Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · February 16, 1893

COMMENTING on the growing tendency toward the strict enforcement of Sunday laws in this city the New York Sun says:

Many of the Jewish people living here, who keep their own Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, complain of the wrongfulness of enforcing the Sunday law against them, thus compelling them to refrain from business and labor during two days of every week or more than one-quarter of each month.

Two Jewish storekeepers have been arrested this week for selling goods on Sunday, and both of them were held in bail by the Justice of the Jefferson Market Court. Two Jewish manufacturers were also arrested this week for running their factories on Sunday, and both of them were discharged by the Justice of the Tombs Police Court. The respective Justices differed in their interpretation of the laws. It is evident from these facts that the Sunday laws are in an unsatisfactory state. In holding the two storekeepers on Monday, Justice Koch told them that he regretted the necessity of doing so. “No law,” he said, “should exist which discriminates between people of different religions. You people keep your Sabbath, and a law obliging you to stop business on another day, and thus lose two days in the week, appears to me unjust.”

In this city the Jews, who now number over one-sixth of the whole population, are desirous of securing a revision of the Sunday laws, and some of the leading men among them are preparing to seek relief from the State legislature.

The Sun has heretofore indicated the correct basis upon which relief should be had,—namely the entire repeal of all Sunday laws. But if this should be asked of the State legislature would the Sun now uphold this large proportion of the population in its just and wise request? Some late editorial utterances of the Sun go to show that it would not.