The Washington herald., 1920-11-30
Reformers Hope to Correct
Clerical Error" That
Lost Sunday Ban.
TO BESIEGE CONGRESS
Conference on Needed
Moral Legislation" Ar
ranged for Dec. 8.

The District of Columbia is the
main salient upon which will be
turned the heavy artillery of ma
tionaI forces intent upon tight
closed Sunday and other reforms.
it became apparent yesterday.
Following a weeks swirmishing
and conversation. the opening guns
were fired here yesterday. 1t is
promised that on the day Congress
assemblies for the short session. De-
eember 6. the reformers will be
ready to lay down on Capitol Hill
a barrage that they hope will rem
der untenable the positions of Rep
resentatives and Senators opposing
drastic reform legislation for the
District
Developments of yesterday were:
-Announcement by DR.. Wilbur F..
Crafts. superintendent of the In
ternational Reform Bureau, that re-
formers in and out of Congress Will
meet here for series of confer
ences on needed and practicable
moral legislation" December $40.
synchronously with the bureaus
2sth anniversary. Every effort will
be made to effect passage of a Sun
day closing law for the District.
Against Trasnc In Drugs.
Declaration from the same source
that the Jones-Miller bill, prohibit
ing expectation of habit-forming
=
the Sims-Sterling and Sheppard
Randall bills, designed to stop in
terstate gambling will receive
strong support.
PRONUNCIATION by the Associated
Reform organizations of a drastic
Sunday observance act, violations
of the terms of which by corpora
tions would call for fines of from
$1,000 10 100000 with revocation of
charters in perpetuum for second
violations.
Addressing the Pastors Fedora
tion at New YORK. Avenue Presby-
terian Church yesterday. DR.. Crafts
declared that he considered this
winter. with no election nearer than
two years. a favorable. time to carry
the District Sunday law. It has
several times passed the Senate, he
declared, but never the House. The
main accomplishment. he said would
be little more than the correction
of a clerical error"
Mayor Forgot to Sign 1t!
The City of Washington" said
Dr. Crafts, passed a good Sunday
law when the National Capital gov
erned itself, which was lost a dozen
years later by the discovery that
the mayor forgot to sign 1t. For
thirty years, church of Washing
ton have been asking Congress to
correct the clerical error by giving
back TO the people their own Sun
day rest law"
DR.. Crafts said his organization
Stands squarely back of" the bill
introduced in the House by Rep
resentative Temple, of Pennsyl-
vania, and in the upper chamber by
Senator Jones. of Washington, hy
which theaters and baseball would
be banned from the District on the
Sabbath and ordinary commercial
activity suspended.
The reform bureau head also ex-
pressed the opinion that Congress
should so strengthen present prohi-
bition enforcement legislation that
whisky cannot be transported into
and out of and across our country
so easily by perturers and forgers
and liars at large"
Violations Dishonor Us.
Even a poor enforcement of pro-
hibition," ssaid Dr. Crafts, "ha
greatly reduced arrests for drunk
enness and crime in general, but
our scandalous violations of pro-
hibition are dishonoring us all over
the earth and holding back world
prohibition"
1t was made plain that the main
object of the reform battle will
not be the adoption of uniform blue
laws or Sunday closings by Federal
statute or constitutional amend
ment, except in the case of the Dis
trict, but the Enforcement of such
State and municipal laws and or
dinances as now exist and are ade-
quota.
Fifty tons of morphine were
shipped from Philadelphia and New
York chemical concerns to China
via Japan during 1919. DR.. Crafts
declared. in emphasizing the need
for enactment of the Congressional
measures now pending which would
prohibit export of habit forming
drugs and restrict import to a mini
num- So far as he knew, he said.
there Is no concerted move afoot
to force the passage of laws which
would prohibit operation of trains
on Sunday or interfere with legiti-
mate activities necessary to the well
fare of the country.
Blames Lax JuveniIe Laws.
Maj. Harry l. Gessford. local chief
of police, addressing the pastors on
breakingsup handbook making in
particular and prevention of crime
in general expressed the opinion
that the fact that recent major
cmimes in this country have been
mostly the work of younk men
might be attributable to the leni-
ency with which boy criminals have
been treated.
The main provisions of the bill
drafted by the Associated Reform
organizations are reported to be as
follows:
1. Hereafter 1t shall be unlawful
for any person in the employ OF
the United States to work or carry
on his ordinary. vocation on Sun
day.
9. It shall be unlawful for any
person or corporation to operate on
sunday any freight or passenger
train or mail train or any other
train or part OF tain in the carry
ing on of interstate commerce.
trade CT traffic of any kind.
.. IL shall be unlawful for any
sostoffice to be open on Sunday or
70 deliver mail on sunday: 1t shall