The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1909-07-15
OLD-TIAIE BLUE
LAWS" NO JOKE.
Puritan Fathers Took Code From
Mosaic Law as They Udner-
stood Ii.
Fro n the Louisville Times

StoOu IL.
Fro u the Louisville Times
Blue laws are no joke, though Of
ten an object OF irony or deriSion.
They were drawn up by Puritan pio-
neers-a race OF stern and inflexible
men, who, in their excess of religious
enthusiasm, adopted sanctimoniouS
names and went straight to the old
Mosaic law of Holy Writ for their
code, In fact each section Of the cap
ital laws has its Bible text appended
"a grewsome combination Of sermon
and death warrant.
The original Blue laws were those
of the New Haven, Conn.,, colony, at
first more or less unwritten, or at
least imprinted, but systematized and
printed by Governor Eaton in 1856.
They were enveloped in blue colored
paper, whence the popular land sub
sequently unpopular) name.
The Plymouth and Massachusetts,
colonies also had their Blue laws, cal
culated to send chill through every
human vein. Even New York, Mary
land, Virginia and South Carolina-in
fact, all the English colonial settle
ments in Seventeenth Century Ameri-
ca-had laws, orders and resolutions
of more or less pronounced indigo
tinge.
But the True Blue Code was that
which terrorized early Connecticut.
The first batch Of Blue laws, known
as the Capital Laws" of Connecticut,
and purporting to punish, according
to the penalties prescribed in the Old
Testament, those offenses forbidden
therein, was enacted in April, 1912.
The texts of Scripture on which they
were based were added to each law,
as dicta probantia, showing the di-
vine authority by which they were
defended. They are singular speci-
mems of Jurisprudence.
For instance, witchcraft is one of
the first offenses taken up. 1t is en-
acted that If a man or woman be a
witch, or hath consulted with famil-
lar spirit, they shall be put to death.
EXODUS xii, IS, Leviticus Xxx. %. }
And IF any man steal a man or man.
kind, or selleth him., or he be found
in his hand, he shall be put to dcath,"
Exodus xxi, 1857
"No one shall run on the Sabbath
day, or walk in his garden or else
where except reverently to and from
meeting.
"No one shall travel, cook victuals,
make beds, sweep house, cut hair or
shave on the Sabbath day.
No woman shall kiss her child on
the Sabbath or fasting day.
"The Sabbath shall begin at sunset
Saturday. |
If any man shall kiss his wife or
wife kiss her husband on the Lords
day, the party in fault shall be pun
ished at the discretion of the court of
(Tradition says gentleman of New
Haven, after an absence of some
reached home on the Sabbath,
and, meeting his wife at his door kiss
ed her with an appetite, and for his
in violating this law the next
day was arranged before the court,
and fined, for so palpable a breach of
the law on the Lords day.
No one shall read common prayer,
keep Christmas or saints days, make
pies, dance, play cards or
play on any instrument of music, ex-
cept the drum, trumpet and jews
harp.
trxxv,
Whoever wears clothes trimmed
with gold, silver or bone lace, above
two shillings by the yard, shall be
presented by the grand jurors, and
the selectmen shall tax the offender
at three hundred pounds estate"
There was an ancient law in Massa-
chusetts that ladies dresses should be
made SO long as to hide their shoe
buckles.
1t ought to be apparent from the
foregoing that there is even more
logic than chance in the clubbing of
these statutes, blue Laws" The
term "blue" was specifically applied
to the upright, downright, uncompro-
missing old Scotch Covenanters is