p. 286, para. 1 | Untitled article

Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · September 15, 1892

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 7, No. 36

COMMISSIONER DOUGLASS, of Washington, D. C., received recently an application from a retail grocer requesting permission to keep his store open on Sundays, as his stock was perishable, and to close his store on that day would cause him great loss.

A subordinate officer to whom the matter was referred, stated in his indorsement on the papers that there is no law to keep the store closed on Sunday, and recommended that he be allowed to keep open, as requested. Commissioner Douglass, however, wrote the following on the subject:—

“The letter asking permission to keep a grocery-store open on Sunday for the sale of ‘perishable’ articles, such as meats, etc., was duly received, and referred to the Police Department. It has been returned, with a favorable recommendation by Lieut. Kelley. The lieutenant says that there is no law to prevent the doing so. I am not so sure there is no law to prevent this. In the first place, the Decalogue seems to forbid it. In the second place, by early and late common law decisions in England, Christianity has been held to be a part of the common law of that country.”