Sunday Closing of Saloons
A CAMPAIGN to close the saloons on Sunday is in progress in Kansas City, Mo. The movement is being pushed by the clergy of the city, on the ground that it is not religious in character, but wholly a “civic, moral, and economical” move; but this view seems not to be shared by the lady president of the Young People’s Union, who at a public meeting gave the following four reasons for Sunday closing:— First, because God says so; second, because the fourth commandment says so; third, because the State of Missouri by statute says so; fourth, because the ordinances of the city say so. Most people of this day have such a vague idea as to what God says, or what the fourth commandment says, that they are not prepared to dispute the assertion that there is something said in the divine prohibitions about Sunday saloons. The use of such arguments only shows the general ignorance of God’s Word which prevails both among would-be teachers of the people and among those whom they would instruct. The more any candid person will study God’s Word in general and the fourth commandment in particular, the less will such a person feel inclined to condemn an act simply because it is performed on Sunday.