Sunday Laws and Church Attendance
Recently a bootblack in Springfield, Mass., was fined five dollars, not simply for “shining” a pair of shoes on Sunday, but for “shining” them after ten o’clock on Sunday—“shining” shoes at the very hour he ought to have been at church, or at least on his way there. If a part of Sunday is more “sacred” than another part it would seem that it must be the portion usually devoted to public services in the churches. This is no modern innovation invented by the modern preacher to induce people to go to church. No sir; it was so in the time of Constantine and subsequently. It was so in England as much as two centuries ago, and it is becoming more and more apparent in our own country. We suppose that this is one reason why some people think that the prime object of Sunday laws is to encourage attendance at church by discouraging everything else. But perish the thought! Anybody who wants to can easily see that in demanding a law prohibiting the “shining” of shoes on Sunday the preachers are actuated only by the desire to promote the bootblack’s physical good. Anybody can see from the haggard look on their faces that they need rest, and if they won’t take it voluntarily they must be compelled to take it or to pay roundly for their wilfulness.