100 years ago: Church groups discuss city regulation of pool halls

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 25, 1915:

  • “In recent meetings of the brotherhoods of the churches and the Ministerial alliance, the matter of the pool halls in Lawrence was brought up for discussion…. Shall the pool halls as now run, be closed? Second, shall there be a municipal recreation hall under proper control put into place? They offer this solution to the pool hall question as many say that if the pool halls are taken out that the boys of the town will find a worse place to loaf than in the pool halls, and they say that if the municipal recreation hall is put under the proper management it will answer the purpose of the pool hall and will be a more wholesome place for the people to spend their time. The argument that the organizations put up against the pool halls is that they afford a place to spend money worthlessly and nothing is gained by the expenditure. It affords a loafing place where the atmosphere is not the best and the boys learn things that will do them no good but will rather give them a bad hold on life.”
  • “Registration for the primary election which will be held on March 9 will close tomorrow night at 10 o’clock. Opportunity will be given all who have not registered for the election to call at the city clerk’s office and register…. There will probably be three issues before the people at the general election on April 6. The original purpose of the election is for the election of Mayor and an ordinance has been passed which provides that the people shall vote on $350,000 for the building of a municipal water system. It is also probable that the issues of the pool halls will be before the people in this election. With the three issues before the people in which there is such great interest it will probably be the largest election that has been held in the city for some time.”
  • “Ernest E. Walker, a well known landscape architect will be in Lawrence on Friday night of this week and will lecture in Marvin hall on the subject ‘Arranging Buildings for University Campus.’ This is a subject that is of especial interest to the University officials and many of the people of the town as plans are being made to place new buildings on the University campus and the most logical location for the new buildings is that one that will be chosen…. The lecture will be illustrated by a series of carefully chosen lantern slides which will show logical placing of drives and walks in keeping with the contour of the ground.”