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Show Straight Talk M The blue laws, 'which the joke in the position H of chief of police was so active in attempting H to enforce soon after he took office early in H i 1911, are to be dragged out of the musty tomes H'' where they have hidden these many years, and H' put in force, if what is called the "Betterment H League" hap anything to say about it. H Grocery and meat stores are to be closed and H that means the downtown delicatessens as well, B where hundreds depend upon getting their nee- H essary food on Sundays. H Of course, if these sanctimonious birds carry H their brilliant ideas to a successful conclusion, H it will mean the closing of stores of every de- H scription, cigar stands and every other place H where people may purchase necessities and lit- H tie luxuries. H By such methods as this the little and nar- H row have always endeavored to place restraint H on the personal liberties of their fellow men, and H from the old Salem days to the present time, they H have labored under the impression that that is H the way to serve God. H How horrible it must be in this day and age Hl of big and broad ideas in this country, which H' is supposed to be free and in which freedom of H religion is every man's right, for those who are H obliged to live with or near a bunch of bigots H, which constitute the average organization of re- H ligious reformers. H We note a1 so, as was predicted in these col- Hj umns a week ago, that all churches in the city H and county will be asked to conduct services on H a certain date, in an effort to better certain so- H cial conditions, which do not need betterment, H and that for a month or six weeks to come, we H are to be bored with another campaign in the H effort of those who are seeking the spotlight of H publicity to lure the people to the empty benches. Hj It is shameful that a good town should be H periodically pestered by misguided organizations, H composed of those who, in their little lives, have H been too blind to keep up with the procession. H B TBn't it about time for some nut to figure out B how many shopping days are left before Chrlst- B mas? H B The childish prattle appearing on the ed- B itorial pages of the Tribune and Herald-Republi- B can every morning is getting on the nerves of B those who, partly through force of habit and B partly in the hope of seeing something worth Bt while, read the papers every day. The reltera- B tions in each succeeding issue of both papers W that the office boy is writing the editorials ap- m pearing in the other, are unnecessary, because H the public is aware that both are right. The kid K stuff speaks for itself, no proof is needed, and H inasmuch as the two papers mentioned above H have claimed and proven time and again B that the other paper is a liar, it is time K to give the patient public a rest and begin, if possible, the discussion of moro interesting subjects than the daily personalities, which the printer's devil contributes to one and as has been said the cat brings in to the other. For the tired business men, both papers contain con-tain enough humorous features to vary the monotony mon-otony of whutever else he may find, without making the editorial page a comic feature and the average reader would be much better satisfied sat-isfied to begin the day after reading something besides the morning passing of the lie between a senator and an ox-senator. "We are given to understand that of the members mem-bers of the committee who were appointed by the supposed Betterment League in its asanine campaign cam-paign to save us all from perdition, very few of them visited the places upon which the report was made, and that one Orson Hewlett and a few others have taken it upon themselves to snoop around and find out just which portals lead to hell. The forms of advertising Mr. Hewlett uses, have for many years made him a laughing stock in the community, and his latest diversion is no exception to the rule. After knowing for years the character of the Dunbar club, he was finally final-ly persuaded to become active in having it closed After having been led to believe that he was a great moral reformer, and the fact that the club was closed after a long campaign against it, but only a few days after he took an active part in the work, leads us to believe that he imagines he did it, and realizing that such publicity is a splendid advertisement for his products, we cannot help but feel that the further activities along these lines by this meddler, are prompted by his desire to have his goods in the limelight for a couple of months until the state fair exhibits ex-hibits are on display. A fine public spirited piece of work is this Orson Hewlett, and many are the expressions of regret, that when Wesley King cheered the members of the Trade Excursion Excur-sion by punching Brother Hewlett in the nose, he did not finish the job to the satisfaction of those present and a goodly proportion of the community. In the list submitted by the committee appointed ap-pointed by the meddlers, half a dozen sawdust dumps were mentioned as disobeying the law, and then were included, Maxim's, The Louvre, the Heidelberg and the Pullman cafe. When the agitation against closed doors in private booths was started and it was ordered that they be removed, the decent cafes of the city complied with the rule immediately and there are no restaurants res-taurants in the country being conducted better than the high class of restaurants in this city. They are catering to a nice class of people; are offering no inducements to any others to visit their places, and in fact are eliminating the undesirables un-desirables as rapidly as possible. The only thing that is accomplished by such reports as those made by the Betterment League and exploited so freely in the dailies, is the driving away of decent people from these restaurants, and such false statements not only scare good patrons, but are invitations to the habitues of the tenderloin to patronize the places mentioned. Such false and misleading statements are a libel on those who are conducting orderly places and who in every case are broader men and better citizens than those who are trying to put them out of business. |