Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-02
PURIFYING THE SABBATH.

A movement has been started in Washington
to enforce what is commonly called the blue
laws' respecting the observance of Sunday.
What Is known as the Lords Day Alliance. in
spired by the success of the Anti-Saloon Lea
que. has sent its secretary to the national CAPT.
tai for the purpose Of putting across such legis-
lation as IL deemed necessary to restore the old
Puritanical Sunday.
The movement to stop all forms of business
and recreation on Sunday would not be taken
seriously were it not for the fact that the move
nent to make the entire country "dry" was not
taken seriously either. and suddenly the ma
ton awoke to find that the thing had been
done. People are not to be caught mapping
again. Already there is a movement on foot
to combat the activities of the new "reformers"
and there is good reason to believe that the
opposition will be effective.
In the first place, thousands of persons who
honestly believed that the doing away with booze
would be decidedly beneficial to mankind fail to
see any harm whatever in a person enjoying
Sunday as he may see fit. There is a vast diff
ference Of opinion of this matter as we'll as all
shades Of beliefs. In the matter of prohibition,
however. there could be but two sides. either one
was for it or against it.
1t is a well known fact That the pest way TO
kill an unpopular law Is to enforce it. There are
already laws on the statute books of nearly
every state prohibiting many of the things that
we now do on Sunday and think nothing what
ever Of it. Many times an effort has been made
to repeal these laws and adopt measures more
In keeping with present day practices and beliefs.
but the effort has never been successful. The legis-
tors have been afraid. In the meantime the laws
remain practically a dead letter on the statute
book. Now an effort is to be made to bring them
into force.
SO be it.
The sooner a real effort is made to enforce
these old blue laws the sooner will the peo-
Pile insist that they be revised and modernized
Cor present day use. 1t is time that this was
done. Those narrow-minded~ persons who would
have us turn back TO the conditions of a century
ago may find that they have started something
that they will not like. These persons have
guarded carefully the present blue laws insist
ing that they be kept on the statute books even
If they are not obeyed with the idea that as long
as they are the law there is a chance of having
them enforced some time. If the people are
thoroughly aroused on the matter, however, they
may insist that the legislators take up the con-
sideration of these laws and that they be re-
pealed and replaced by laws that will provide
for a Sunday observance as the majority believe
It should be observed today.
We do not believe that the people of America
want a wide open Sunday. They are just as
much opposed to the commercializing of the
Sabbath, as it is called, as they ever were. But
they do not propose to have restrictions placed
upon them that will make it impossible to do
anything but go to church on Sunday and sit
around the rest of the day with long faces and
grabbed tempers.
Sunday ought to be a day when people gath
Ell in their respective places of worship, to be
sure. There ought to be as little actual work
on Sunday as possible. Every human being is en-
titled to at least one day Of rest in seven. and
because Sunday is a day set apart that day is
recognized generally as the day to be thus OBJ
served. But no person or set of persons has a
right to dictate to any other man how he shall
spend that day of rest. There are many kinds
Of innocent amusements that, in the minds of a
vast majority including many ministers of the
gospel. are perfectly proper on Sunday.
Few can see any harm in going out for a
walk or to ride in an ONO on a Sunday
afternoon. But because a man does not care to
walk or has no automobile. is he to be denied
passing the afternoon az he may otherwise see