The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-08-09
Sunday Observance

The demand for Sunday baseball
in Vermont seems to have fallen as {
rule like the traditional wet blan
ket.' burlington Free Press.
The Messenger is not so sure about
this. 1t may be that there is no very
general demand for professional base
ball on Sunday yet, but there is q
very steadily growing disposition in
that direction. Already in more com
munities than the contemporary would
perhaps, like to believe, amateur base
ball on Sunday afternoons is a more
or less regular thing, while tennis and
croquet were accepted as features OF
the days recreation long ago. OF
course, these would appear very sim.
pie things to some of our neighbors
that years ago cast aside the exces-
sive restraints of the old Puritanical
| Sabbath, but to some of us that can
remember the iron-rule of the religi-
Gus orthodoxy of not so many years
ago, these comparatively little things
Enthusiastically indicate a growing liner
alism that would not have been
thought possible in those times and
that will not stop now until it makes
Sunday such a day of rest and recre-
alton as has never been seen in Yer
mont since the forests were cleared
by the white man. The thoughtful
reader that may not like to believe
that tnis is true may well take the
pains to reckon up for himself some
of the things that are being done in
Vermont on Sunday nowadays, start
4 In. r.rtNl .,,I 80.
cursions, band concerts, baseball
games, etc, and compare the spirit
they indicate with the intolerance of
former times. There need be no self
deception about what is a very obvi-
Gus matter. The times have changed.
Right to the immediate purpose
comes this cutting from the Dundee,
(Scotand) Advertiser:
The vicar of Newman Paddock,
Worcestershire, has been taking Lord
Denbigh to task for allowing the viii
lage youths to practice at his rifle
range on Sunday afternoons In the
Book of Sports as put forth by that
most conscientious head of the cnurch
Charles | with the approval of the
archbishop of Canterbury, the royal
martyr renewed and confirmed the en-
actment of his father, James |, in the
most explicit terms. The words OF
his decoration run thus; Our dear
father of blessed memory, in his re-
turn from Scotland, coming through
Lancashire, found that his subjects
were debarred from lawful recrea-
tions upon Sundays after evening
prayers ended and upon holidays and
he prudently considered that If these
times were taken from them the
meaner sort who labor hard all the
week. should have no recreation at
all to refresh their spirits.
And he did, therefore, in his princely
wisdom publish a declaration to all
his subjects concerning lawful sports
to be used at such times, which was
printed and published by his royal
command in the year 1873
James l, in this declaration sought
to provide against two evils. The
first was that not few Catholics
were prevented from turning TO the
reformed religion by the austerity of
many of its ministers, who prohibited
for their converts recreation upon for
hidden days. deprivation which the
Roman priests did not fail to utilize
as a highly effective argument against
The other evil was, to
use James own words, that this pro.
hibition barreth the common and
meaner sort of people from using sucn
exercise as may make their bodies
more able for war. Personally,
James entertained a sincere dislike
for war. but the 'wisest fool in Chris
endom' say that If war did come the
thing of first necessity was an active
and hardy opulation to fill the ranks
of the army With this intention not
only did he give permission for more
recreation like morris dances and so
forth, but he specially encouraged