The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-12-15
Sunday Laws.


Everything pointa toward some at
tempt in the national congress to Codify
in the form of federal legislation the blue
laws of various states, several prominent
professional refOrmers, such as those who
took part in the passage of the 18th and
10Th amendments, having already been
identified in active motion about the
capitol.
The plan is opposed and should be
opposed. 1t has no part in national leg
~jSlatiCn to begin with, and the attempt
10 enforce the observance of the first day
If the week as a compulsory holiday on
Jews. Adventists and others who observe
the seventh day according to biblical in
junction would certainly meet with fail
The federal constitution and most state
constitutions provide for religious lib
crtv and a fat Sunday probably would
not hold if tried out in the courts.
The Barton Monitor. commenting on
the proposed revision of Vermont Sunday
laws, goes back to Sinai and the Ten
Commandments and says:
That commandment. Remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy" is just as
much a command as "Thou shalt not
kill" and the only argument hinges about
the question of what is keeping the day
holy and what is a dissertation of the
day. Ma must interpret to some ex-
tent at least. The commandment, how
ever, goes on to say that in six days one
shall do his work and not work upon
the seventh. Just what day that seventh
may be can be, disputed. but that Gods
commandments. if the correspondent rec
ogniZes them rs such. recognizes a Sab
bath. can hardly be disputed. Just how
the Roman church can lay claim to the
establishment of the Sabbath is not clear
to the editor.
1t is not only the Roman Catholic
church which might differ from the Mon
jtOr, Wilbur Crafts. Clarence True Will
son and Others If the so-calIed blue-Iaw
type it is members of other churches and
members of no church, perhaps, who OBJ
iect to having the legal calendar ar
ranged to religious lines. The communi-
cation from r. F. tombstone of North
Orwell expresses an extreme view of this
character.
The Bennington Banner counseIs mod
ration. 1t declares that the blue laws,
# they ever were OF value. ceased to be
. working force long ago and are now
worse than nothing. as they cannot be
enforced" 1t says further:
y majority of the people of Vermont
would welcome a sensible law regulating
the observance of Sunday. 1t is unfair
70 merchants and clerks whose stores
are operated for reasonable hours to be
"vnoSed to the competition Of nev--c0m-I
ing aliens. who deal in similar lines and
5een their stores oprn seven days in the
week and rs to 1e hours n dav. Posi-
IDLY the only way this ean be done would
be to give the authorities of each munich
oaEty power to regulate the hours which
business places may keep open on Sun-I
dav.
This proposal of q form nf local on
ton suggests that such n situation prac-
tically exists at present. enforcement
IF the Sunday laws fell fat in BraftIe-I
boro but the states attorney of Washing
-on county made Thorn "stick'' 70 some
extent in the matter of Sunday base
bah.
Garages are kept opon almost every-l
where. Drug stores have regular Sunday
hours. Creameries. fruit stores. cigar
stands, news stands, etc. are kept open
according to the demand and in more or