The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1913-11-14
POOL HALLS

CONSIDERABLE agitation, here as well as every
~ wherehas been brought to bear towards closing the
pool halls and other of for the young
In of the smaller cities of state msed
reformer has his point and the pool and billiard halls
have been closed The wisdom of action is to be ser
ousy called in question An overdone righteousness how
coupled with the general trend to bring about the
millennium by social effort alone, has not stopped to con-
slider the fact
There is nothing inherently wrong in playing pocket
billiards and billardsnot any more harm say than in
playing baseball That there conditions under which
pocket billiard room billiard hall may become public
nuisance operate to the detrment public morals
true that baseball may lead to rowdysm and bring
suits perncious to the youth community The
lies in making the conditions Surrounding such
sports and diversions what they ought to be and in their
Adjustment The social considerations involved bigger
than various efoes given only viewing the exterior
of things able to grasp. Youth is young and
have amusement and diversion has energies expend
and in majority of instances with little kindly direction
will vent them decently if allowed Life to boy of 1s
20, with plenty of red blood in his veins and heart
beat registering &c. of necessity be the
to man OF fifty He has full head of "a hours
of every day and must have vent somewhere.
You drive him into the Mems Bible class but you
can't keep him there for very long with an over plus of
vitality goadng him every STEP 1t is even to be doubt
ed II enforced restraint does him good. He WASH t
made for the corner, said wasn't made for
him. and the meeting cast of only
does not become him, but repean in all where he
affects it. Restricted in his opportunity for innocent ause
ment he is seek the reckoning adventure
great sn-go in for women the opportunity of which no
restriction rob him. and in the end become of
things, mollycodde libertine. The crap game is
always just around the and the man with half pint
not very far away There is bigger than many
people, few exactngy reormers among them have vet
asped the increasing of young from farms
and town tothe cities is the social instinct along with
desire for economic opportunity that drives them The
city offers amusement and diversion,
Associated with it in the Imagination of thousands of
boys in small towns and farms life light joy and
pleasure and the call is constant Is there more Cod
forsaken joyless appearing place earth than small
poorly lighted town after night with its closed the
streets deserted and place of innocent where
the expanding spirit of youth may find hath
it. That the boy rebels against the enforced gloom
and seeks escape, is natural. He time de-
spse regulatory instinct and in resent even
needed correction.
Too many homes are abdcating too many shiftless
parents seeking to unload responsibility the community
large. The curew is being substituted for parental
authority and the task of raising children hefted the
shoulders of the state There in the history of
the world apparently much talk about the child and
ing of the child itself. We have gone stark mad the
environment, big question in its true and larger
pecs but have gotten entirely false notion of
the Some of public pietes both harsh and
hateful There is flavor of pharisaical can't about them
that keeps youth in of rebellion You can't
make plaster of paris saint of boy under the
favorable circumstance and the way make devil
of him is surround him with graveyard atmosphere
turn the lights shut off the sound of human voices and
leave him in the dark is FOOLS device for spelling the
handiwork of God and succeeds admirably.
Picture shows, it is fair to presume, will be the
point attack by that type efome whom pleasure
is sin and to whom holds nothing but the round of
eating sleeping, begetting and making living Nothing
short of plutonian night and bed will the
demand of the rabd righteousness affecting Yet
youth food itself and the
city will rob us of choicest long as I'M
respect the honorable reormers who depving boys
and young of innocent ements and offer them
nothing instead But for few lighted billiard halls and
moving picture shows the average reformed after
night might easily be mistaken for Goldsmith deserted
village The effect is depressing and the result nceas-
ing stupidity Such periods always followed by reaction
to other extreme for life refuses invariably
grave clothes Incidentally, of home rule
for the Minnesota small town, according to its town
standards and along its lines free from outside inter
ference bids fair soon to become vital issue in state
politics.