Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-03-14

enforcement, by his attitude In the
Shaw removal case, of MinOt and in
many other ways greatly aided the
cause Of enforcement and raised the
official standard in the state. His orr
der that the Sunday law should not
pictures on Sunday in harmony with
MIR. Larger's opinion were acts of
rue patriotism which required .cour+.
age of the highest type
Opposed by "Undcrworld.'a
The report continues:
The North Dakota enforcement
league has had most aggressive ,co-
operation from VIM LANCER. attor-
ncy general and his. assistants, HI a.
Bronson, and DansssN. Brennan. Their
work has been.conlpetent, aggressive
and in good faith and given because
! these men personally believe in the
laws and their enforcement. L have
had enough experience ito know that
there is no continuous honest enforce
/ mentfby men who are not at heart in
sympathy with the laws. Mr.. LANCER
has pushed enforcement /. in Minot,
East Grand Forks brewery cases and
many other Investigations by. backing
hour league and paying out of moneys
set aside by. the legislature to secure
prosecutions in criminal cases. This
is certainly legal. and in harmony with
the expressed will Of the people to
have these laws enforced. His
enemies Of the underworld of blind
] pigdom and politics are circulating a
photograph of a bill which shows
payment for, services, rendered his Of
flee by the North Dakota Enforce
ment league"
Sunday Laws in General.
Having disposed of the pool hall
evil in Il few scathins remarks, Mr..
Watkins recommends state supervi-
sion and state inspection for such es-
Establishments in the towns and cities
of the state, and then reverts to a
discussion of the Sunday laws, in the
following language:
"A desperate effort Is on to break
down our Sunday laws II turn the
Sabbath into a lax, ~wide-open. holt
day Sunday for pleasure, games.
hunting and theater picture shows.
This is not something new but the
same old idea tried by France when
she abolished Sunday and created
instead a regular holiday but later re-
instated the Lords day when she
found her people running ma for
pleasure, riot and lust. The same idea
is fOund in recent years in Germany
in the beer garden Sunday. After a
short morning religious service. God
is dismissed from the scene and the
balance of the day is spent in beer
drinking, revelry and lust.
THE demand for lax laws does not
come from the mass of North Dakota
citizens. The fight comes first from
picture show men and film companies
who see in Sunday picture shows
thousands of dollars. They are back
ed by pool hall men who for the same
reason want to keep open shop. A few
spOrtsmen who want to hunt ON Sun
day during the open season. and base
bail enthusiasts who openly state that
they cannot finance organized base
bali without the Sunday games. These
forces are determined and persistent
and unless the church people of
North Dakota awake to the situation
and elect certain men of our legisla-
ture who have been fighting to break
down Sunday laws, to stay at home,
they will succeed in accomplishing
their purpose. There are sever hun
dred Protestant ministers with about
1,509 congregations in North Dakota
and ! predict that n politicians who.
continue to insist on this backward
step will be committing political sui
eide. ,;.lh
AT this time when the world has
been plunged into war by Germany.
because of the disregard for the laws
of the state n of God, il is no time
to d~isintegrate the very foundations
of human society. Except the Lord
build the city they labor in vain that
build it, If the foundations be de-
stroyed. what will the righteousness
do"
The report concludes with a set Of
recommendations for further enforce
ment of various laws. s
At the meeting yesterday, a report
was adopted advocating the establish
ment of municipal amusement places
throughout the state