The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1902-02-26
SHALL WE SLUR SUNDAY?"

Dr. William II. Huntington, sue
cessor to Bishop Potter ms rector OF
Grace church, in Broadway, New York,
and considered the nblest clerical
representative Of the Pro.testGverSsd IN
Grace church on December 10 last, a
striking sermon on "Shall We Slur
Sunday" The closing passage is a
magnificent specimen Of his style, and
an upanswerable reply to the few
Protestant Episcopal clerical adyo-
Gates of open Sunday saloons
"There is not an educated man or
woman who will deny that the institu-
ton known as Sunday has had an i'm
mense, quite incalculable part in
shaping the social and public life of
our whole country. Emerson, a pro-
phet not unfriendly to the Christian
religion, as commonly understood,
called Sunday "the backbone of our
civilization. | feel therefore, that I
run no risk of being charged with
reinstatement when | say that any
attempt to loosen the restrictions which
now serve to fence off Sunday from
other days is virtually an attempt to
alter our type of civilization. That
type of civilization was practically
fixed by tho middle of the century
which has lately closed. The greater
part of the immigration, at whose be-
hest we are now told we must change
things, has come in since then. If,
under the law of universal suffage and
the prevalence of tho will of the major
number of voters, our type of civiliZa-
ton, under which, be it remembered,
all our great triumphs as a people
have been achieved-if, l say, it is in
evitable that under existing political
conditions the type must change, so
be it but let us not by "contributory
negligence" as the lawyers call it,
make ourselves responsible for the
loss of something which once Como it
will be hard indeed to recover.
There is a cry for "home rule for
cities - That is all we'll enough, but
in at least one city that we know of
there has been 30 much home misrule
that we may we'll hesitate before cut
ting our local machinery wholly loose
from the great balance wheel of that
larger public opinion which it may be
convenient to stigmatize as bucolic,
but which has moro than once, and
more than twice, saved the State
saved, that is to say, that social unit
to which sovereignty is attached -
from deep disaster.
Upon the argument that laws ac-
knowledged to be righteous and
wholesome must be abandoned the
moment it comes to be generally be-
lieved that they cannot be enforced, l
should be mortified to dwell. That
sort of reasoning "eateth," to use
Pauls strong simile, like gan
creme" into the very vitals of the body
polite. Who knows beforehand how
much or how little of law can be en-
forced until an effort at enforcement,
an impartial eflort-an effort, that is
to say, which knows of no distinction
between rich and poor has been
made That is where the sting lies.
A few weeks ago it was the policy
shops that could not be suppressed ;
Just now it is the Sunday saloon. But
certainly for reform administration,
chosen on the direct issue of the non
execution of the laws, to start npon its
career with tacit understanding
that certain laws are not to be en-
forced, will be most unhappy augery.
Let us Mt least find out by honest ex-
pertinent just which those laws are
that can not be executed before we