Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-16

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WAR PICTURES AND THE SABBATH.
When. At the time OF the. showing of tho war pic
lures on =. Sunday three weeks ago 1t became known that
an effort was being made, or was to be made, to invoke
the law In order to prevent the exhibition Of similar pic
lures under similar conditions'on future Sundays. q great
many people received that information. at nrst with in
credulty, and then with amazement- These pictures, the
cause in which they were shown, and the conditions sur
rounding the showing. were SO far removed in most minds
from all thought of entertainment that a large number
of citizens found it dittcult to establish a connection be.
tween the showing of these pictures and the state law
against Sunday amusements. Formal notice having been
given that further showing, if attempted. would be
stopped by legal process or that legal means would be
used to punish those responsible for the showing, the
matter became one of public concern, and it has received
its share Of public attention.
These pictures are issued under the authority Of the
United States government for the purpose OF timulatins
patriotic thought and of familiarisinE the people at home
with the work and the surroundings of our soldiers in
camp and in the field. 1t is the desire Of the govern
ment that they be seen by as many people as possible.
and that the cost Of producing and distributing then, be
distributed in such a manner that this activity will not
absorb public funds which are needed for other purposes.
The State Council Of Defense has assumed responsible.
iy for the handling of the pictures in this state. and the
work Of handling the pictures in Grand Forks has been
delegated to the executive committee. OF the Home
Loyalty league. All Of this has been fully set forth in
the statement made by the ommittee a week ago, 90
gether with the reasons why Sunday was selected as the
most suitable day for the showing in this city.
The committee has been advised that the showing
of these pictures on Sunday will not be a violation Of the
state law, and it relies on that advice. Attorney Genera.
Hanger appears to be of the contrary opinion, but Mr..
r ,1-,-,. a., - y Sc Jor,, - urh,+ (, NOT toy>
been of such a character in the past that one is disposed
to look for some corroboration before accepting his
opinion on a disputed question.
This question. however, is one which involves more
than a strict construction of the letter of the law. In
his very forceful discussion Of the subject Colonel Nc
Vey has called attention to the manifest absurdities
which are still permitted to continue under some statute
books under the guise of Law. The illustrations which he
gave could have been multiplied. many times. 81
There is reasonable warrant for the belief that the
Sunday showing is not even a technical violation Of law.
AS to that, of course. we cannot be certain in the alb
sence of a ruling by a court of proper jurisdiction. AS
Stunning that there is a literal violation, if that fact is
established in court, and appropriate orders are issued,
the order must be obeyed, and the law, if not respected,
must be observed. But by what process of reasoning can
fed in this particular case. The Herald dissents most
Hemphatica!!y from the view that their is any parallel be-
tween whatever Illegally there may be in the showing
of these pictures and the illegal acts committed, for in
stance by Germany in this war. In the showing of the
pictures on any day of the week the rights of no individ-
ual are attacked, the freedom Of no individual is in no
manner abridged. There is no disturbance of the public
peace. No person is deprived of his property or his free
dom of action. There is no conapulsion in the matter.
Those who, from conscientious reasons, do not wish to
attend are not required to do so. There is no possible
violation except by d bare possibility of a technicality
in a law which was not and could not have been intend
ed to apply to such a case as this.
On the other hand, the purpose, and the sole pur.
pose OF the showing OF these pictures is a constructive
one, entirely in accord with the spirit of the nation and
with the principles OF the Christian religion.
We are seeking. through the use of the military
force Of the nation, to accomplish certain things. We
are trying to overcome the forces Of evil which are rep
resented in the. efforts of an ambitious autocracy to i'm
pose its rule upon the world. We are engaged in a war
as holy as any that human beings ever undertook. There
IS needed in that war the unity Of effort and the concen-
tration of spirit, not merely of mer. who bear arms, but
whole, peoples. These pictures have been prepared for