The Washington herald., 1908-05-11
Necessity and Charity.

1 bdiIor The Washington Herald.
The Sunday bill recently recommended
by the District Committee TO the Senate
makes the usual provision for works Of
necessity or charity"
These words are usually found in sun
day bills, and cast an almost impenetra-
bic cloud Of obscurity over their mean
ing and application. Who is able to de-
lermine whether a certain deed is an act
Of charity or a necessity" In its
truest sense. charity is an act OF re-
ligion. thing of the heart: and no
court. except the tribunal Of the uni
versal Judge, can determine the motives
Of the human soul. Courts have been cast
upon a sea Of uncertainty, and vainly
ioundered in their efforts to find a har-
Dor, and have become entangled in hope
less contradictions, in seeking to settle
that which no human mind can accu-
rately determine for another.
What is the word charity intended
to cover? Is it relieving pain. helning
those in trouble. and doing kindly acts?
II so, these can be made 10 cover a
multitude Of things which Sundav-law
advocates DO not sanction. It might be
a commendable act of charity to chop
wood on Sunday in the District OF CO.
lumbia for sick person. or to take a
team and haul ton Of coal to a widow.
Would this excuse from arrest the man
VINO chopped the wood or hauled the
coal?
Then whose necessity is meant In the
blilF Who is 10 decide definitely what
rfs Rrucf cfr1sa
Is necessity" Is il the emplover. the
employe, the policeman. or the iudee9 Is
II the one who works, OF the one for
whom the labor is performed? A farmer
may decide that in order TO get his crop
planted in time, IL IS necessary for him
TO work on Sunday Or in harvesting
the same, he may think il necessary. i'm
order to save his crop from destruction.
mat ne not only work himself, but en-
ploy others on that day. Who is to de-
termine tuis-the farmer, the Judge or
the jury? II may not seem necessary 10
a contractor to push his work on Sun
DAY; but il may seem imperative 10 the
one for whom the work is being done.
Or II may seem 70 the men working on
t'le JOB that II is necessary. in order to
provide for their families. for them IN
work seven days in the week. Who is
10 be the one 10 invade the privacy Of
the home and settle these questions
Shall IL be left with the individual with
representatives OF the National Reform
Bureau the preachers. or with the
courts?
One man may conclude on a hot Sunday
that it is necessity for him to have
some refreshments" But there are
thousands who live year after year with
out any refreshing drink except water
Some think 1t necessary to buy
cigar and smoke. while others are sure
the weed is a poison, and every cigar
used is nail in their coffin" and
therefore quite unnecessary. 1t may not
De necessary for man 70 be shaved or
have his hair cut on Sunday. but the
barber may know that In order to prop
erly provide for his family II is necessary
fer him TO shave his customers on thar
day. Again. the delivering Of ice 10 the
rich, who have ways of keeping il over
Sunday. may not be a necessity. but to
the poor, sweltering in the congested
tenements Of the cities. the case may be
far different. Whose necessity shall be
the rich or the poor? Who
is prepared 20 swear that il is abso-
iutely necessary for a man 10 get up on
Sunday morning, or TO eat a meal? II
Is convenient Of course; but this is not
the question If only acts of actual
necessity are to be permitted by the
promoters Of Sunday laws. where shall
the line be drawn?
These few suggestions are enough to
call attention TO the fact that this clause
which is introduced into nearly all sun
day bills is merely a subterfuge 10 ex-
tricate themselves from the difficulties
IN which they are involved when once
the state enters a fieid upon which il has
no right. Concerning the intricate ques-
tons involved. no human mind can dis
criminate, and the vain juggling which
would be necessary in order to find the
way out of the labyrinth of confusion
this matter is but sample of
the sea Of endless controversy upon
which the state embarks when once il
enters the realm Of religion.
c. Il. THOMPSON