lecture?

_Answer_. I know very little except what I have seen in the morning
paper. As a general rule, laws should be enforced or repealed;
and so far as I am personally concerned, I shall not so much complain
of the enforcing of the law against Sabbath breaking as of the fact
that such a law exists. We have fallen heir to these laws. They
were passed by superstition, and the enlightened people of to-day
should repeal them. Ministers should not expect to fill their
churches by shutting up other places. They can only increase their
congregations by improving their sermons. They will have more
hearers when they say more worth hearing. I have no idea that the
Mayor has any prejudice against me personally and if he only enforces
the law, I shall have none against him. If my lectures were free
the ministers might have the right to object, but as I charge one
dollar admission and they nothing, they ought certainly be able to
compete with me.

_Question_. Don't you think it is the duty of the Mayor, as chief
executive of the city laws, to enforce the ordinances and pay no
attention to what the statutes say?

_Answer_. I suppose it to be the duty of the Mayor to enforce the
ordinance of the city and if the ordinance of the city covers the
same ground as the law of the State, a conviction under the ordinance
would be a bar to prosecution under the State law.

_Question_. If the ordinance exempts scientific, literary and
historical lectures, as it is said it does, will not that exempt
you?

_Answer_. Yes, all my lectures are historical; that is, I speak
of many things that have happened. They are scientific because
they are filled with facts, and they are literary of course. I
can conceive of no address that is neither historical nor scientific,
except sermons. They fail to be historical because they treat of
things that never happened and they are certainly not scientific,
as they contain no facts.

_Question_. Suppose they arrest you what will you do?

_Answer_. I will examine the law and if convicted will pay the
fine, unless I think I can reverse the case by appeal. Of course
I would like to see all these foolish laws wiped from the statute
books. I want the law so that everybody can do just as he pleases
on Sunday, provided he does not interfere with the rights of others.
I want the Christian, the Jew, the Deist and the Atheist to be
exactly equal before the law. I would fight for the right of