Arizona republican., 1899-03-04
THE SUNDAY LAW

To the editor of The Republican,
 Sir: I believe that there is before the
 Twentieth legislature a bill to bring
 about the recognition of Sunday in the
 statutes of Arizona, and it is in ref
 erence to such bill that I desire to
 say few words. If the proposed bill,
 prescribing the conduct of the people | of Arizona upon the First day of tte
 week is good one, then it should by
 all means become part of the law. To
 the merit or demerit of this act I desire
 to call the attention of the citizens of l this commonwealth.
 | The gentlemen composing the pres ent legislature are men chosen b. the
 people to make or repeal laws pertain
 ing to the actions, civilly, Of those liv
 ing within the bounds of this territory Civil law pertains to the outward ac-
 tions of mankind only. It is for the l purpose of securing to each citizen the
 full enjoyment of his rights, both re- 1 ligiOus and civil, and to see to it that | his manner of enjoying these rights
 does not interfere with the rights Of his fellow man, be they civil or re- ligious. It can never of right go Ee- yond the actions of men in their civil capacity. It is not instituted for the
 purpose of reforming men, but for their protection. It is to protect per sons, net things. This protection comes from the mutual consent of the governed; and in this consent each
 good citizen recognizes the right Of each other to Life. Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;" and the law Of the federal government recognizes that this happiness shall be enjoyed accord ing to the standard Of each citizen, so | long as he, in doing so, does not in wade the rights Of another.
 Moral law, on the other hand has to do with the character as well, and deals with the cause of all uncivil and immoral acts. It deals not only with actions, but with that which prompts to action. It takes cOgnizance of thoughts and motives as well as deeds. By these considerations it is perfectly clear that each has distinct and sep arate sphere, which is plainly taught in our SaViOr'S words to the committee composed of HerOdians and the diSci pies of the Pharisees. He said, Ken der therefore to Ceasar the things which are Ceasar's, and unto God the things that are Gods" Here our Lord has taught us that there are duties that we owe to the civil authorities that are distinct from those we owe to God. The former must exist as such only during the present state; the latter are an eternal necessity.
 To which of these does the proposed Sunday ordinance pertain? It is my purpose here to show If 1 have a correct copy of the bill it reads as follows: We the undersigned voters of the territory of Arizona do hereby and earnestly request that at the pres ent session of the, legislature you en- act laws for the recognition and pro- lection of Sunday as the Christian Sab bath. We thus petition you that the moral standing of Arizona may be raised, and that we may thus take rank with the forty-four states of the union which legally protect and honor that day.
 In the first place the promoters Of | this bill seem to have lost sight of the fact that any institution which is | wholly religious in character, as is the | Sabbath day, needs not to be either 1 recognized or protected by civil law | To do so is to wash clean vessel with | dirty water. Next it will be seen that 1 this bill is acknowledged to be of a re- | llgious character as it is to protect CD l the Christian Sabbath. so as to give | Arizona a moral standing
 Should such a law be admitted, it | IS only question of time before the ! friends of such legislation would peti- ton to have all places of amusement 1 closed. railroads and street cars to stop running, and the Sunday news paper discontinued. When this has ! been accomplished. the next thing would be to compel the idle people to . attend divine worship, and to see that | due respect be shown to the Christian | religion. It is just as reasonable 10 | require a man to pray as to require | that he shall keep the Sabbath; and if | it be against his health to work seven days in the week, and it be right for civil law to prevent this, why not reg ulate his habits in regard to sleep and | diet that he may enjoy better health? |