The American citizen. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1888-1909, 1889-03-22
TUE SABBATH IN DANGER.

The Increase of Sunday Labor In Our Large /
Cities-A Secular Newspapers Views as TO
the Effect Upon the Wage-Earners-
PROMPT Action Needed to Check the
Growing Evil.
Is the day of rest in danger OF being
abolished in our citiesP The tendency
of the times is apparently that way
There has been a great increase OF Sun
dav labor in New York City during the
past few years. 1t is estimated that
fully one hundred thousand OF the men
and women of the metropolis are at
work every Sunday, many OF them at
their trades or other vocations. A re-
lipious organization, the Sabbath Union
is striving to devise means OF prevent
inp encroachments upon the day OF
rest.
The same thing is true of Chicago.
An exchange which has been devotlng
some attention to the matter says IN
that CITY Sunday labor has increased to
such an alarming extent that there are
thousands of workingmen and working
women whose only holidays now are
the few that come by the special favor
of their employers. The same state OF
affairs is true of Cincinnati. Inc
| Times-Star, of recent date, says:
last Sunday retail dry goods dealer on
Vine street over the Rhine, thought nj 10 open
| his doors for the TRANSACTION OF business az
result of the general official cloudiness exlsting
| a the citv in reference to the observance OF
laws the dealer considered himself privileged
tn omen his shop and transact business IN VlOAa
ton Of the law.
eve m ention this case especially as warn
ing to the working people OF what may De ex
| nected in the future il deliberate nulhncauoI
~ the law is permitted. The opening OF one
dry goods store ON Sunday will force the open
| ING of all the others, and will practically com
pel all the sales women of the city to take tne1
places behind the counter as regularly on gun
| day as on any other day of the week.
The sternest measures should be taker
in every case to punish the man wnt
violates the Sunday laws Hone busi
, ness man does it, his rivals are pertorc'
compelled to follow in the same line, O.
have him take portion of their trad
awav from them. The result will b
that the men employed in such estab
lishments will find themselves com
PEELED to do seven days work for prac
8 tically the same pay they now recelV
e for six. This is the result in those line
of business that have already inaugurs
. ted Sunday labor, in all our cities.
!. The wage-earners are the ones upo
Il whose shoulders the burden will IA
,, most heavily. They will find their live
turned into one unending round OF tot
l. without the weekly holiday OF rest
If enable them to recuperate, and TAX
- needed relaxation; and they will fin
that their yearly earnings will then
d no greater than now. They will 3
d seven days work for six days pay fit.
=, two times in the year. For it is not
10 be supposed that manufacturers will q
Be merchants securing an addition OF OF
% day in seven to the labor of their er
ployes with little or no advance
wages, without entering upon the san
q line. The matter is one that nee
h prompt action to check it in its ince
g ton. Each year finds more Sund'
>" labor done in our cities, and the ten
I'd ency in this direction gains momentu
steadily. 1t is time to call halt i
, ledo Blade.