Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-08
BLUE LAWS.
Baseball and Pays His Respects
to Editors and Others.

BLUE Laws" was the subject of Rev.
DR.. Samuel NJ. Neels sermon at the Cen
tral Presbyterian church last night. 1t
had particular reference to the proposed
law to prohibit Sunday baseball games
and to newspaper comments upon the bill
and the part taken by ministers in regard
to it. DR.. Neel took exception to the COM
ments of the press, and said that minis
ters as such and church people as church
people were not advocating the passage of
the measure. Ministers as citizens of the
state and Christian people in their capa-
city as citizens favored the enactment of
the law, but it was not a church or min
1ster1al affair. He claimed that minis
tiers, as citizens, had an equal right with
doctors, lawyers, merchants and others TO
express their views on legislative matters,
and invited comparison between different
professions TO show the standard in each
as TO citizenship. He said that he would
point out two quacks in the medical pro-
1ession, and two shysters in the legal fra
ternity, TO each minister who is untitled
for his calling.
Why should the newspapers undertake
10 hold the preacher up" continued Or
Neel, and give him the name of favor
ing blue laws and sneeringly intimate
mat II is because he is bigot that he ia
Hors such laws? Why. should the news
paper, because the writer can stand be-
nina the editorial we and hide his iden-
uty, attack this class of our citizens?
Where is the minister who is a fooI9
Look at your saloons. You don't gen.
orally hnd newspapers attacking saloons:
you generally find them defending them
Now, why is that? Saloons and saloon
keepers do not build up communities They
DO not introduce happiness into voTr
homes. Why should they go scott free and
we be held up, and you stand by and hear
US suSmatized by the papers? Now take
these editors! Who are they? l have moth
ing TO say against them. All I saw is. com
pulpitS. 'ut
The. papers refer TO the legislation 10 10
prohibit games of baseball on Sunday sS
Dlue laws; The papers of our town have
made noble fight in their attack uDon fbe
gamblers. Now 1 want 20 ask this uuas
tion: Why have laws against gambling
been passed? What right had the legisia
lure 10 say 10 a man, You shall not gam
bieE Is this not an encroachment upon
the liberties of the people? What was the
cause OF the enactment OF such laws? Vhy
you know very well that gambling under
mines the public morals. Now then III we
have right TO make such laws and the
papers all uphold that law, shall we 20
back upon the consensus of opinion of the
best men who have lived i'm this country?
never attended a game of baseball in
my life but what there was gambling II
was not on Sunday, but you know the
crowd that goes there on Sunday is no bet
Ter than on other days. Gambling goes ON
whenever baseball is played Why allow
Sunday gambling? The newspapers saw il
is for the poor. You know very we'll that
argument Is not sincere. Do the papers
care more for the poor than does Jesus
Christ2 Why allow this desecration of the
Sabbath day2 1t is n question of citizen
ship-uot question between the churches
and the people. Anything tlIat has DOWN
ward tendency IS harmful TO the people,
and the state has the right to say they will
not allow it.
You cannot make a gambler honest by
gambling laws. Then why do you make
them? Because they protect society. The
investigation of gambling in this city has