The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-02-22
AN OLD GAME
REPEATED

AN OLD GAME
REPEATED
Down at Twin Falls they are feel
ing considerable better now. They
held joint revival of four of the
churches, employed an 'itinerani
preacher and lecturer as the chief
revivalist, listened for a week OF
more to his stream of oratory, and
in the words of the enthusiastic
folks, did a great deal of good. They
know that great good was accom-
| plished because they had crowded
houses and people became much
wrought up.
| The speakers name was Berger
and he has been speaking on the Ku
Klux Khan in various places, and
addressed his audiences on that sub
| ject part of the time at Twin Falls.
He is said to have told them what
an awfully good town they have and
what an awfully bad town it is get
ting to be. He talked to them about
the gross immortality that is honey
combing the town, and emphasized
greatly the danger lurking in the
dance halls, and how it takes people
| to perdition. He attacked one dance
hall in particular and one hospital
in particular, claiming that immoral
| ity flourished in one and was oper-
ated on in the other and that the
| dance hall ought to be closed and
the other cleaned out.
Well We're sorry to hear that
about Twin Falls! We are glad it is
given on no better authority than
DR.. Berger, stranger in the town
who probably doesn't know all of it
for certain and could not prove any
of it if his life depended on it. The
reverend doctor may be quite right,
and if he is we are sorry for Twin
Falls. If he is not right we are sorry
for the people who don't know any
better than to import a stranger to
tell them what kind of town they
possess and to interpret what is go
ing on in their dance halls and
hospitals.
Some years ago they had that kind
of speaker at Nampa and he had
packed house too, for while. But
some Of the pious men of the town
and others not so pious, sat back and
did some thinking. They wondered
where he got all that stuff, and they
went and asked him. He tried to put
them off with wise looks and myster-
ious air, but some of them were from
Missouri and were mean about it.
They pointed a finger at him and
told him they believed he was maxi
ing it up mostly. They told him that
human nature in Nampa was perfect.
but that they never had been able to
operate it at 100 per cent efficiency
1T had always fallen from the
true principle at times and in places
and got back in line for periods, and
after allowing for average human
weakness they believed Nampa was
as good as other towns and he had
slandered their young people and
certain prominent people, as long
as they would permit unless he could
point out and prove certain specific
instances, They took him to task
about it in the presence of his audi
ence after a committee had first
visited him without getting any sat
isfaction or information, and he
wilted and was very much cowed. He
'tie ehV tO"il anu tiC Hol III uC ldu
done while preaching, rapidly evapo-
rated and people trusted youth and
neighbOrs and certain prominent peo-
pie. Without making any particular
changes in the. people or their con-
duct, they found that it was a good
Did town, and it is still there and
loes not seem to be headed for per-
iition any more than other towns.
Boise had a taste of that kind of
cleaning a few years ago, and the
lecent people of the city are still
lpologizing for it whenever it is (
s
Men who start such sensations in a
own usually mean fairly we'll, but ]
hey lack sense. They lack respon-
Utility and they do not intend to /
tay when they utter these things.
hey go into town and go around t
idding for information on salacious 6
matters and soon get in touch with t
he chief scandal-mongers of the
own and listen to all that is told I
hem, are assured in a solemn man
er that it is true and they go ahead i,
nd rave about it in the pulpit. 1t i
aises big stir for short time, and !
ne evangelist goes away, leaving the
zeal minister to bear the brunt of
ne awakening to the fact that it was
bont 80 or 90 per cent inflamed !
By the time spring comes the eff a
lsions of DR.. Berger will have been q
retty we'll forgotten and discredited /
nd people will still be going about d
leir affairs, doing good most of the N
me and compromising between
leir wishes and their teacheings
art of the time. T.