The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-03
TO ENFORCE SUNDAY LAJV.
south Norwalk's New Mayor Reads an
 Unusual Address.

! South Norwalk, Jan. 2-Mayor 1 Charles G. Bohannan, who assumed of- 1 flee yesterday read his inaugural ad- dress to the common council this even-
 ing. The address created a sensation.
 It deals entirely with the subject of 1 Sunday observance, no other subject
 being even mentioned. At the election 1 last fall the enforcement of the Sunday i law was made the issue. The republi- 1 can candidate was known to hold lib-
 eral views. The church people and i others who were in favor of closing i places of business and stopping secular
 employment on the Sabbath gave their
 support to Dr. Bohannan, the demo-
 cratic candidate. The result was his
 election while the remainder of the
 democratic ticket was defeated. It was
 expected that if he assumed office he
 would enforce a stricter compliance
 with the law than has prevailed here tofore, but his message tonight indi- cates that he will go still further. The
 message is remarkable from the fact
 that it contains an argument for Sab-
 bath observance based upon purely re-
 ligious and moral as well as legal
 grounds, Following is the message in part:
 As the executive officer of the city, the mayor says, it is particularly incum-
 bent upon me to see that obedience is
 rendered to law and the public order preserved. To this end I ask your aid
 and support Among the statutes of this state is one which requires that
 upon the first day of the week all sec- uar affairs, the continuance of which is not made imperative by virtue of their nature, conditions or relations, be sus- pended. The enforcement of this law is demanded by a majority of our fel- low citizens.
 About the statute is all the support which immemorial custom affords
 Well indeed is it that mankind should celebrate those events which mark epochs in it's history. From the morn- ing of time the message was borne upon the seventh day that God created the world, and for ages man observed the Sabbath. Upon the Lords day tidings come of Him who closed the observ- ance of the Sabbath admidst the awful solemnity of the tombs, and who rose from the dead, the Saviour of the world. The hierarchy of Israel declared: He who violates the Sabbath denies crea- tion." All Christendom procaims: He who violates the Lords day denies the resurrection. It seems hardly necessa- ry to argue the economic necessity of the day of rest
 Thus it seems manifest that he who violates the statute is not merely gull ty of disobedience to legislative decree, but of that conduct which strikes at the very basis of our civilization. Ac- countable, as all good citiens are, for their conduct, the burden rests upon them to show that our governmental institutions are radically wrong, and that our very civilization although the product of ages of growth, is neverthe- less perverted and false. Such Is the burden of proof which every desecrator of the Lords day must assume, else abandon all pretence to squaring his conduct to accord with sound reason. Moreover, our Sunday sportsman must take care when he ventures to assume this burden. Should he establish that observance of the Lords day is unnec- essary what then becomes of his op- portunity for sport on that day? To save that he must esta blish pre-emp- tolS claiiil anu prove lHdt the udy should be entitled the Sportsman's.
 So it seems clear that while the functions of church and state are sep arate, they are nevertheless closely in- ter-related and exactly interlacing. Be- cause of the very nature of man, in the healthy social organism the two bodies are necessarily existent and per fectly complementary. Based upon recognition of this fact, the statute is sufficient in reason and abundant in wisdom Whatsoever fault there may be in the letter of it, in spirit and pur- pose it is everlastingly right.