The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-05-14
Sunday Slackers

The man observed industriously
digging fish worms in the rain OF a
Saturday night may be planning to go
to church the next morning, but he is
suspicious character. and he does
not wholly clear himself with the Cd
server by the explanation that, on ac-
count OF the high price Of grain, he
has to dig worms to feed his poor
hens. Under the same cloud OF mis-
apprehension is the plausible indiyldu'
al who regIetfully says home from
church TO work in the garden, duty
which his country demands Of him
and for which his hard labor for daily
bread leaves him no other time.
Go! Mark him we'll! Watch him
scratch around a little until the rest
of the family are all out Of the way
and safely confined in church and
Sunday school until / o'clock in the
afternoon Then he sits down on the
wheelbarrow, lights his pipe, unfolds
the Sunday paper and proceeds to en-
JOY the day of rest, while the pigweed
and the pusley and the witchgrass
make merry together and do their
best to choke the poor miserable little
vegetables to death. About the time
he thinks luscious Sunday is prob
able, he wanders into sight and goes
through the motions Of wipng imagin-
airy sweat from his brow In answer
to inquiries, he states truthfully that
he has been in the garden all the
morning and mendaciously allows 1t |
TO be understood that he has been
hard at work all the time. Because
the unimportant fact slips his mind, |
very likely he fails to relate how two
or three other men. obliged reluct-
antly to deny themselves the COM
forts of religious observance for the !
sake of their gardens. came over to
his patch to hold Joint debate on the
subjects OF the war and the admins |
tration.
Now the Sabbath was made for
man, and not man for the Sabbath, all
the Blue laws to the contrary not
withstanding, and if man wishes to
garden, he should be allowed to gar
den to his hearts content but only in
the afternoon of Sunday should he be
trusted to work without supervision.
After he has been to morning service
and the adult Bible class if he wants
to exchange his Sunday blacks for
Il suit that saw its best days decade
ago and to hill up a few potatoes in
the backyard, there could surely be
no more harmless way of keeping
him amused and off the street. But
when he and some other congeniai
spirits, owning adjoining plots, an
nounce in the morning with a sigh
of WEAKNESS that the weeds are get
ting ahead of them and must be at
tended to at once, then a supervisor
should be either self-appointed or
named by the local ministerial asso
citation to see that those fellows hoe
and do not spend the biggest part OF
the time leaning on the handles OF
their implements and talking politics..
II should be considered religious
duty by the supervisor to keep them
humping up and down the rows until
there isn't weed left in sight and
their foreheads are beaded with the
perspiration of honest toll.
il is no more wicked 10 putter in
the garden little Sunday than it is
to write letters. read, ride or walk,
and a Sunday law forbidding any OF
these things is as dead as Salem
witchcraN Under competent SUPPL
ar, with power TO fine or imprison
hose loafing on the job, there would
be little danger OF Sunday gardening
becoming such a mania as seriously
% interfere with church attendance
Springfield Reporter.