More Sunday Bills Before Congress
By L. A. S.
THE present session of Congress has been marked by the introduction of two bills calling for legislation establishing Sunday observance in the District of Columbia. The first of these bills was introduced in the House of Representatives, Nov. 24, 1903. It is a bill “to further protect the first day of the week as a day of rest in the District of Columbia,” and provides as follows:— Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall not be lawful for any person to keep open any place of business or maintain a stand for the sale of any article or articles for profit during Sunday, excepting vendors of books or newspapers, and apothecaries for the dispensing of medicines, and undertakers for the purpose of providing for the dead, or others for the purposes of charity or necessity; nor shall any public playing of football or baseball, or any other kind of playing, sports, pastimes, or diversions, disturbing the peace and quiet of the day, be practised by any person or persons within the District of Columbia on Sunday; nor shall any building operations or work upon railroad construction be lawful upon said day. And for any violation of this Act the person offending shall for each offense be liable to a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, and in the case of corporations there shall be a like fine for every person employed in violation of this Act laid upon the corporation offending. SECTION 2.— That it shall be a sufficient defense to a prosecution for labor on the first day of the week that the defendant uniformly keeps another day of the week as a day of rest, and that the labor complained of was done in such a manner as not to interrupt or disturb other persons in observing the first day of the week as a day of rest. This Act shall not be construed to prevent the sale of refreshments, other than malt or spirituous liquors, or to prevent the sale of malt and spirituous liquors as now provided for by law, or tobacco,5cigars, railroad and steamboat tickets, or the collection and delivery of baggage. The second Sunday bill was presented in the House, Feb. 4, 1904, its title being, “A Bill Requiring Certain Places of Business in the District of Columbia to Be Closed on Sunday.” It reads:— Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be unlawful for any person in the District of Columbia to sell or to offer for sale, or to keep open any place of business for the sale or delivery of, any groceries or fruits or meats or vegetables or other provisions on Sunday, except that from the first day of June until the first day of October meats sold prior to Sunday may be delivered at any time before ten o’clock of the morning of that day. Any person who shall violate the provisions of this Act shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than fifty dollars for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the jail of the District of Columbia for a period of not less than one month nor more than three months, or by both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. SECTION 2.— That all prosecutions for violations of this Act shall be in the police court of the District of Columbia and in the name of the District of Columbia. These bills were referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. The first one represents the work of the Reform Bureau operated in this city by Rev. W. F. Crafts. The second one comes from a different source, and represents the effort of the local butchers and grocers to secure by law the opportunity to close up on Sunday without suffering pecuniary loss. A hearing on this bill was given by the District Commissioners, February 16. The butchers and grocers organized respectively into the Retail Butchers’ and Meat Dealers’ Protective Association and the Retail Grocers’ Protective Association, were represented at the hearing by several attorneys. No opponent of the bill was present at the hearing, and no opposition to it was expressed. The arguments presented in favor of Sunday closing of the butcher and grocer shops were of the usual nature. “The speeches,” says a press report, “were all to the effect that the butchers and grocers are a hard-working class, and should be allowed to observe Sunday as a day of rest.” It was declared that unless a uniform Sunday-closing law is in force, those dealers who close up their places of business on Sunday will be put at a disadvantage in the competition for trade. At the close of the hearing, it is stated, the commissioners promised to give careful consideration to the arguments, and announce a decision later. The only reason why butchers and grocers are not now “allowed” (as they express it) to close their shops on Sunday, is the fear that they would by so doing incur some financial loss. Rather than incur some loss of money themselves they will force others to incur the loss of liberty which their proposed law involves. If there are butchers or grocers who observe the seventh day, they must incur the loss of one sixth of their remaining time, with its proportion of trade, in order that the Sunday closers may not incur any loss. It will be noted that the bill contains no exemption for observers of the seventh day. It is safe to say that no labor union Sunday law will make any such exemption. It is not at all unlikely that a favorable report on this bill will be returned by the District commissioners, as it is known that there is an influential sentiment in that body in favor of Sunday closing. Thus it is not improbable that success may now crown the oft-repeated effort to secure a Sunday law from Congress for the District of Columbia, and the long-sought precedent established of which advocates of a national Sunday law are ready to make much use. Thus are events hastening us on to the fulfilment of that for which we have been looking since this religio-political movement was begun.