p.6...The Lithuanian colony in Chicago Heights, Illinois, has a Lithuanian Citizens Club, which was organized two years ago, and has over two hundred members. However, a bad feature of this club is the fact that it was organized in a saloon and continues to this day to hold meetings in saloons. Members of the club attend only saloons and their church, and show no interest in the educational uplift of their group. For that reason the more intelligent and progressive members have resigned, because the club does not foster any lofty ideals.

Usually only a few members attend meetings, and then mostly to pay up their dues, and hurry back to the bar. However, during election times, all members attend the meetings regularly, because then many politicians and candidates came around with pockets full of money and there is plenty to drink for all. The candidate who furnishes the club members with the most beer and whiskey invariably receives their votes.

Last year, some of the more intelligent members of the club made an effort to place the club on a more intelligent level. They proceeded to do so first by making a motion for the club to adopt some newspaper as the official organ of the club. After harsh and heated debates the club finally decided to adopt the Keleivis (The Traveller), a Social Democrat weekly published in Boston, as the official organ of the club. However, some members immediately reported that decision to the local priest who then launched a long bitter campaign from the pulpit against the Keleivis, and against those who made the motion in the club-meeting. As a result of that campaign by the priest, at the following meeting of the club, the members created so much commotion and heated debates that it was decided to repeal that decision and denounce those members who originated the idea.

During the pre-annual meeting of the club a motion was made that the club get in touch with other societies of the community and form a united committee for the purpose of raising funds for the relief of 3Lithuanian war refugees in Lithuania. Action on the motion was postponed until the annual meeting on Jan. 10. However, during the annual meeting some members charged that the Socialists plan to pocket the relief fund for themselves and become millionaires. So the motion was defeated.

Another reason which was advanced to defeat the above motion was the present hard times. However, when a priest or saloonkeeper gives a banquet, then there are no hard times; then they howl all night long at the bar.

Recently P. Zukauskas died here. While he was healthy he contributed money to the local church and spent much money in a saloon. However, when the hospital asked the priest to take charge of his body for burial, the priest refused and asked the saloonkeeper to do so. But the saloonkeeper refused to have anything to do with the dead man. A good hearted neighbor, J.Rimkus, finally took the body into his home and gave the man an appropriate burial. Although the dead man was a good Catholic and made large contributions to the church, nevertheless, when he died and left no money to cover his burial expenses, the priest refused even to toll the church bell during the funeral, without compensation.