The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-08-31
THE POSTOFFICE
AND THE SABBATH
(TimeS -UnionD

(TimeS-C nion)
Il seems that after all the new Sun
day law affecting the distribution of
the mail makes little change in the
existing practice. OF course, laws
should be obeyed. and above all public
officials should obey them. \ private
citizen who disobeys the law Is punish
ed, but his disobedience cannot be
construed into a claim of superiority
to law. When a public official dis
obeys the law there is in his act
something of a claim Of superiority
to the law which can be asserted as
to all laws If as to any. So whatever
the law is public officials should obey
il.
But we regret TO see enacted a law
which makes it impossible for the peO-
pie TO get their mails on Sunday. We
would not object to the carriers hav-
ing a rest on that day, but the mails
should be distributed and the general
delivery should be open long enough
each sunday TO enable the people TO
get their mail if they will take the
trouble 10 go after it. BY saying this
We mean the law should provide it. We
do not mean the postoffice authorities
should do it in spite of the law. If the
be closed six days in the week it
should be obeyed. An executive Of
ficer has nothing TO do with making
the law. It is his business TO enforce
it whether it IS good or bad.
But it would be so much better for
the public if the law simply provided
for postoffce employees one day of rest
! in seven and left it to the postmaster
to appOrtion the rest days of his force
so that they would not all rest on
| Sunday. The work is not at all light
ened by doing it all in six days. Six
/ seventies of the force could do as
much, working seven days, as seven
Isevenths could do working six days,
and in that way one-seventh could be
resting each day, and there would be
no loss of efficiency.
! But some hardened old Sabbath
breaking deacon will say that this
would be a deSerCration of the Sab
bath. If work is dissertation the whole
Christian world is engaged in desc
Grating the Sabbath. The Jews are the
only people who observe the Sabbath
on which the fourth commandment re
quires us to rest. Some or the earlier
Christians repealed the fourth COM
!
come entirely effective until Constan-
tine issued his edict. Christians say
the Lord gave the ten commandments
to Moses on Sinai, and they accept
them all as binding except the one
| Constantine repealed.
The earlier Christians had a perfect
right to select any day of the week for
their meetings, but none of them had
20
set aside a day the Lord had appoint
ed and substitute a day of their own
selection.
| We do not advocate the entire ignor-
| ing of this substitute Sabbath. 1t has
been observed so long. and it's Observ-
ance has been taught so long that it is
a sacred day in the feelings of the
majority of the people. if not in other
respects, and we do not advocate a
| boisterOusness of sports or a conspicu-
business of business that would offend
the sensiblities of the majority of the
good people of the land: but we do not
! think the law should require such a
rigid observance Of il as would cause
the public suffering great incOn-
venience.
| And this practice of having man
who is stoned to working in the
! day and sleeping at night get up at
midnight one day in seven and go to
work, is in violation of the spirit of
/ the command to rest. We do not be-
lieve that night work is more taxing
/ to the system than day work. But if
a man who is accustomed to working
| in the day is walked up and put to
work one night, in seven that nights
work Injuries him more than seven
days work would. The practice of
getting up at midnight and going to
work after twelve so as to avoid work
| ing on the Sabbath is a violation of
the laws of health that should not be
| reuuired or permitted