The New York herald., 1922-06-13
BLUES PROSECUTE
SHOPS OPEN SUNDAY
Fourteen Brownsville Dealers
Fined on Complaints by
Bowlby's Detectives.

The Rev. Harry L. Bowlby. national
secretary Of the Lords Day Alliance and
apostle of the blue law Sunday, with
headquarters at 1856 Fifth avenue. has
started a citywide campaign against
stores selling merchandise on the Sab
bath in violation of the State Penal
Code.
This became known yesterday when
fourteen storekeepers. including hard
ware. dry goods and clothing dealers,
were arraigned in the Bridge Plaza
court in Brooklyn and pleaded guilty to
selling merchandise on Sunday. They
were fined IS each by Magistrate Dale.
who made no comment.
The new crusade to protect the Sab
bath was started in the Brownsville
section of Brooklyn by five private de-
tectves employed by DR.. Bowlby. The
detectives purchased forbidden goods on
Sunday and then called policemen to
make the fourteen arrests.
Cornelius McInerney. the spearhead
raider of the Bowlby detective force, an
ncunced that thirty-five more private
detectives will be engaged soon to root
out Sunday violators. DR.. Bowlby said:
"This Is only the beginning Of the
campaign against these unfair competi-
city. Employees should not be deprived
ct day of rest each week. although
want to make it plain that we do not
ask any man to go to church on Sunday
against his WILL
THE sale Of merchandise such as
was being carried on by the persons ar
rested is prohibited by Section 2143 Of
the Penal Code and should not be toll
Grated. From a strictly competitive busi-
ness standpoint the sale of certain mer
chandise on Sunday Is most unfair to
firms like Wanamaker's. Macy's and
many other well known retail business
houses hereabouts.
"The work is not going to be confined
to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn
but will reach into many other parts of
this city. We have collected quite a
let of evidence in other sections of
Brooklyn. which will be used at the
proper time. We have found that own
crs of clothing hardware and dry goods
stores are the people who are violating
the law. The sale OF foods and other
necessities Of life are allowed during
certain hours under another section of
the Penal Code
The Rev. Dr. Bowlby came into
public notice eighteen months ago when
he announced that the Lords Day AL
lance was well financed, with a power
full lobby at Washington which would
work on Representatives in Congress
until no Congressman who cares to
stay In Congress will dare to refuse to
vote for our measures"
At the time DR.. Bowlby said that there
was no such things as blue laws and
that the Lords Day Alliance did not in
tend to legislate people into church, but
proposed by legislation to make 1t easier
for people to attend divine services on
Sunday. He declared that his organiza-
tion would seek to put breeches ard
skirts on some Of the nude statuary in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art and re-
strict admission to mature adults. DR..
Bowlby made this further comment on
that day:
I'VE shall also seek to eliminate the
huge Sunday newspapers and establish
a censorship over the stuff that gets into
70 observe our Sabbath. AS a matter of
fact he might just as we'll, because Sat-
urday is not. after all. his Sabbath. We
propose to close al lstores. pharmacies
excepted, because we do not want 10
work any harm to the sick"
Last year DR. Bowlby and his organ
ization started a campaign for legisla-
ton at Albany against Sunday motion
pictures, baseball and other CONNER
cialized sporting and amusement inte--
ests The board of managers of the
Lords Day Alliance adopted platform
which among other things declared "the
motion picture industry Is largely con-
trolled by group Of Jews unfaithful
to their religious traditions and are tho
central forces of constituencies cam
paign to remove every law protecting
Sunday from the statute books as a
means OF procuring legal sanction Tor
Their business on the Sabbath"
DR.. Bowlby now says that certain per-
sons supposed to keep thei- stores closed
on Saturday for religious reasons did nos
do so in Brownsville.