The Sixtieth Congress and Some Important Movements in Washington, D. C.
By K. C. R.
DECEMBER 5, only three days after the opening of the Sixtieth Congress, two Sunday bills were introduced into the House of Representatives, one by Mr. Amos L. Allen, of Maine, H. R. 4897, which reads as follows:— “A Bill to further protect the first day of the week as a day of rest in the District of Columbia. “Whereas, There has recently been an increase not only of traffic, but also of hard labor on Sunday in the national capital, including the public filling and driving of dirt carts, to the great offense of Christian and humane citizens; and,— “Whereas, The President has been appealed to by philanthropic societies of the city to suppress this Sunday toil ordered by contractors for government work and others, and has regretfully said that there is no law that would enable him to do so; and,— “Whereas, The following bill has been twice approved in previous Congresses by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia; therefore,— “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall not be lawful for any person to keep open any place of business or maintain a stand for the sale of any article or articles of profit during Sunday, excepting venders of books and newspapers, and apothecaries for the dispensing of medicines, and undertakers for the purpose of providing for the dead, or others for the purpose of charity or necessity; nor shall any public playing of football or baseball or any other kind of playing, sports, pastimes, or diversions disturbing the peace and quiet of the day, be practised by any person or persons within the District of Columbia on Sunday; nor shall any building operations or work upon railroad construction be lawful upon said day; and for any violation of this Act the person offending shall for each offense be liable to a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, and in the case of corporations there shall be a like fine for every person employed in violation of this Act laid upon the corporation offending. “SEC. 2.— That it shall be a sufficient defense to a prosecution for labor on the first day of the week that the defendant uniformly keeps another day of the week as a day of rest, and that the labor complained of was done in such a manner as not to interrupt or disturb other persons in observing the first day of the week as a day of rest. This Act shall not be construed to prevent the sale of refreshments other than malt or spirituous liquors, or to prevent the sale of malt and spirituous liquors as now provided by the law, or tobacco, cigars, railroad and steamboat tickets, “or the collection and delivery of baggage.” The other bill, H. R. 4929, which was introduced by Mr. J. Thomas Heflin, of Alabama, the same day, for the District of Columbia, reads as follows:— “A bill prohibiting labor on buildings, and so forth, in the District of Columbia on the Sabbath day. “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no labor in constructing buildings, or railroads, or hauling material therefor, shall be permitted in the District of Columbia on the Sabbath day. “SEC. 2.— That any person who permits such labor to be performed on his property, or who shall perform in any way such labor as is described in Section One of this Act, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than five hundred dollars. That all laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.” Monday, December 9, Senator Penrose, of Pennsylvania, introduced Senate bill No. 1519, entitled, “A Bill to Prevent Sunday Banking in Post-offices in the Handling of Money-Orders and Registered Letters,” which reads as follows:— “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That the issuing and paying of money-orders, and the registering of letters and delivery of registered mail on Sundays, is hereby prohibited in the mail service of the United States.” It will be remembered by many readers of the REVIEW that all three of these bills were introduced into the Fifty-ninth Congress, but failed to pass. If the first few days of this session of Congress are an index of what is to follow in the way of proposed Sunday legislation, the record will be unparalleled by any previous session. A few weeks ago the Ministerial Association of Washington, D. C., and the Roman Catholic clergy held a mass-meeting to organize a campaign for the purpose of securing a Sunday law for the District of Columbia. From this movement our people and the Jews were expressly excluded. From the foregoing it will be seen that it will require a united and vigorous effort on the part of our people throughout the country to educate the citizens and properly meet these issues. We are now preparing petition blanks and appropriate literature, dealing with these movements and measures. As soon as this matter is published, it will be sent out to the different conferences. We hope to have the co-operation of all in meeting these vital issues. K. C. R.