Sunday Laws and Grand Larceny
THE religious legislationists declare that “It is grand larceny to take away the toilers’ weekly rest-day.” Even if that were true, nobody can commit such larceny, because nobody can take away the toilers’ weekly rest-day. Every man can have his rest-day who wants it bad enough to take it; and nobody can take it away from him. So nobody can ever commit any such larceny. But if it be grand larceny to take from the toiler his rest-day which nobody can do, then what is it for the government, under pains and penalties, to take away from the industrious citizen his work day, which these people by their Sunday law propose to do. Because, from the man who has taken his weekly rest-day on another day than Sunday, they intend to have the government to take away one of his work days. They propose under cover of governmental power to rob such a man of one-sixth of his income as a tribute to their ideas of the sacredness of Sunday. This is not only grand larceny in fact, it is so with tyranny added.