The Sunday Law in Massachusetts.
A recent decision of the Supreme Court in Massachusetts has again revived the Sunday question in that State. The decision was rendered in a case of the State against a tobacconist for keeping his place of business open on Sunday. Prior to A. D. 1887, Massachusetts had quite a strict Sunday law, but that year it was very much modified, and while as it now stands it absolutely forbids the keeping open of some places of business it allows others to remain open. For instance, one clause permits the sale of drugs and medicines and articles ordered by the prescription of physicians, also mechanical appliances used by physicians or surgeons. Taking advantage of this provision, the druggists resumed their Sunday sale of cigars and sundry other articles. A druggist was arrested and tried for violating the law because he sold tobacco, but the court and jury decided that tobacco was a drug and could be sold on Sunday. “The retail cigar dealers being, unfortunately, mostly Hebrews, therefore unable,” as the Boston Post puts it, “to understand the niceties of the Yankee conscience, could not see why it was they could not sell cigars as well as the druggist,” and one of them determined to test the question, and so sold cigars and tobacco on Sunday. He was promptly arrested, tried, and fined. He took an appeal, but the Supreme Court sustained the decision of the lower courts in his case. While we do not approve the use of tobacco in any form, it is difficult to see why cigars are any worse sold by a Hebrew than by a Christian, so called. But this is only another illustration of the inherent injustice of Sunday laws. It is to be hoped that this will enable the law makers in Massachusetts to see that it is impossible to regulate Sunday-keeping by law.