Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-01
NEWS Is A NECESSITY
SUNDAY PAPERS EXEMPT FROM
PENNSYLVANIA BLUE LAWS.
People Need Things Now They Did
Not Need a Century
Ago.

PHILADELPHIA, April 1.-EmplOyes OF
the Public Ledger Press and North Amer
lean and officers of the Crane Ice Cream
Company and Of the Union News Com
pany. who were charged with violations OF
the "blue law OF 1904. were discharged
yesterday by Magistrate German. before
whom the cases were prosecuted, ana In
the decision handed down the magistrate
ruled that Sunday newspapers were ne
cessity and so the defendants should not
be convicted under the act. Magistrate
Germans decision regarding the publica-
ton and selling of Sunday newspapers is
Of considerable length. and discusses the
act Of 1874 from several points Of view. re-
viewing previous decisions and giving
history of early Sunday" laws. Of which.
1t is contended. that Of 1904 was the lineal
descendant and survivor.
In the preamble Of the decision the mag.
istrate recites the contention of the coun-
sci for the defendants, that the act Of April
%. 1874, Is unconstitutional. that 1t Is in.
definite and uncertain in Its description OF
acts punishable Hereunder, that the work
performed by the defendants Is a neces'
sity, that the Information Is defective In
that 1t does not set out the work alleged
to be done by defendants was not me.
cessity or charity" After quoting the act
attention Is called to the fact that the act
is criminal statute, and. therefore, to be
strictly construed. Passing over the ad-
mission Of the defendants to doing the
things complained of, the decision contin-
ues:
Ordinarily a magistrate would find JUS
tifcation, II in his opinion evidence war
ranted 1t, in convicting a defendant and
imposing the statutory fine. or committing
the defendant to prison In default thereof,
for any violation Of the act of 1874, from
the fact that for over one hundred years
40 I,vyvV {ofro how hoo
approved and sustained in the court of
quarter sessions and supreme court l
must consider the contention of defendants
upon this point against them, and decline
to find as q matter of law that the act
does contravene the third section OF arti-
Gle Of the constitution.
As a Criminal Statute.
1--WE now pass to the other point of de-
Tense submitted that the act a criminal
statute falls to possess those requirements
necessary to give it validity or make 1t sus-
ceptible Of enforcement. and that the def
milton of the acts intended to be affected or
excepted by the act were indefinite. shifting
and uncertain. 1t seems to me that the
weakness and impossibility. at least the
uncertainty of construction In this matter
is that the magistrates opinion OF what
constitutes worldly employment is what
must govern in determining whether
crime has been committed or not. What
would seem worldly to one to another
would seem religious and devout. And 1t
has been held in our own state that the
question Of what constitutes worldly en-
ployment under this act depends upon the
sentiment and customs of the particular
community where the alleged crime was
committed
Judicial Construction Varies.
"since the judicial construction Of what
constitutes worldly employment Is not al
ways the same and this construction vary
ing at different times, how is 1t possible
that the opinion Of the magistrate upon
the same subject may be infallible?
And If not so, then a person Is liable to be
convicted of an act which may or may not
be a crime. but which one magistrate be-
lieves to be one and which another may
not. Surely there must be q more definite
standard and more explicit enactment than
that which leaves. not the innocence or
guilt of the person to be determined, but
whether the magistrate-not the law-de-
clares an act to be a crime
Then. again. the description Of the crime
hangs upon the meaning Of the word ne
cessity' and charity, and these words are
left to the construction of the, respective
magistrates throughout the commonwealth
Could any word be more indefinite and less
certain as guide to the citizens? What
necessity and whose necessity does 1t
mean? Is 1t the necessity Of the year 1794
or the year 1903? Is it the necessity Of the
one who does the work or the necessity Of
the one for whom the work Is done2 Does
the necessity change with time with the
development of particular communities? Is
the necessity physical, mental, moral, or
the necessities of comfort. Of the preserv.a-
ton Of life, of health or of property, or
what must be the nature Of the work
that will admit 1t within the protective
sphere Of a work Of necessity? Whose
opinion Is to govern this important question
of necessity?
Defining ga Necessity"
"This city. with a population Of 1900 900.
with the steam railroads leading to every
known point OF the United States, water
works, two lines of telegraph encircling
the globe. steamboats,. gas telephones that
bring millions within speaking distance OF
ones library. thousands OF cars propelled
by electricity, electric lighting that Is fast
becoming generally used; with over $50 600
dwellings and business buildings that reach
in height almost that OF the Tower OF
Babel: with streets paved OF asphalt, then
an unknown commodity; with industries
such as locomotive works shipbuilding
yards and textile industries, the largest OF
their kind in the world. and yet not one OF
these were in existence In 1874 when this
act was passed. There were but a few
newspapers in 1794, and their circulation
must OF necessity have been very limited,
and only one Of which. the North American,
has continued its publication to the present
time. Now there are at least six news
papers whose combined circulation on SUM-
day, together with those from other cities,
numbers at least 10000 copies.
ITO say. therefore. that this development
and wonderful growth Of state and city did
not make many things a necessity today
which were not a necessity when the act
was passed would be to ignore an obvious
and patent truth
How uncertain then Is that act Of as
sembly. called a criminal statute, which has
the fact OF crime changing from day to day.
or year to year, or decade to decade. and
how shall the citizen know when the social
conditions have SO changed and the social
Gust oms SO altered as that an act once
criminal has become necessary
Sunday News Necessary.
ct am quite sure, from the conflicting
opinions OF the Judges of the superior court,
and the absolute impossibility to FIX a
classification or fixed rule as to what con-
stitutes worldly employment or 'neces-
sary work on Sunday. that 1t would be an
assumption of power and authority for me
to impose my individual construction upon
the act Of any one brought before me by de-
termining. according to my opinion. whether
such act was or was not necessity to him