Evening star., 1924-03-10
$4,000 VIOLATIONS
OF BLUE LAWS CITED
New Jersey Sunday-0bservance
Crusade Includes Ban on
Railroad Trains.
BY ROBERT r. SMALL.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 10.--Railroad
officials of the lines centering here
refused today to take seriously the
threat Of northern New Jersey au
thorities to enforce the blue laws
against the running of trains on SUM-
day. If the letter Of the law is lived
up to-. the Pennsylvania railroad
would be prevented from running
more than one train day into and
out of New York city. Just where
that lonesome train would run to or
from no one seems to know.
The same rule of one train day
would apply equally to the Central
West Shore, the Lackawanna, the Le-
high Valley, the New York, Ontario
and Western-ail the lines that uav-
erse northern New Jersey to reach a
terminal in Manhattan, either by
ferry or tube.
Want Law Modernized.
The law against Sunday trains is
is in good standing because amend
ments to this section of the code have
been made as late as 1920. with no
attempt to obliterate the main pro-
visions of the act The law itself
there was a loud outcry and a cru
sade against vice and immortality"
even as there is today. Each gener-
alton seems to have its own pet
vices" and 'immoralities." In 1898
it was running trains on Sunday. To-
day it is bootlegging and going to
the movies on Sunday, to mention
just a few.
The Jersey authorities are making
an effort to enforce the blue laws of
the eighteenth century in this mod
to- ofnnnCnhaFa
merely for the purpose of bringing
the old statute into ridicule and get
ting il wiped off the books or so
amended as to catch the spirit of
these later days
Half dozen clergymen have been
erusading for year or more against
Sunday performances at the motion
pictures and other theaters. They
have been lambasting the authorities
for not acting against the managers
and owners of the playhouses. They
invoked the statute of 1898 as evil
dence of violation of the stated law
Of the land The police dug up the
old chapters and found that if they
prosecuted the theater folk they
would also have to prosecute about
everybody who ventured abroad in
the land on Sunday unless these peo-
pie wers churchgoers. doctors, mid
wives or undertakers.
ArrestS were F0rbfddeu.
The police also found much to their
amusement that up to 1904, the police
of.New Jersey were not permitted to
make arrests on Sunday. An amend
ment was passed to the blue laws at
that time giving this power to the
biuecoats.
Before acting the police consulted
the judges of the New Jersey courts
and they have held that it would not
he fair n pjnprlo nYit Of
law violators and fail to prosecute
others coming under the blue law
ban.
Therefore the second Sunday in
March, being a fine spring day, the
police yentured forth to gather evil
dence. They did not make any ar
rests, for they found something like
$4,000 violations Of the law and they
didn't half look. Most of the viola
tions were booked in Jersey City and
along the Hudson county boulevard.
The police didn't know where they
could jail $4,000 persons overnight.
The railroads accounted for some
several thousands of violations, for
the trains traversing New Jersey
were busy all day running to and fro.
It is held that all the electric light
and power people, the telephone oper-
ators, the street car conductors and
motormen, dairymen - everybody
were more or less guilty. The cases
will be presented to the grand jury
for its determination. The police have
indisputable evidence OF the viola
tions.
The law provides against dancing,
singing, fiddling or any other music
for the sake Of merriment. This, the
police SAY, includes the radio. The
games prohibited include foot, ball,
ninepins, long bullets and quoits spe-
officially. Base ball gets soaked under
the blanket prohibition of "all other
sports, pastimes or diversions"
The Jersey City theaterS will not
be CLOSED until prosecutions shall also
vfolators.