Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-25
Matter of Faith

AS the mother OF i've
young children, I had long
ago concluded that living is
a 24-hour-day, 7-day-week,
365-day-year affair. Just as
each heart works and rests
alternately, so each life fol-
lows its own rhythm of work
and rest. What could be
more human or American?
But some of us, having
found certain patterns of life
good, unfairly wish to i'm
pose them on others. Be-
cause some wish not to work
on Sunday, others must not
according to a recently pro-
posed laW)-unless they file
an affidavit with the police
that they observe a different
Sabbath. Certain activities
which provide recreation IA
cilities and arbitrarily decid-
ed essentials would be
exempted from this law. Zone
mans recreation is another
mans vocation.) However,
the employees involved, be
they three or three hundred,
must get their day of rest as
best they may.
In all fairness to the var
ious groups involved - such
as mothers, hospital attend
ants, policemen, firemen, re-
porterS, high Government Of
ficials, minority religious
groups, druggists, gas station
operators, ministers, doctors,
janitors and the LIKE pro-
pose that all of us observe a
five-day week. At the stroke
of midnight on Friday every
thing would go on "auto-
matte pilot" so to speak. Any
activity that would involve
anyone's work would be post
poned until Sunday at mid
night. This would entail
quite a few changes, but hav-
ing everyone work and rest
at the same time would be
worth the effort. Or would
it be better to allow each
human being to live his own
life as his conscience directs?
jeanne Moreland.
The proposed new blue law
in Maryland to establish Sum-
day as a day of "rest, recrea-
ton and family activities"
should really be labeled as a
bill to stifle competition and
penalize the progressive, am
bilious businessman.
This bill is being pushed by
several groups Of retail mer-
chants who are refusing to
accept sociological and eco
nomic changes taking place in
our society. AS the spokesman
for one of these groups point
ed out and, unwittingly made
one of the best arguments
against the bill, Of those mer-
chants who are open on Sum-
day 500 of their weekly bust
ness is done on this day. Thus
Sunday openings serve a def
mite consumer need and has
strong public support. To force
Sunday closing would be a
public disservice and turning
the clock backward. Those
legislators who vote for Sum-
day closing should realize
they are voting anti-public to
satisfy a few vociferous pres
sure groups.
With the extensive appli-
cability of the 40-hour-week
and the trend to a consider
ably shorter work-week, such
a law is not needed to protect
the workingman. Any person
in business can voluntarily
close on Sunday or any other
day II he wishes. No law tells
him he must stay open on
Sunday. The need to legis-
late a day of rest, recreation
and family activities is thus
totally unnecessary and an
unwarranted interference Of
the State with the working
of our free, competitive eco
nCinlc system.
Sidney Hatkin.
+ 4 Il 4
Now that new efforts are
being made to get blue laws"
revised and reactivated, I ask,
What happened to the sep
araticn of church and state
and what did it mean, any
way?"
I hold no brief for today's
business man who wants to
operate on Sunday, nor dc I
hold any against him; but I
am quite well disguised with
today's hypocrites who set
aside one day a week to be
religious Cor one hour a week
for some. Have you ever been
caught in an after-church