The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-10-19
SUNDAY 0BSERV ANCE In THE HILLS


two years have amply demonstrated.
Il gratefully acknowledge the dona-
ton OF one thousand dollars, with
out the least solicitation, by the
Homestake Mining Company towards
the Pro-Cathedral School and Auditor
ium erected last year in order to draw
our people more closely to the church,
but candidly and sincerely, were | to
be offered many times the amount
mentioned, even an amount sufficient
to pay our entire Indebtedness and
provide an endowment for all our cur
rent expenses, I would gladly forego
such donation if only we could secure
that freedom of worship, whose neces-
sity even the civil law recognizes, but
which local conditions make it impos-
sible to enjoy.
1T is not only the physical difficulty
of going to church that we labor un-
der, the moral effect of the example
given by Indifference to the obser-
vance of the Sunday is blight that
few feel it possible to escape. Many
instances can be cited of people who
were faithful church goers until they
came here into this atmosphere of
Indifference to Sunday. Some of these
came from lands where the law, tradi-
tons and customs exerted a strong
influence upon the observance of Sun
day, and unprepared to act upon their
own initiative, no amount of persua-
sion on the part of the church can
overcome the influence of the disre-
gard of the Sunday by our dominant
industry as well as by the secondary
concerns of this locality.
ut is true that in an industry of
such extent and such nice adjustment
of detail as mining company, there
are departments that cannot be idle
even on Sunday without serious
loss; some costly features are practi-
cally automatic but require supervi-
sion; again, certain amount of en-
Urgency repair work must be done,
all of which makes a certain amount
OF Sunday work necessary and there
fore permissible. But it is equally
true that great amount of manual
labor could be dispensed with on Sun
day without any serious loss to any
one and an ultimate gain to all. Much
of such work as actual mining, con-
struction and a large portion of the
shop work is clearly contrary to the
spirit and the letter of the divine or
dinances and the civil statutes rela-
tive to the observance of Sunday.
"Thus also draying and printing,
moving and house DECORATING are as
much forbidden by statutes as the
opening of the saloon or the conduct
ing of mercantile business on Sunday.
''The habitual disregard of the Sun
day in Lead, on so large scale and
with SO much publicity, tends to dead
en- the religious sense of the entire
community and must have a lasting
bad effect upon our children.
F'There are some who desire to
work on Sunday and say they need
the Sunday wage in order to live But
among the many who wish to work
on Sunday, large percentage take a
day or more off three or four times
month and their earnings are not in
creased by Sunday work. The reason
why some cannot make ends meet is
because of mismanagementa at home,
a direct result of Sunday work and the
division of interests between husband
and wife, and with normal observ-
ance of Sunday home management
will surely improve. Those who have
no family have no reason under heav-
en- to complain, for, barring accidents,
if they do not find it possible to pay
their bills without Sunday work, they
are spending more than they have a
right to, and in any case they have
no authority to disregard the Sunday,
and if necessary should seek rem
edy in some other direction.
Gas loyal citizen and friend of
every member of this community, as
a sincere friend of the Mining Com
pany and it's employees, but especially
as the official head of the Catholic
Church in these parts, plead for the
observance of Sunday.
JOS. F. BUSCH,
Bishop of Lead.