Evening star., 1922-05-07

city. Inc tIu0 mas. COAAaG
when the Scriptures are
too openly violated by your sisters,
your sweethearts and the sisters and
sweethearts of your friends. :. No
girl in. this town Is worthy of mar
riage to any young man within my
congregation. You must, If neces-
sary, go to England, France, Bel
gium or even Germany for wives
that are worthy of you. ask you
all to sign a pledge that you will
observe my command, and warn
you that I will not perform the mar
rage ceremony for any Of the young
women in this community"
One may well imagine what con-
sternation was caused in the church
when the pastor spoke these words
in the course of his Sunday morning
sermon. Tho minister was the Rev.
Floyd Burnett. His church is the
principal one in the thriving little
city of Mosquero, in New Mexico. In
his congregation that morning were
all the young ladies of the town and
also all the young men OF the city.
together with many Of their elders
The Rev. Mr.. Burnett had just nm
ished a stirring sermon directed gen
orally against modern fashions and
in particular against what he de-
scribed as the unwholesomeness Of
the young women who were seated
in the church pews in front of him.
He quoted literally from the Bible
In his denunciations Of such things
as rolled stockings, peekaboo waists
and bobbed hair, and ended these
quotations by reading from Apostle
Paul: LET your women dress as be-
coming women"
THE little city of Mosquero Is in
! country where every man carries
a gun. and where all young women
frequently enjoy themselves by
shooting at target. 1t is safe, to
say, even though there was no CEN
sus taken at the time. that every
young girl in the church was the
sweetheart of some young man in
some nearby pew. and that this
young man carried either in his belt
or In q, pocket a thoroughly reliable
and quickly reached pistol or re-
volver. It 10 also safe to say that
each gun was q large one and had
been practiced with.
So It may be said thGt the Rev. Mr..
Burnett carried his life in his hands
when he stood before the assembled
population OF the city, knowing that
there were almost as many guns In
front of him as there were young
men, and told all the swains there
assembled that their sweethearts
were not fit for love and marriage.
And almost any one would have as
sured the young minister that his
death warrant most certainly would
be executed should he go SO far as
to use, In connection with his other
denunciations, the forbidden term
maverick" And yet with only the
thin boards Of his lectern between
him and the bullets in the audience
he plainly and with calm punctua-
tfons declared: 80
IT say to all you girls who are
hearing me this morning that you
are mavericks. maverick happers, to
be more exact, and you may take that
characterixation just as it is spoken.
for mean 1t, every word"
Certainly the older men and women
in that congregation We're sure that
there would be fusillade of shots to
greet the young sky pilot when he
should emerge that morning from
the church door. But there was not
for a strange thing happened.
Pastor Burnett is little man. who
strongly reminds those of his parish
toner's who have read Sir James Ear
ria Of the latter's Little Minister"
He, - . man who most any youngstar
in lleoQusro could floor with sin-z
NJ INV. Yst his shoulders were