Sunday-Law Enforcement in Arkansas
By Leslie Littell
The Sunday laws of Arkansas have been construed to prohibit the sale of a cigar, a glass of lemonade, or a piece of pie, etc. The enforcement of the Sunday law is in evidence all over the state. In Benton County all the towns but one have the Sunday lid down tight. The judge instructed the grand jury to indict all “Sabbath-breakers.” Indictments were brought for selling meals, bread, milk, cigars, etc. One man was fined $3.25 for stretching a single wire four rods across a gap in his fence caused by a horse breaking in on Sunday, and $3.25 for straightening up the plants the horse had rolled down. It seems about time to resurrect the old blue law which fined a man for kissing his wife on Sunday. The clerk of the supreme court, in a letter addressed to me, made the following statement: “The statute, however, is very plain, tho it is violated openly, almost everywhere. Its enforcement depends upon the sentiment of the people.” Sunday laws, not having truth or justice for a foundation, can only be enforced by “the sentiment of the people.” But “the sentiment of the people” nailed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to the cross.