The log cabin Democrat., 1916-10-05
DEMOCRAT FOXES FUN Al THE MAYOR IN SUNDAY CLOSING CASE Little Rocb Paper EditorialIy Ridi- cules Rev. Dawson's Sunday Law
 Interpretation.

Under the irreverant caption, Fill ing Stations Exempted by God" the Arkansas Democrat of Wednesday evening editorially comments upon the position taken by Mayor J. C. Dawson in the recent Sunday closing controversy here. The editorial, which was published prior to Mayor DaWson's announcement that he would no longer operate his gasoline filling station on Sunday, is repro duced below:
 Filling Stations Exempted by God.
 s. D. Wakefield operates a cafe in Conway. The Rev. J Clarence Daw- son, besides conducting a church there, also operates Conway. He's the mayor
 Monday the Rev. Mr. Dawson caused the arrest of Wakefield for the selling on Sunday of soft drinks in the Wakefield cafe. Tuesday the mlnister-mayor presented Mr. Wake field with a fine of $50 and costs for violating, the Sabbath.
 The restaurant proprietor voices his objection to the mayor fning him $50, because the mayor, in addition to be- ing a sky pilot and the city's chief executive, also operates a gasoline filling station. lncidently, Mr. Wake field complains, he has as much right to sell soda as the minister-may to sell gasoline. The mayor retorts by saying that there is no law against selling gasoline on Sunday"
 At first we were inclined to resent the treatment accorded by the mayor oI Conway to the restaurant proprie- tor. It seemed very undemocratic and improper. Then we consulted numerous authorities on the subject. ranging from Kirby's Digest and Blackstone's commentaries on the one extreme, to Joe Miller and Tristan Shandy on the other. Our authorities seemed unqualified to agree on the law, and according to Joe Miller, the joke quite evidently was on MT. Wakefield.
 We decided that as the Rev. Mir Dawson was the mayor, he occupied the position made famous by the sec tion boss who ordered his men to unload a carload of stone, reload it and unload it again, just to show that he was boss"
  point, we chanced to remember that the Conway mayor, being a minister. probably went beyond mundane and profane authorities for sanction of his conduct. So we turned to our trusted Bible to confirm our sus- picion on this eXemplar of the Puri- tanic Sunday in a cafe, and a Sher- man law interpretation for a filling station.
 To our chagrin we found that here. too, our authorities failed us. We turned back to Deuteronomy (5), and reread the ten commandments. We recognized readily those which de clared,
 Thou shalt not:
 Have other gods before thee; nor graven images; nor take the name of the Lord in vain; fail to honor thy father and mother; kill, commit adultery; steal; bear false witness or covet thy neighbors' possessions" ,"
 We reread from Deuteronomy to Proverbs, from Matthew through the Acts and we knew then the Rev. MT. Dawson was quite within his province in his treatment of Mir. Wakefield.
 Nowhere in all our persual of the moral law could we find written:
 Thou shalt not sell gasoline on Sunday"
 By all the rules and rhyme and in- tent MT. Wakefield ought to have to pay that $50 fine assessed by the mayor. Anybody who can reconcile his occupations of mayor-m minister gasoline filling station agent pos sesses a facile mentality that de- serves statewide recognition.