they are thoughtless; ministers and
church people who don't use their influence aginst this evil don't
realize what they're doin'--they don't think."

"They're guilty if they don't think," sez Arvilly, "if they are blest
with common sense. If I wuz walkin' by a deep pond in broad daylight,
and see a dozen little children sinking that I might save by a little
effort, I wonder how many would believe me when I said that I see 'em
drowndin' but didn't try to save 'em because I didn't think. If I had
ears and eyes and common sense, and could save 'em and didn't, I wuz
guilty of murder, and so the Lord would look at it and everybody else
that knew anything." And she looked at me some as if I didn't know
anything, jest because I intimated that ministers and church members
didn't want to do such wickedness, but didn't think--Arvilly is hash.
But I had to admit that she had some common sense on her side. Sez she
agin:

"The Church of Christ could do anything it wanted to if it jined its
forces, took holt as if it meant to do sunthin', but as it is
indifference folds its hands, self interest murders humanity, greed
upholds intemperance, and all about us in Church and State are drink
makers and drink takers, and heaven knows which of 'em will git to
hell first!" Arvilly is dretful hash; when she gits rousted up her
indignation is like lightnin', and she don't care where it strikes or
who. It struck Elder Wessel hard.

"I should be afraid!" sez he, and his voice fairly trembled with
indignation, "I should be afraid to talk of the Church of Christ as
you do!"

"Let it behave itself then!" sez Arvilly, "be converted and come out
on the Lord's side to the help of the weak aginst the mighty!"

"The saloon," sez Elder Wessel dogmatically, "is the Poor Man's Club."
He wuz all rousted up by her hash talk and come out plainer than he
had come. "The rich man has his club, and the saloon is the Poor Man's
Club. He has a right to go there for a little recreation."

"Re-creation!" sez Arvilly. "If you think drinkin' pizen whiskey is
re-creatin' a man, you're different from me."

"And me, too," sez I. "If you call it re-creatin' to go to the Poor
Man's Club sober and sane," sez Arvilly, "and stagger home at midnight
crazy drunk, I say he hain't no right to re-create himself that way;
he re-creates himself from a good man and worthy member of society
into a fiend, a burden and terror to his family and community. Now
Elder White's idee