Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-12-18
The Blue Law Debate
ny rfederls d HassI,

Washington, u. c.. Dec. I5.- Resolved
That Human Nature csn be improved
and even made perfect by removing from IL
every imaginable temptation, rich "a
drink, gambling, smoking, dancing, short
skirts, Sunday baseball and moving
pictures of thrilling Iove scenes
This subject for debate has been hurled
into the arena by the announcement that
various religious and reform organizations
intend 10 have the observance u the Sab
bath made compulsory IN tho United
States. Some propose 10 do tins by Fed
eral law, and some by city and State Law.
At the same time there ~ more or less
talk Of legislation against cigarettes, and
gambling In word, IL is evident That
the forces Of moral reform plan 70 follay
up the prohibition arnendnent with
campaign for a variety Of other legisia-
ton designed 10 improve our morals by
force rather than suaeion.
At fhe same time, howl Of protest has
gone up against the proposed sabbath
law and oil the other moral legislation.
IT IL made very plain that there IL a porer-
ful and aggressive negative 10 The above
proposition, as we'll as powerful and
organized affirmative. The reforfners, II
course, gay that the negative ls backed
by promoters of an1uscIneDts, dealers IN
tobacco, and other interested parties, just
M the opponents n reform say that the
reforrners arr all in the pay n few mar
row-minded millionaires who are ambitious
% ma ke us feel their power by regulating
our personal conduct.
Az q matter of fact there are sincere
persons enough on both sides. You have
only 10 talk ~ a few of the reformeTs -
realize that most n them are burning
with sincerity, that they firmly believe
thu world ran be improved, il we ran only
get laws enough and policemen enough 70
enforne them
THE LTBERThRrGSs.
Nor do you have % go far ~ ind
man Who has not cent invested IN any
amusement proposition whatever and
never expects 10 have, but who Almost
foarns at the mouth az he tells you that
IA this alleged land Of the free there viii
soon be somewhat less personal liberty
than there was in Russia cf the Czu
unless these reforfnefs can in some way Be
prevented from executing their benighted
designs
Yes, there il q genuine and even heated
difference of opinion. And II s one
which has existed ~ this country for
long time The reforners undoubtedly
take their Intellectual il not their physical
descent from the Colonial PuIitaus Of
New England, the inventors " the blue
Law, who put men in stocks for drinking
+ smoking. kissing, and the ike. IN fact,
what the reforrners really aim 81 9 nothing
+ Iess than a revival Of the blue avs on
+ national scale.
Tho opposing school Il thought is de-
+ scended from Colonial Virginia and err
/ pecIal,y from such men as Patrick Henry
ard George Washington. According N
I the theory of this school. personal liberty
+ il a Deoessary condition Of happiness and
of development. Personality cannot be
developed without II, and personality -
the essence of civilization. Morality ~
dependent upon character, and must
therefore be inculeated by education and
example, not by force. Il noids, there
1 fore, that morals are not 2 proper sphere
for Legislation. and that moral restraint
should be applied only 20 those wno are
lrrraponable-the verv young, the GRIM
inal and the weak-rninded. This school
/ 0f thought has faith in human nature and
Z believes that the production Of superior
individuals the main purpose Of clvlilza-
tI0n. The noralists have faith n the
+ state, / a aw and q force, and aim at the
production Of an orderly whole, even
though, Individuality suffer IN the process
A TYPICAL REFoRMEB.
typicaI representative Of the ideal Of
uplift-by-ferce IS DR.. Wilbur Z. Cratts,
s,Iperintendent Of the International Re
form Bureau. with whom we hsd q talk
rpcentiv about the state Of the public
morals. DR.. Crafts and his organization
have been blamed for the project 70 pass
a Federal Sunday Blue Law. He denies
that tins IS the case. He says that the
proposition for a Federal law came from
a couple OF state conferences OF the Meth
odist Church IN the south, tnst 10 such
law has been introduced N Congress, and
that the movement for such law = not
70 be taken seriously. He Is trying merely
10 have 3 SUNDAY blue law passed for the
District of Columbia He SAYS thst
California and the District are the only
parts of the United States where adequate
sunday laws do not already exist. What
he favors chiefly IS 8 campaign for the
enforcement Of laws already on the books.
DIR. Crafts mas long been engaged IN Try
ing 10 induce Congress 20 pass laws a.
fecting the public morals. He knows 70
| a nicetv what Is constitutional and what
Is not. and how to claim the support OF
American tradition for his projects. de
does not take any positions from which
YOU can easily route him. Thus he is
well aware that 10 make the observance
Of the Sabbath as religious day cOmpul-
sorv IS legislation respecting religion, and
that is forbidden by the constitution snd
by tradition, TOO. This Is theoretically q
land OF religious freedom. Jews, Mo
hammedans, Buddhists. followers of Py-
thagoras, NietSzche and Confucius, free
thinkers, atheists and Pantheists, have
theoretically just as much right TO live
and worship or not worship in this coun-
try as the most orthodox Christian. To
all of them and many Others the Sabbath
means nothing. II Is therefore not con
stitutional TO enforce the observance OF
the sabbath by Federal law, and it Is not
in accordance with American traditions
of liberty to enforce it by any other kind
of law
TWO KINDS OF SUNDAY.
DR.. Crafts therefore takes the position
that there are two SabbathS-a religious
and civil Sabbath. He says that the
civil Sabbath is a necessary day cf~com-
plete rest, and that as such il is q part of
American tradition He says there Is
no more wrong in legislating for a six