He
! said that the result would be a wide
| open city, and an increase in pros
| titution, liquor drinking and lawless-
ness. Mr.. Beard is pastor of Park
Street Congregational church, and
president of the Bridgeport Pastors
Rev. ]. McLaren Richardson, pas
| tor of First Presbyterian church, de-
clared that some selfish interest had
nullif1ed the law so that baseball
could be played. He declared that
| the moral meaning of Sunday would
disappear if baseball should continue
! to be played He said: "The supreme
( issue is. shall the law abiding people
of this city permit their laws to be
nullifed by selfish interests, or popu-
lar outcry."
I Rev. Everett L. Burnes pastor of
/ Washington Park M. E. church said
"If those things which go for Sab
bath dissertation are right at Steeple-
chase Island they are right in the
center of the town, and unless stop
ped on the Island it will be but a
| short time when Bridgeport will be
! disgraced by wide open Sunday
Rev. George NJ. Brown, pastor Of
First NJ. E. Church. said: within the
! being carried on one of the most
, fragrant and openly defiant violations
of law in the state. / doubt if there
is any other city in Connecticut where
under the sanction of the city au-
thorities such a situation exists
These remarks are fairly represen-
tative of the general tenor of all the
! addresses. The ministers were gen.
F, orally of the opinion that Sunday
baseball would lead the way to in
discriminate wickedness. They unit
ed in demanding law enforcement.
Most of the pastors denied that the
letter to the mayor contained a
threat None of them, however, neg
lected to denounce him in the strong
est language by refusing to interfere
with the criminal authorities to en-
force the law against Sunday base
ball. Some of the pastors asserted
that the present Sunday law should
be rewritten. But all of them de-
manded the strict enforcement of the
law as it stands, without regard to
public opinion. because the statutes
creating it are in existence.