The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-03-31
Rev. Edward A. Tuck De
clares State Does Not
Want 1t
ATTACKS HOUSE
o4s BILL NO. 312
Strong Plea Made at Mont
pelier for Keeping the
Day as Designed

in Germany" asked Rev. Edward A.
Tuck, secretary of the Lords Day League
of Vermont and New Hampshire, at the
Bethany Congregational church of Mont
pelier, in closing his sermon Sun
day morning on the reasons why House
bin 3l2, the Sunday permit measure,
should not be passed by the Legislature.
Previous to the sermon, Rev. Mr.. Tuck
read an appeal, entitled IS. O. s., Save
Our Sabbath" which was sent to every
pastor in the state with the request that
it be read in the churches yesterday.
This appeal is for each community care
fully to consider Fl. 3l2, and for societies
and individuals to send communications
to the clerk of the House and to the rep
resentatives asking that the bill be re-
iected, as detrimental to the best inter
ests of the state, and because it furnished
the entering wedge for a continental
Sunday.
"The purpose of the Sabbath is 10
legislate conscience" declared Rev. Mr..
Tuck Germany lost her conscience be-
cause she had turned her Sabbath into
holiday. You know the result Does
Vermont want Sabbath made in Ger
many2"
Answering two common arguments for
the measure, namely, that there is no
time for amusements and recreation ex-
cept on Sunday, and that the law as it
now stands cannot be enforced and,
therefore, the bars might as well be let
down, the Rev. Mr.. Tuck said that com
mercialism and industrialism have
claimed six days of the week, while re-
ligion has but one day. If religion is
to blame for the fact that there is not
time for recreation and amusement ex
cept on Sunday, why religion should di-
vide its Sunday with these things, but If
commercialism and industrialism are TO
blame for it, then commercialism and
industrialism should make room for
amusement and recreation during the
six working days.
owe are on the way speedily to five.
day industrial week. . declared the speak
er, who went on to prophesy that within
ten years, possibly within five years,
people will devote five days to work, one
day to recreation and amusement and
one day to religion,
In answer to the argument that the
law is not enforced the preacher said
that we do not give that as an argument
for letting down the bars in other direc.
tions. We do not legalize murder, adul-
terry, theft, etc, simply because the law
is not always enforced regarding these
community evils.
you will never raise your civilization
by lowering your standards" he de-
cIared.
This proposed legislation is only the
entering wedge to split the Sabbath, he
said, and Sunday baseball, golf, and 9th
er sports, everything leading to the wide
open, continental Sunday, will follow,
Rev Mr. Tuck has recently returned
from New Hampshire, where he was in
strumental in helping to defeat in the
Legislature of that state a similar bill,
which was more wide sweeping in its
provisions.
1.-THE bill is wrong in principle" said
the speaker, first, because it is I'M
Americana; second, because it is unjust
to the men who are in the business;
third, because it is nti.American; and
fourth, because it commentaries the
Sabbath"
In explaining these points, Rev. Mr..
Tuck said:
Equality and fair play is the ideal of
Americanism."
He maintained that the opening Of a
fruit store for Sunday trade, when the
grocery store is not allowed TO open I'M
der the law, is not fair play. He read a
long list of articles which he had found
for sale upon the shelves of a fruit store,
many OF which are common to the ordi-
nary grocery store. To allow one store
to do business when another store carry
ing the same articles is not allowed to
do business, said the speaker, is man
ifestly unfair.
The passage Of such law is unjust to
the men who are in the business, he said,
because it compels every fruit dealer and
ice cream dealer to keep open on Sunday
by the very law OF competition, whether
he wished to do so or not. Many dealers
want their Sundays to themselves, he
maintained but Just because the Others
in their trade keep open, they feel
obliged to do so. A parallel case was
cited of the shoe shine parlors in GER
tain city in New Hampshire which were
closed for a time by an edict When
the time came that they could reopen
again for Sunday trade the majority of
them did not desire to do it. After hav
ing several Sundays to themselves, they
did not want to go back to the old plan.
Such law would be anti-American,
argued the speaker, because most keep
ers of fruit stores are foreigners, and
their places of business are the congre-
eating places for the foreign element in
the community on Sundays, and it is in
such places that much of the discomfort
and scheming against the government
arises In these places on Sunday, when
the men are loaing, are formulated
many of the plots against the govern
ment and against the welfare of the
community.
The proposed law would commercial
ize the Sabbath, declared the preacher,
because it would open to Sunday trade
a business which is run for profit. And
it would not end with the fruit stores
and ice cream parlors, he said, for other
business enterprises, scores of them as in
New Hampshire, would in succeeding leg
islatures be asking for exemption from
the Sunday closing law, and in all fair
ness they would have to be given such
exemption.
Although pointing out that an amend
ment had already been adopted to the
bill, striking out the part which provides
for Sunday movies, Rev. Mr. Tuck said
that the matter might occur again when
the bill comes up Tuesday, and he spoke
of New Yorks fight against Sunday
movies, and made a brief argument
against them.
Divide the Sabbath between sports
and raliginn. and Won will find that the