The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-08-11

to stop. You have got to do your
sworn duty"
Another reformer struck the
town, Ell % was the insulting reply.
There has, Mr.. Sheriff, and he's
talking right at you! If you don't
today notify every saloonist in town
to obey the law in regard to closing
hours, and if you don't tomorrow ar
rest all defiers, l will report you to
the governor, who is a personal friend
of mine, and ask for your removal!"
Huh"
The sheriff went from saloon to sa-
loon and laughed at the reformer and
said there should be no interference
from him. Within two weeks he was
removed and another man named by
the minister was in his shoes. The
citizens of Newbern were stunned. 1t
seemed incredible.
They will burn his church, was
whispered by one element.
Wen make him sick of his little
camel" was openly boosted by the
other.
The Rev. Mr.. Stephens visited the
justice in his saloon and said:
It's for you to enforce the law, and
here you are among the law-break-
ersi The others are depending upon
you to dismiss any complaint made
against them. What course are you
going to take?'
None of your business"
The next day the minister COM
planned of nine saloons which had Vio-
lated the law. Each of them was dis
missed. Inside of 20 days the old
justice was out and a new one in.
"Scorch the meddler!'' was whis-
pered about. and couple of hard
cases turned up at church at mid
night one night to start fire. They
found the minister there on guard,
and were dragged to Jail, and in day
or two were held to a higher court,
from which they would go to prison.
There were ordinances against Sun
day sports They had not been en-
forced in five years. They came to
the front now. No more baseball or
horse-racing.
Beat the meddler up" was wills
pered, and a shake-purse was made
up to reward scrapper for doing it.
He started out with great ardor to
make a two-minute job of it, but it
lasted only half that time. The min
lister knocked him out with a jab on
the jaw, and then had him arrested
and fined for disorderly conduct.
Some three or four days later some
one tried to set fire to the house
where the refOrmer boarded. He was
on the job with a shotgun, and the
would-be arsonist carried away with
him a fine dose of birdshot.
Then a public meeting was called
at a hall, and the minister did some
tall talking. He put heart into the
decent citizens so strongly that they
the opposition was made to realize
that their cause was lost.
One thing more. The Rev. Mr..
Stephens, from his pulpit, raked the
citizens of Newbern as they had never
heard a minister talk before. They
owed a duty to God and to man. They
must show up at church, whether
they were Christians or not. The
school must be resurrected.
There must be church work. ReI-
giOn and politics must mix until
cry office in the county was filled by
d decent man. The devil had had
possession of Newbern long enough.
Now he must be knocked down and
dragged out.
There was no devil there a year
later. A stranger stopping at the inn
of a Sunday would have looked
around him and unused:
"A clean town-a nice town-a re-
spectacle town. Every body seems to
be going to church, and I guess I'll
go along too.''-(Copyright, 1913, by
the Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.)