The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-14
CHARLEsIoNs SUNDAY LAWS.
The Blue Laws Amended and Still the
City is Not Happy.


City is Not Happy.
CHARLESTON, June 13.-The readers of
the MORNING NEWS have already been ad-
vised of the great Sunday law fight in the
city council. A little of the inside history
of the fight, however, may be interesting
There has been on the statute books of
Charleston since 1901, Sunday law which
is stricter than the old law of the Levites.
Strictly interpreted, it meant that no man
should do anything on the Sabbath. The
law, 1T is said, was transcribed from an old
English statute of 1920, or thereabouts and
it probably was, as Charleston has always
been fond of old English, you know"
At any rate Charleston has been gong on
very well under the old English law, which
was obeyed in the spirit if not in the letter.
TIE bar rooms had their side doors, and the
Sunday cocktail could be had sub rosa You
or glass of soda, or a shave,
or cigar, or an apple without offend
ing the moral susceptibilities Of your Phar-
isaical neighbor, and we were happy and
contented, If not progressive and prosper
Gus community. OF late, however, some of
the purest members of the community have
become aggressive. They asked that the
bar rooms be closed on unday, which was
q very moderate and reasonable request
ouiesced in by the entire communicates
cept perhaps the barkeepers; and SO a petit
ton was sent to council asking this.
AN APPLE OF DISCoRD.
But here an excess of zeal evolved
an apple of dscord An alder
man, an exemplary christian aud
efficient official, thought this an opportunity
TO revive the old blue laws of 1901 and in
response to the petition offered a resolution
calling for the enforcement of section SOL,
which as stated above is the old Levitical
law. The resolution was passed and the
police instructed accordingly. The expert
ment was failure After four or five
Sundays it was found that the
only places that did business on
Sunday were the barroomS. This
they were enabled to do by means sof the
handy and convenient side door. The poor
fruiters, the ice cream gardens, the ice
houses, and even the milk wagons were
stopped. You could get nothing in Charles
ton but the Sunday cocktail. Then there
was modification, not of the law. but of
the mayors instructions to the police. The
perspiring millionaire who could afford to
buy 100 pounds of ice before noon
on Sunday could get it; he
could also order his gallon of
ice cream on Sunday morning and have it
sent to his residence. But the workingman
who couldn't buy these luxuries by the
wholesale, was absolutely shut out. He
couldn't send around the corner for cents
worth of ice in the morning and 5 cents
worth in the evening, nor could he take his
children out on Sunday afternoon and
treat them to plate of cream or glass of
soda water. But he could slip into the side
door Of barroom and spend his weeks
wages playing bonanza for beer or cock
tails. The poor frulter who had no side
door saw his stock of goods perish in con
sequence of not being able to crack his
front door.
ALIVE TO THE SITUATION.
Even so peculiar community as Charles
ton soon began to realize that this was not
exactly proper state of affairs, and so an
effort was made to relieve the situation.
This was formulated in a bill that passed
council last night, and which simply ex-
empts the sale of ice, ice cream, fruit, soda
water and cigars from the operations of the
blue laws of 1901.
As telegraphed the bill received its third
reading after a hot fight, and will be ratified
at the next meeting of the council unless the
council changes its mind. Whether it will
effect the desired object and give us perfect
peace remains TO be seen. A good many
people here think not. They think that the
only way out of the trouble is to repeal the
ancient law and pass one which will closC
up the bar rooms on Sunday and leave il K
the moral sense OF the community (which
after all, is not such a very immoral com
munlty), and the police to preserve a decen
observance OF the Sabbath without Cypress
ing any class of its population.