A Christian Science Reading Room opens its doors to the general public. What if trouble walks in?
In Brooklyn, New York, the problem was handled this way. A group of boys, known purse snatchers, continually dropped around to create a disturbance at a new Reading Room opened by Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist. Hardly a week passed that they didn't start fighting, roughhousing, and knocking books over. Twice, cash was stolen. This went on for six or eight months.
Finally it seemed necessary to install a telephone signal system so that the librarians could notify the police quickly when trouble started. They began to rely upon this means of solving the problem, until one church member pointed out that one's actual dependence should be on God, not the police.