The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-11-14
TAKES A FLING AT SOME OF OUR
 SENSELESS LAWS.
Waterbury Minister Says That Many of Connecti- cuts Statutes Are Breed CTS of Anarchy. i

Waterbury, Nov. A.-In speaking OD Some Senseless Legislation, Past and Present" Sunday morning at the All Souls Universalist Unitarian church,
 Rev. Ernest Linwood Staples took a fling among other things at the laws covering the sale of liquor. Sunday amusements and the old Puritanicai
 blue laws.
 shores there is a great whirlpool, Charybdis, concerning which there was at one time fanciful belief There was supposed to be in the depths of the whirlpool a monstrOus creature, the upper part of which resembled a beau
 tiful maidenfan the lower part fish. Three times every doy it, sucked the ocean into it's immense mouth and three times day it cast it out. On the opposite side of the strait there IS an immense rock called Scylla, which was thought to be inhabited by gi- gantic monster with twelve necks, twelve heads and twelve mouths It was thought to be serious task for a sailor to sail between the two. If he steered away from the rock he was ] drawn into the maelstrom and If he , steered away from the maelstrom he
 was sure to run upon the rock. Ip the voyage of life we are forever between
 Scylla and Charybdis.
 Senseless Legislation.
 -7Olo source or our QlI6Iulud sAo senseless legislation. Senssless legis- : lation is all legislation that runs coun- ter to the cosmic law, or what is call i ed by some the natural law or the will
 of God. Senseless legislation is the i origin of anarchy. Take Russia. If
 had been born there, to-day I would
 be in the Siberian mines. T would
 prefer to be toiiing in the darkness
 Of those mines, than to be in the pal
 ace of the CZar
 Ancestors Just Restless.
 f>I am in doubt if our ancestors snf-
 fered as much from England in the early days of this country as they
 thought. They were restless and
 wanted a change. They made big
 thing of the tax that was levied on
 tea, with the result that English re-
 pression was the cause of our liberty,
 .'Senseless legislation is of great an-
 tiquity. We find it in all lands at
 all times. Even the Hebrews experi- enced it. They realized as we do
 that they lived in a world of matter and they wondered how all these are still guessing how the world came about. ! The Hebrews thought that the. Creator was a man like themselves but outside of the universe, who worked for six days in making the world and then rested on the seventh, because Tie was W6dTye 41dl Wdo tnSH WG1J of working out the beginning of things. Their Sunday laws did not set aside the Sabbath as day upon which they should worship. They were for bidden to work on the Sabbath.
 Sabbath Made for Men.
 There is an axiom that has come down from them to us even in these latter days.s 1t is when reason ceas- eth, the law ceaseth.' meaning when ser ho onf Of a law it becomes void. The Sab bath is made for man and. not man for the Sabbath. We Protestants could learnfa lesson from the Catholics. They arrange their services so that they worship in the early part of the day and have the rest for relaxation. That is fine. way and we find that such was the custom of the early Christians. There is no danger in these days that we will rest too much on Sunday. On Sunday afternoons l. am glad to see men walking about and enjoying them selves This country was settled in a large measure by men of Puritani- cal proclivities and they made the eg- regious blunder by trying to inject into these times, the ancient Hebrew laws
 Such Laws Breed Anarchy. { "This matter was taken up at the last session of the legislature and giv- en much serious considerations Rep resentatives on both sides talked on the subject as if the whole of religion and Christianity depended upon this law, yet they refused to make it legal to play some games on. Sunday. An action of this sort tends to- breed an- archy in the minds of the people. I do not criticize autOists who spend Sunday in driving over the country roads enjoying a relaxation after their h,,< 6av nf I,n Q in the legislature who allow certain forms of amusement and5would not al- low others. If it is wrong for the | poor man, who has worked hard all week confined in shop to get out into the fresh air and play ball, is it not the same for. the rich man who spends the day in his automobile? If we must have a strict Sunday, let-us not apply it only To the poor man, but let us apply it to all classes. It would be sad to me to see revival of the old Pu- ritanical Sunday. It was gloomy tiresome day. I have talked with men who were obliged to sit down all day on Sunday like dunces and spend the day stoiidly or to go to church and listen to sermons upon theology that no man could understand. They got to hate the sight of a church in the same manner as the ah-proprietor of the lower regions shuns holy water.
 Liquor Laws SenSelesS.
 "All laws that regulate the sale Of liquors and intemperance are more or less senseIess. We under take to legalize that which in it's na- ture is a crime and which is only tol- erated. Even in the license the appli- cant must be vouched for as a suit ablA person.. Just as if a person who sold what has been called hell and damnation could be suitable person.
 "The laws in regard to the punish ment of drunkards are also examples of senseless legislation. Here we have a man who has been arrested for drunkenness. He is suffering just as much from a disease as typhoid or tu- berculosis.' What is done with him? He is fined and his wife and children pay the fine. Then he keeps straight for time, but finally goes on anoth- CT spree and the whole thing is gone over again. Why not put them in some wholesome farm or a place where they have. a chance to go straight, and where they will be treat ed as if they are still our brothers. Teach also the little children to keep away from d1ink
 These are all laws that place a great value on things rather than on life or the soul. Roosevelt has em- | phasized this when he said that up to the year 1927 larceny was criminal offense. Think of it, people valuedl their property more than human life. i If it was possible for one man to car |