Year: 1879

The Sunday Dallies. Some Rea-


sons why they are Objection


able.


All history and statistics are on the
side of those who ask that Sunday shall
be day OF rest, 70 say the least. It is
not good thiDg-reasoning still from
purely secular premises-thRt the daily
paper should bring its two or three col
umps of gossip about real estate opera
tions to Hook on Sunday morning; its
half page of political intelligence and
speculation to such party>wOrkers as
Giddings; Its markets reports to the
CON mission merchant who staid at his
desk until nine O'Clock Saturday night


making out accounts Of sales; its chit
chat about surprise parties, and soirees,
and marriage engagements and milii-
merry openings to Miss Gabrielle; its
deck load Of advertisements and busi-
ness announcements to the men and


women who buy and sell and seek en-
ployment. These people live in the
close atmosphere of these things all the


week. They ought not to live in 1t all
day Sunday too. For that day Brid-
gets mistress needs to put the thought
of kitchen connections out of her mind
Just rs much as she can. Saying moth
ing, still, about the religious uses of the
day, for purely prudential reasons that
sort Uf a rest-day is needed which shall
lift the politician out of his politics, the
belle out of her social irivolities, the
merchant out of his traffic, the lawyer
out of the courtroom, the farmer out
OF his hsrvest-feld. 1t is not q small
thing that the daily paper, for the sake
of swelling little the profits Of its
lcounting-room, take the wrong side in
this matter. and tempts men to keep
grinding, in thought and talk, through
the Sunday hours at the wheel Of week
day occupation. The result is the worse
since VEGAS people, so far as we make
any difference in week days, crowd
Saturday fuller of work and care than
any other, instead of following the
wholesome custom of English and Ger
man life in making it chiefly holiday.


We are the last people in the world
who can afford to secularize their Sun
days.


But the Christian man who weighs
the matter we'll finds much graver OBJ
lection to the Sunday daily. His no
tiOns of Sunday observance may be
strict or liberal-fashioned by the leg
islation of Moses or the example of
Christ. He may think it wrong to
patrenize street-car in going to church
or he may think it better that dozen
families take one car and thus relieve
the drivers of q dozen private carriages
from so much Sunday labor. In their
|opinions on q hundred minor matters
concerning the right observance of the
day Christian people differ. But on
this underlying principal all are
|agreed-that it i5 q day divinely set
apart to rest from worldly work and
care,a day specially reserved for spirit
ual uses. The atmosphere of the daily
paper, laden with the exhalations of
the police court, the ball ground, the
caucus and the stock exchange, is not
the atmosphere of that better life to
which our Sundays rightfully belong.
1t 10 bad enough to be oblighed to
breathe 1t so constantly six dsygout OF
the seven. 1t would be strange thing
to make this necessary immersion in it
a reason why we should not try while
we can to get for few hours upon a
purer height. Not that Christian prin-
ciples and the Christian life are uneon-
|cerned with the police court and the
auction room. The trouble Is that the
daily paper does not approach these
secular affairs from that direction. An
editorial or two in semi-religious vein
q story of goodish flavor, the review of
of new volume of sermons, a column
or two of religious intelligence cannot
Ieavea such lump. 1t is the week
day, worldly-minded, pleasure-seeking
taste for which the Sunday daily main
ly caters. Leave out the dime novel;
ish details of accident and crime, the
fashion letters, the petty social gossip.
the sporting news, the busines intelli-
gence, the kilograms, and contributions
and editorials of a purely secular sort.
and 1t could not live a fortnight. To
say that il meets a demand-whieh it
finds or makes-proves nothing. Ths
same logic would fling open and multi
ply beer'gardens, and cireuses, and
gambling saloons, for Sunday resorts.
III. B. T. Marsh, in Sunday afternoon for
Fehrnary