Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-05-20
SABBATH In DANGER
Nationwide Propaganda is Being
Vigorously Pushed.
BEHIND MOVEMENT IS GREED FOR GAIN
unregsneration Element Which Has
;, No Fear. OF God or Belief in the
Hereafter, Would Plunge Human
:: :ity in Despair For Qualification OF
Physical Appetites. -...--.-.-,

:, Hereafter, Would Plunge Human.
i ;; ity in Despair For. Qualification of
=: Physical Appetites. ',,-.'...'
The Dearborn Independent. -
a vigorously pressed assault on
American Sunday observance which
4 is now under way in the press and in
the motion picture theatres makes
industrious use " of the term "Blue
Laws" Every device of the satirical
writer and the comic cartoonist has
been utilized to create a condition of
mob hysteria on the subject. There
are aSsumedly intelligent people who
will tell you that strong organiza-
ton Of fanatical and puritanical re-
formers are determined on imposing
their seventeenth century notions" on
the modern people Of free America.
Under the threatened enactment by
congress &C these blue laws" we are
told; everybody will be compelled to
go to church on Sunday on penalty of
fine and Imprisonment. Automobiling
is to be banned. Pleasant country
walks and the innocent recreations in
the green places of our city parks, or
rips TO the woods and the seashores.
are to be forbidden. No more Sunday
newspapers or comforting after-din-
ner pipe or cigar! First thing we
know mans kissing his wife on Sun
/ day will become punishable offense!
This is the sort of preposterous r,'ff
!adled ou: to the public in the movie
films and the newspapers without
measure.
Discrimination is almost as rare as
a white blackbird. The very black
ness of the smoke screen barrage sent
up In this publicity stunt should have
made it suspect in the minds Of intel
ligent people. And a little honest in
quiry shows that the whole attack is
based from first to last on mendacity.
So outrageously audacious. indeed. is
this mendacity that it is an insult to
nublic intelligence to assume that any
thinking man would be fooled by it
apparently the anti-rest- day propa-
gandists count ON lack of exactly such
intelligence.
-. What are the facts? Simply that
pertain commercial associations in the
United States. with utter disregard for
everything but their own pockets, have
set out to destroy the American Sab
hath to capture an extra day in tho
week for vampire films and prize
fights. incidentally seeking to dis
credit all laws against bootlcggcrs and
gamblers and indecent exhibitions.
AS a smoke screen for their actual
objects, these Avid Apretites' OBJ
tained wide publicity for the state
ment that National Sunday Law"
designed to restore the Puritan 'blue
laws" In all their archaic asceticism.
was pending in congress and was
hacked by various reform organiza-
tions.
The fact is that the only law con-
cerning Sunday observance before
congress is bill designed to bring
the city Of Washington into line with
Z Of our states, to protect the Amer
ran Sabbath against invasion. by COM
nercjalized amusements in the nat
ional capital. 1t is a local measure
backed by local interests, and has been
nending ro~''" ..~n~s. II 49, ~--'-- local
scope and hns no national Significance.
Reform organizations Of national
scope promised to support 1t on gen.
eral principles. But it is not denial.
but protection. of every mans right
to Sunday rest that is the aim of these
reformers.
Every commonwealth in the union,
except California and the District o.
Columbia, has Sunday laws, which
have been revised or affirmed since the
Civil war. The only actual Sunday
issue is as TO whether or not these
laws should be enforced; whether the
selfish interests opposed to them
should be allowed to promote law
breaking. Lovers of their country are
called on to bar the efforts Of renal
interests to obtain exemption in these
laws that would permit money making
exhibitions, including prize fights. IL
quor selling, gambling and unnecessa.
ry business on Sunday. In MANY
states Sunday movies are already lille
gal, as are other forms Of money max
ing on the Sabbath. They have no
more right than any other business to
infringe on the weekly rest day guar
hnteed to the people by their own
| laws. In fact the claims of the movie
men to special treatment is made the
more insolent by the fact that it has
been publicly admitted recently by Of.
| ficers Of dozen leading motion pic
ture- producing companies that many
Of their films are unfit for public eX-
hibition on any day.
The phrase which has been made
to do duty in bamboozling the Amcri-
can public. originated. in the title Of
n literary hoax perpetrated by an eX-
lied traitor to the American cause dur
| ing the Revolution. THE Connecticut
Blue Laws were invented by him and
published in London to satirize and
belittle the character Of the patriots
4