Omaha daily bee., 1908-03-10
CLERGY FOR BLUE SUNDAY
Ministerial Association Demands
Everything Closed on Sunday.
WANT THE STREET CARS STOPPED
Petition Mayor DahIman TO Enforce
the Law and He VIII Do So, He
says, to the Utmost
Extreme,

"Xou can quote me ag saying that while
consider the law . joke and bad law,
Will notify the chief Of police to enforce
the law to the letter. Nobody is going to
throw me out OF office for not complying
with this demand, as radical ana sense
less a. It is. I am In office 20 enforce the
law ana I win do IL, good, bad or indif-
ferent"-Mayor Dahlman whom the petit
tion reachsd him.
Blue Sundays are demanded by a COM
mittee of the Omaha Ministerial association.
The ministers demand that the theaters be
closed. Mayor Dahlman has received this
communication from the ministers:
To His Honor, Mayor James c. Dahiman,
Omaha, Nebraska: Dear Sir-There Is on
the statute books of the state of Nebraska,
law prohibiting unnecessary labor ON the
first day of the week commonly called Sun
day.
This law has been and is violated by some
Of the citizens Of Omaha, which fact has
been called to your attention and you have
instructed your police officers 70 make ar
rests and enforce this law.
There is at this time a case in the supreme
court of the state, appealed from Douglas
county where a complaint was made against
violator of the statute and he was found
guilty.
Pending the decision Of the court in this
case your police officers have relaxed their
efforts to enforce the law, which, in our
opinion, is a procedure unwarranted.
We, therefore, demand that you exercise
your authority as mayor of the city and
use the power OF your office to close such
places Of business and pleasures as grocery
stores, barber shops, theaters, etc, and all
places where unnecessary labor is employed
to this end we pledge our hearty support
y. f. FELLMAN
JOHN f. POUCHER
M. L. MELLICK
DAVID r. TURNBULL
II. ]. KIRSCHSrEIN
F. w. LEAVITr
NEWMAN II. BURDICK
Committee on social service, Omaha Minis
terial union, Omaha, March z.
Make No Exceptions.
Speaking Of the demand, Rev. David r.
Turnbull, member ot the committee, said;
1.-THE position taken by the ministers is
that the law should be enforced, without
exception, until the supreme court decides
whether It is good law or not. There is a
crying need for the enforcement of this
law in Omaha, where people are compelled
| to work on Sunday. / believe the senti-
| ment, in Nebraska would favor the closing
! of business on Sunday now just as 1t did
when the law was enacted forty years
ago."
Rev. Mr.. Turnbull said the demand for
law enforcement would be followed by an
appeal to the Sackett law to put Mayor
Dahlman out of office II he failed TO COM
ply with the request of the committee. The
minister said he believed the law would
stop the street cars on Sunday the same
as the barber shops, but would leave that
TO the judgment Of the attorney.
The attorneys sometime ago said that II
was their judgment that no more arrests
| should be made under the Sunday closing
law until the supreme court ruled on the
law. There are at present some 500 or eOC
cases against Omahans, whose names were
taken several weeks ago when an attempt
! was made to enforce the Sunday law
Rev. Mr.. Turnbull did not care to speak
for the association as to whether the 500 OF
| coo would be prosecuted before other ar
rests are made.