Erased Oregon’s “Blue Law”
By Editor
ONE of the issues in the political campaign in Oregon was the repeal of the Sunday “blue law” of that state. For years, they have had a Sunday law on their statute books that was drastic in its provisions, but public sentiment was such that it remained a dead letter. A year or more ago, several individuals started some prosecutions for the violation of the Sunday law, and sought to create sentiment that would even give the state a more stringent law than the one already on the statute books. The liberty-loving citizens of the state arose in a strong protest against the measure, and an initiative proposition was put on the ballot to have the law repealed. A telegram from Pastor H. W. Cottrell, who was one of the most prominent leaders in the campaign of education, informs us that the initiative measure, by a majority of 32,163, carried the old “blue law” off the statutes. Such campaigns are very educative in their nature. They assist a constantly increasing number of people to see that there is no foundation whatever in the Bible for Sunday sacredness, that it is purely a man-made institution, and that to endeavor to fix its observance upon the people by civil enactment is wrong. Still, while we have this enlightenment upon the subject, we nevertheless know that religion will yet be united with the state as never before, and the Sunday measure will be the great corner stone of the religio-political structure. But the facts must be kept before the world, so that in the impending controversy, men may take their stand intelligently.