The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-26
On Legal Holidays
le Editor of The Age-Herald.

To the Editor of The Age Herald
 Several days ago. speaking as an ''old lawyer" I made some statements as to the reasons that influenced the legislature to make certain days legal holidays. l fear that these statements have not been understood, or at least my motive in making them has been construed into an effort to deny the ministers the right of petition. This gather from the communication of the Rev. MT. Woodbridge in your issue of the 25th inst.
 No man has a higher respect for the clergy of all churches than have 1, and under no circumstances would I do one or all of them an injustice or unkind- ness. They are large and most use- ful body of citizens and have all the rights~of American freemen
 My statement of the laws of Ala bama in reference to legal holidays were intended to show that certain days were made so for purely commercial reasons, and that the legislature in making Good Friday a legal holiday was not preferring the liturgical over the non-liturgieal churches.
 There Is, in law, a great distinction between legal holidays themselves. For instance, the law forbids all work, etc, except of charity and necessity on Sun day; and if it was not forbidden by law we could transact business on that day just as legally as on week day.
 But the law Is different as to other holidays. Take February 22, Washing toms birthday. The law does not for bid the doing of work or business Of any kind on that day except as to com mercial paper A notable illustration of this will be found in the case of Pfiester vs state S4 Alabama reports, page 432. Pfister's case was set and 1.y1f for tt.ia 1fI I.fa before Judge Greene in the criminal court. He objected to being put on trial because it was a legal holiday. The judge overruled his objection and he was tried and convicted He then ap- pealed to the supreme court ands that tribunal Chief Justice Stone delivering the opinion, said; There is nothing in the objections that the defendant was tried on the 22d of February, a legal holiday. Holidays with us are not on that account non-judicial days"
 If the defendant had been tried on Sunday the supreme court would have reversed the conviction because it is a non judicial day
 Most of our holidays are not ob- ligatory except upon the banks. Lee S birthday, January 19, is observed by a few gray-haired veterans of the Con- federate army and occasionally by the Daughters of the Confectionery. Thomas Jefferson's birthday, April 13, was made a holiday by the last legislature. Who observes 1t IS such, except the banks? The first Monday in September Is workingmans holiday and they and the banks pay attention to it. Thanks ginving Day is legal holiday, but not even the supreme court adjourns on that day.
 In short, Sunday Is the only legal holiday that is generally observed and the law compels this observance. This, Is true of no other day.
 In my remarks in Hotel Lobbies, said that the legislature of Alabama had made no holiday on the demand of any church, but had granted many pe- titions of churches to prevent the sale of liquor. This statement is true Prior to the enactment of the state wide pro- hibition law, it was common for the legislature to pass local laws forbid ding the sale. etc, of any kind of liquor within five miles of a certain church Our statute books are full of these enactments, and all of them were granted on the petition of the churches of any and all denominations. l stated then and now repeat, that the motive of the legislature in making holidays is purely commercial, and these laws, ex- cept as to Sunday, have no binding ef- feet upon anybody or anything, except the banks and commercial transactions Good Friday was formerly made q hol- iday by law, not to commemorate the death of our Savior, or as a favor to any church or churches but solely fo1 the RRrpose of making our commercial , exchanges conform to the rules anc regulations of the great financial cen ters of Europe and America, which foI centuries past have observed that day by ceasing to transact any business whatever. Very respectfully,
 F. s. FERGUSON. Ioirrai In erlna q m E,ehr1iarN 1911