Daily picayune., 1921-01-19
SUNDAY BLUE LAWS

There is a great hue and cry just now about the supposed revival of the so-called blue laws" of New England by those principally who want an open Sunday and all restrictions removed as to Sabbath observance. It is at tempted to ridicule these Sunday laws and they harp mainly about those pur- porting to forbid a man kissing his wife or children on Sunday. The moral forces having given severe blow toI the legal traffic in whisky are now turning their attention to that equally bad foe to humanity and stable gov ernment, Sabbath deseerat tion, and they want to deal with this giant evil as they did with the liquor monarch and there is going to be battle royal be- tween the forces standing for proper and Scriptural observance of the Lords day and those wanting the laws abro- gated or killed by nO-observance.
 It is important to know the author ity of these supposed blue laws and where and by whom enacted and the Continent of Chicago has made thor ough investigation of the matter and finds that there never were any blue laws at all as charged by Sunday op- ponents and traces the orgigin of the purported enactment to Tory preach CT. Rev sam A. Peeters of Connecticut, and shows the venom he had against the American patriots by publishing these laws in an endeavor to harm and defeat them while he was refugee from his native country to Europe. Having been compelled to flee this country and go into voluntary exile across the seas he wrote bool, against Americans and to show that they were not competent to make wise laws and conduct stable government here rep resented them as q silly set and gave 
 they would do if they got government of their own. The blue laws were born in his feyerish and unpatriotie brain and designed purpoSely to iniure the cause of freedom and independence by causing the Europeans not to recognize or help them. It was Peeters who first published that 1t was unlawful for a man to kiss his wife or children on Sun day or for the children to take a walk in the garden on Sunday afternoon. Very probably he never kissed his own wife on any day and was jealous of the Americans who did SO every day The founders of the American republic knew nothing about these blue laws till after they appeared in this Tory's book across the sea-three thousand miles from the truth
 There has not been then. and never will be any blue laws for our obServ- ance and that is not the question at i>Suc but Lile Lldli oHt ls, Sudll our glorious heritage of Christian Sab bath be taken from us and a lax Ger man or Spanish one substituted for it ? When people and nations desecrate the Lords day they are hurled from places of power and influence and broken with the rod of iron as witnessed in the modern world by Spain Germany and Mexico. Instead of listening to the voice of Martin Luther and other reformed preachers Germany opened the gates and permitted beer gardens and games of sport on Sunday and she now lies broken upon the rocks of dis aster. There are some in America who call for the open Sunday and want theatr cold drink stands meat mar. kets, cigar stores and such like to be free and all places of amusement and all ball games to go undisturbed. But this is dangerous ground and we arc courting disaster of these and other forms of business and amusement be al