The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-11-11

John A. Fitch in The Survey Press
Bureau says; Sunday laws In the
United States were put on the statute
books through efforts Of churchmen.
They are no mere rest-day laws. these
restrictions that have come down IN
America from colonial days; they are
designed to protect Sabbath from
dissertation. They do not generally
designate the day Of rest as Sun
day. but as 1.-the first day Of the week,
commonly called the Sabbath" and
one state at least describes the day
as "the Sabbath. commonly called the
Lords Day"
That reverent spirit Of devotion
that put such expressions into secular
laws, and made the state the defender
Of religion while at the same time de-
claring church and state to be forev-
er separate, was the spirit that has
| animated much that Is best in our ma
tional character. When the Sunday
laws were written we were a simple
people with no large factories, no rail-
roads nor trolleys, telegraph nor tele-
phone. There were no large cities
and there was no labor problem as we
know It today. So the Sunday laws
were just Sunday laws and no mora.
Nobody thought Of them as affecting
the relation OF employer to employe.
But now all is changed. Where our
| fathers needed a law to protect q re-
| Iigious institution, we need law 70
protect men. And In complex age
we are vainly trying to accomplish the
latter through the medium OF the old
| Sunday laws. II IL like going to meet
| machine guns with bows and arrows.
| For the old Sunday laws have brok-
| en- down. They were not needed to
protect men at first. But the rise OF
| that need has not only demonstrated
| the need Ia stronger law; 1t has also
| rendered the Sunday laws useless as
! defenders Of the Sabbath. What are
the facts? In transportation, COM
munication and manufacturing, thou
sands upon thousands Of men are
obliged to work seven days In every
week Railroads, trolleys, telegraphs
and telephones, blast furnaces, smeIt-
ers cement mills paper mills--these
are we'll known as seven-day indus
| tries. Yet IL the facts were known
think we would find that q majority
OF the seven day workers in other en-
| ploynents, SO general has continuous
operation become and so unmarked
It's advance. Canneries and beet-sug-
4 ar factories are seasonal Industries
that run seven days d week and TWEEN
ty-four hours day during the sea
son. Power plants, heating and light
plants are operated seven days q week
Even in the railroad pumping stations
whether In the New England hills. on
the prairies OF Nebraska, or on the
western slope, work seven days 1
week
But 1t comes closer home than this
bare statement would indicate. You
mllkman comes every day, rain oi
shine, summer or winter Your pa2cI
boy makes his rounds every day. Th.
baker delivers hot rolls on Sunday
morning. If you want to 30 on |
journey on sunday YOU may 30 to chi
telephone and glrI--a Sunday work
er--eonnects you with q taxicab com
pany A cab driven by q sunda.
worker is sent for you. or you can tax,
the street car and give our nickel II
q Sunday worker. You go to the sta
ton and buy ticket OF SUNDAY
worker and then you buy magazini
OF another. At the train a crew d
Sunday workers minister to your com
fort and safety. You 10 into the din
Ing car for lunch and other Sunda.
workers wait on YOU II you arrive d
your destination before night you 81
to 4 hotel and Sunday working EN-,
pioyes take your grip to your room
and then you 80 to dinner and arr
waited on BY other Sunday workers
IN countless ways you accept the serv-
ices ii people to whom Sunday lie /
day OF work
Most of these people who waited i
n yon are not only Sunday workers bu