The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-08-22
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Blue LarDs at the Equator.

that he is supported by the com
munity, and has no tax to pay. De-
spite the fact that the islands ara
not as advantageously situated as
many of the other Pacific grouns
the population is fairly dense for
that part of the world. The natives
once were imported to Hawaii as
laborers, but did not do well at all
and the idea was abandoned.
The Sunday blue laws in effect
in the islands are the result of the
work of missionaries. both British
and American. No native would
ever devise a plan whereby he
| would be deprived of a rum allow
ance on any one day out of the
seven. At that, they are not very
severe, merely cutting off the rum
supply and forbidding any kind of
work. There is no report made of
compulsory attendance at any sort
OF religious gathering on the Sab
bath.
Blue law agitators in the United
States would carry the system much
beyond the simple code in effect In
the Gilbert Islands. The anchor
Eating effect of rum allowance is
impossible now in this country. and
when the agitation for blue laws
was at its height in the states, NOT
many months ago, it was proposed
to go far beyond anything which
ever existed before. even in the
Puritan days in New England
Operation of automobiles was to he
forbidden on Sundays, attendance at
church was to be compelled. and
host of other stringent rules ap-
piled.
Naturally any such program as
this was bound to fail. 1t was spou-
sored for the most part by d fan
atical crowd endowed with only
sparce amount of reasoning power
The more intelligent of the reform
ers realized that the enactment and
enforcement of such rules would
tend greatly toward bringing about
a reaction in public sentiment
which might tend to sweep away
not only the Sunday blue laws. hut
the rcent frat accomplishment Of
the reform element, the dry amend
ment to the constitution. On that
account the movement failed to get
much support, and is about to die
of inanitiOn.
One Result of IA Blue Law,
Even today, though, there are
rigid blue laws in existence in parts
of the United States, some of which
are enforced to the letter of the
law. The country was shocked
about year ago when in a little
community on the eastern shore of
Maryland, a rather inaccessible
spot on the peninsula between
Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic
ocean, a law enforcement officer
shot a boy who violated one of the
indigo rules. The case finally got
into the papers, and pages were
devoted TO the exposition Of what
had happened.
1t seems that there is a rule in
effect in the community that every
one beyond tender years must at
tend church, or remain within their
own houses during the hours set
aside for religious exercises This
boy was sent to the drug store by
his father, doing the erraad one
church services were under way.
When he returned the boy stayed
outside of his fathers house, but
within his yard, sitting on the porch.
He was admonished by a law en-
forcement officer, who presumably
did not have go TO church, and
shot in the leg by this man.
When news of the affair reached
other communities il caused a great
furore in the newspapers for a
time, but the thing dragged along
and as the little Maryland commun-
ity was hard to reach by wires or
in any other way, the case soon
dropped out of the news. and the
final outcome is still a mystery. At
the time the local minister, a Ger
tain Reverend Mr.. Goodwin, was in
terviewed, but side-stepped giving
any hard and fast opinion as to
whether the shooting was justifid,
At that time he wanted to learn
more before committing himself