The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-01-04
IMPROVING CONDITIONS IN
THE BLACK HILLS.

Some time ago the Right Rever-
end Bishop Busch published an
open letter to the citizens of Lead
in which he deplored the absence
of a proper respect for the sane
tity of the Sunday. He called at
tention to the widespread disre-
gard for the religious significance
Of the Sunday and pointed out
the conditions which initiated
against the due observance of the
Lords Day in the Black Hills.
The primary cause for lack of
Sunday observance, he asserted,
was the necessity which compelled
so many Of the working class to
continue their labor on Sunday as
on the other days of the week.
This Sunday labor is a relic Of the
pioneer days when the Black Hills
was on the outskirts of civiliza-
ton and law and order had not
yet been established in the COM
munity. Now that the community
has emerged from the primitive
conditions that made mining
towns centers of uninterrupted
labor, the due observance of the
Lords Day should receive more
attention. From a purely civic
standpoint, - says the Bishop,
Sunday as, day of rest and in
spiration is, an imperative need.
A man who works every day with
out interruption becomes more
animal than human, and, there
FORE. an undesirable and danger
Gus citizen; without the Sunday,
especially for the laborer, family
life, except in its most rudimen-
tary elements becomes next to I'M
possible, the members Of the fam
lily are estranged from each other
and their interests become divid
ed; without the Sunday our young
men and women find the oppOr-
tunity for social intercourse linn
tied to- the night and the dance
hall, both special source of dan
ger In a community so eongested
as this; without the Sunday the
moral tone of the whole COM
munity is lowered and the sense
of the brotherhood gives place to
selfish individuaIism. -
The necessity for a continue
ton of physical toll on Sunday
prevents the working man from
attending to his religious duties
and in time begets an atmosphere
which is unfavorable to Sunday
observance. Those who are not
obliged to work are tempted to
initiate the example of those who
do work and remain away from
church. One of the great difficult
ties the Bishop encountered in his
efforts to bring about a better OBJ
servance of the Sunday was the
need of carrying on work in the
gold mines which are the chief
source of revenue for the COM
munity He requested the mine
owners to limit as much as pos
sible the necessity for Sunday
labor and called for cessation Of
work in other lines of trade
which are as much forbidden by
the statutes as the opening of
saloons and the conduct Of a mer-
camille business.
The efforts of Bishop Busch to
bring about better observance
of the Sunday from the religious
point of view met with hearty CO.
operation on the part of the Fed
Grated Churches of Lead whose
ministers commended his efforts
and pledged themselves to Co
operate with him in an effort to
remedy existing conditions.
Not only that but the Board of
City Commissioners at their re-
cent meeting adopted the follow
ing resolution presented by Mayor
Howard:
"Be it resolved by the Board
of City Commissioners of the City
of Lead, S. D., that we are in
sympathy with the movement re
Gently inaugurated in Lead for the
better observance of Sunday, be-
lieving that the ancient custom of
working six days and not work
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