The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1905-10-04
Voice Of
the People
Side Lights on Sunday Closing.

Side Lights ON Sunday Closing.
Editor Herald: "The Sunday law
was not made to be obeyed or en-
forced" says local paper. What
astuteness, surely. Pray, what are
laws made for II not for the govern
ment of the people? and how can
they serve this purpose II the people
are free to obey or not as their per-
sonal wish shall dictate! If this be
true as a principle, on what ground
can the laws relating to the sabbath
be excepted? If the idea suggested
by this astute newspaper be carried
out, any law may be set aside and
discharged whenever any individual,
in any community. may so desire.
1t is the duty of the legislature to
enact into law the moral decisions of
the majority of the citizenship! It
is the duty of every executive officer
within the state to execute these de-
cisions. 1t is the duty of every citi-
zen to obey these decisions. To
advocate disregard of any law Is to
promote the spirit of anarchy. Let
us not forget this fact.
Another Yakima paper makes a
point against the enforcement Of the
Sunday law by saying tobacco is a
necessity as well as meat" the in
terence being conveyed that owners
of cigar stores have right to sell
their goods on Sunday because they
are necessities. Whether tobacco is
necessary to the comfort of aspeople
is not in issue. The fact is that the
gars may be sold--or, rather, when
ut hn
necessary to any mans comfort, he
can buy them six days in the week:
time enough, surely, to lay in enough
to last him over Sunday. Such
pleas as this are puerile juggling
with facts and unworthy any consid-
Grafton. Let the law be enforced
or repealed.
The thought expressed in all these
contentious is that the enforcement
of the Sunday law works a hardship
upon many people. Possibly this is
true. But If the greater interests Of
the majority of the people are sub
served by the enforcement of the law,
is it not the duty of the minority to
suffer such personal inconvenience
as this lawful procedure infiicts? If
not, then every man may do as he
pleases without direction or control!
Then what becomes Of state?
$. If 1t shall be commended, as has al
ready been done, that the Sunday law
should not be enforced in North
Yakima because a majority of the
people of the city are not in favor of
such enforcement, we say, the fact
remains to be proven. But II
It should be so that a majority of
the people here should declare that
they were not in favor OF the en-
forcement of this law, the writer be-
lieves it would sull be the duty of the
local officers to enforce the law on
the ground of this contention is in
the fact that this law is statutory
and applies to the state as whole.
Every citizen of the state is, as such,
in duty bound to observe these statu-
tory regulations whatever any indi-
vidual or local community may de-
sire. In other words, local opinion
has no bearing on the enforcement of
state law, except as that local opinion
may express itself in state elections
and through the legislative body of
the state. We must carefully dis
tinguish between the rights of the
citizens under a city ordinance and
his rights under a statutory law.
Still, We say, enforce the law-or re-
peal 1t. A CITIZEN.