The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-07-08

pecially of the so.called Blue Laws Of
1894, is of general interest, since the
conditions in PittsburE are not mater
most large cities more than two sener-
ations old.
Soon after his qualification as re-
corder Major Brown issued an order
to the director of public safety in
forming him and, through him, the
police, that it was the recorders de-
sire that the laws for the safeguarding
Of sunday should he enforced strictly
and impartially. This wise general
principle Immediately developed con-
fusion as to details. The Blue Laws,
roughly summarized. outlaw all tran
sactiors on Sunday which are not
works of necessity or charity" What
are works of necessity or charity"
judged from twentieth century
standpoint?
The answer came from the recorder
in a general way, that all Sunday
business provocative of public disor-
der must be stopped; and the superin-
tendent of police added: "All ice
cream parlors. lemonade stands, re-
frcshment booths of all kinds all over
the city will have to close. Drug
stores may sell soda water. soft drinks
and drugs. That is the limit for
them" Under the law the dressing
of vctuals" in houses of entertain
ment" is permitted, and the cry forth
with arose that ice cream. soda water
and lemonade constituted "victuals"
within the meaning of the act. The
Commercial-Gaze representative
and conservative paper, indorsed it by
saying:
The prohibition of sales at booths
or in ice ciSam parlors seems aimed
directly at the people who go to the
parks on Sunday. In the public parks
in every other city in the country
there are spacious and wel-appointed
restaurants whore the people may go
To get meals or refresh themselves
with ice cream and cake. On the af-
ternoon of Sunday, the peoples rest
day, the broad porches of those res
taurants are crowded with happy
family parties. In the PittsburS
parks visitors can hardly get decent
water to drink. In default of decent
municipal provision for pavilions and
restaurants in the parks themselves,
vendors have gathered about the park
approaches, and these according to
report. are marked out for suppress
Ci la
lors are not attractive surroundings
for the parks, bur the fault is with
municipal authority. which has been
shamefully remiss i'm not providing for
the erection of suitable restaurants in
the parks themselves. Carriage peo-
stop at the country clubs and get
what they want. What is needed is
provision for the masses of the poo-
pie. and there is reason to fear that
tho police are using the law to op-
press the very classes who deserve
the greatest consideration. 1t would
he a piece of ingenious cruelty to deny
to the masses of the people. who do
not happen to belong to country clubs,
the opportunity to get a cooling drink
while taking an outing on a hot Sun
day. And, while simple and harmless
pleasures are put under the ban,
everyone knows that there are plenty
of Illicit resorts, which, instead of
dealing in ice cream and soda water,
do a roaring Sunday trade in liquor"
The retail druggists sent repre-
sentative to learn from the recorder
what the drug stores We're expected
to DO, He reported that the recorder
admitted the necessity of the drug
stores being open on Sunday, but said
they would not be permitted to sell
cigars. A resolution was thereupon
adopted which binds the druggists TO
stop the sale Of cigars on Sunday.
This is as far as the movement has
understood will be 10 suppress the
sale of liquor in houses Of ill-fame on
Sunday on Saturday night the Ii
censed saloons of Pittsburg close
promptly at II O'Clock; but the sale
of liquor is then merely transferred
from places which pay license 10
places which contribute nothing to the
community but disease and scandal,
and it goes on within these disorderly
houses throughout Sunday with little
hindrance. Gambling, too of the pro-
fessional type, with all kinds of de-
vices for fleeing the unwary, is a
Sunday vocation in certain places, and
the real objective of Recorder Brown
is To put the clamps of the law as
tightly on these vicious practices as
ii is possible to do without provoking
a reaction to a condition of "wide-
open" vice.
This qualification is important, and
extremists often ignore it TO their own
rapid undoing. Elective government
is never ideal, but nearly always
average, The people who are way up
are counterbalanced by those who are
way down in the moral and social
scale, giving the balance of power to
the medium class. This class opposes
violence and disorder, but Is not. as a
rule, enthusiastic over the outla%ing
of ice cream and soda water selling
on Sunday, and soon votes out the
government which fuses too much
over the gnats while swallowing the
camels of Sunday desecration.
Testimony as TO the pitiable plight
Al