Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-04

ABOUT lOU wears ago, when we were out
handful of people scattered about vast
unsettled and partly uncivilized country.
| The street cars, the livery stables, the cooks
and all the help about ones house comes
| under Judge Porter's decision and all
would seem to be in the same position as
the man who sells me a paper. Cooking
| and serving meal is to my mind the same
as printing and serving me with my Sum
day morning paper"
Captain Thomas R Kerr, the oil man
and Democratic politician, said: "Surely
| the old Blue Law will not stand in the face
| OF advanced civilization, education and gen.
eral advancement l. believe that
all laws should be strictly obeyed.
| but I don't believe the Blue
Laws, as we know them, should
be accepted for our government 1 be-
lieve the old laws were resurrected more
for the purpose of making money than to
protect the city from any lawlessness or
violations of good order.
Eject of the Decision.
"Judge Porter's decision, to say the least,
is decidedly sweeping, and in substance 1t
says that law exists that will prohibit my
servants from serving me my meals on SUM-
day. 1t says substantially that street cars
car not run on Sunday: that cannot hire
horse and buggy in which to attend the
seems question if the undertaken can bury
the dead on that day. Surely that decision
does not mean what 1t says, and surely we
haze adysnced beyond the reach or erect
Attorney w. j. Bremen said last night
that the decision of Judge Porter was justi-
fed by the law, which he thought was relic
of past ages. He said: "Judge Porters de-
cision settles beyond question the power of
the Law and Order Society to stop not only
the sale of Sunday papers, but street
cars, railroad trains. carriages, drays ana
medicines and even the preachers who We
understand as working on Sunday. Under
stand me, have no disposition to criticise
the decision of Judge Porter, but do think
We have outgrown the Blue Laws as we call
them. Civilization, education and religion
have advanced beyond the narrow limits Of
those old laws. and they stand as q blot
upon our statutes.
The Way to Make Them Obnoxious.
at is said the best way to make a law OBJ
noxious is to enforce it, and I am satisfied
that any attempt to enforce the Blue Laws
will lead to their prompt repeal. The good
people of the State do not want the Blue
Laws and in my Judgment the old laws will
live but O short time"
Councilman Robertson thought that Penn
sylvania should act with the Law and Order
Society the same as it would with any other
evil.
"What's that" asked the reporter.
Remove It by legislation" was the reply.
l don't think it would be right to take as
harsh steps with the society as the New
Orleans people did with the Mafia, but be-
lieve it should be wiped from the face of the
earth and the easiest way to do that is
to modernize the Blue Laws. There will be
no trouble to get the Legislature to act If the
matter is properly presented. The Sunday
newspaper is rs much of necessity to me
as my breakfast. and usually comes before
it. Why, after awhile those fanatics will
want q fellow to fast all day ON Sunday, and
not even smoke cigar to pass away the
time. What am surprised at is that such a
law as that of 1874 remains on the statute
books"
Views OF a Noted Divine.
Rev. Dr. Macintosh. of st. Louis, who has
been conducting series of revivals at the
Fifth Avenue Methodist Church, stated be-
fore leaving Pittsburg that in his opinion
the Law and Order society's extreme action
is a detriment to civilization and the ad-
vancement of religion.
sit is impossible to suppress the Sunday
newspaper" he said, "even If it was advisa-
BILE to do away with it. In my mind the
Sunday paper is a benefit. 1t contains as
good literature as magazine, and is so
cheap that all may read it. 1t is
spend the Lords day in saloons or
gambling dens. Some people claim the
Sunday paper keeps many away from church
up u. early T END enourh in the morning TO- to- yet G
paper, they will be ready to so to church
and will be more likely to than if there was
not the reading of the paper to ltven them
up. The Law and Order Society might as
well try to stop river us the Sunday news
paper. 1t can't be done, and II the people
back of the movement have any desire to do
good, they had better turn their efforts into
another channel"
Senator Neeb felt like saying 81 told you
SO, when seen last night, adding: 81 am in
favor OF modeffizfng tho law OF l79l, and
1friv a1I
at the next session of the Legislature. 1t is |
an outrage that few fanatics can dictate to |
the people in a government OF the peo-
pie, for the people and by the peo-
ple' The majority are usually in the |
right and the members of the Law and Order |
Society need not delude themselves with q |
belief that they can bring the people Of this
men with eighteenth century ideas cannot |
force the citizens of Pennsylvania to give |
up their Sunday newspapers. 1t can't be
papers, believe they will be issued on Sun |
day even if every carrier ia fined once a |
week. There is. satisfaction, however, in |
the Law and Order Society will have nothing |
to stand on" |
Position Of Mayor GourIey.
Mayor Gourley wasn't bit frightened |
yesterday when he heard OF Judge Porters |
decision |
81 guess THE DISPATCH will come out the |
same way as usual next Sunday" he said, |
with a smile. "The Law and Order Society |
is making a good bluff, but It isn't big |
enough to suppress the Sunday paper. 1 |
think they made great mistake in attempt |
ing the move they are making A law and |
order society might do some good If it |
worked in the right way, but there is no |
use in attempting to remove q mountain |
with a force of half dozen detectives aided |
with tools a hundred years old. A Sunday |
newspaper Is a necessity in the common un- |
of the term, IL not in law. 1t |
would be a serious affair to have the Sunday |
lous to think that the men who compose the |
Law and Order Society could even attract |
the attention of the public"
Attorney Marion gave it as his opinion |
last night that before 1884 the Law and Order |
Society will be wrapped in a shroud made |
from old Blue Laws, and be buried so deeply /
that Mcclure and all his detectives will not
be able to dig it out in a thousand wears
"And what pleasant thing it will be to \
forget" he continued. Like the experience
of the man who got on a church steeple to
along and blow it ont of the earth's atnos.
phere And as matter of fact, 1t seems to
me that the people in the Law and Order
Society have no more common sense and are
the church steeple daring the lightning"
The Decision a Sweeping One.
Judge Porter's decision is certainly a
sweeping one," said Morris Mead, Superin-
tendent of the Bureau of Electricity, last
night. SUNDAY papers are necessity, SO
Ire street cars, so are telephones, the tele-
yraph and railways. Conditions change
n a century and the laws should
conform to the advancement of
civilization. The underlying principle of the
Did Blue Law is that anything that implies
light to make flesh ofone and fish of another
There is a question of whether it is lawful