SUNDAY ENFORCEMENT NOTES AND COMMENT.
By Editor
IN the Cleveland Leader of January 9, is an article with this head: "Will Lead His Flock in Giving a Play. Pastor Goes to Theater to Investigate Morals of a Drama. Tells Them It Is All Right." Out of this a bargain was made with the theater to present a new play with the pastor as one of the leading characters, for "the benefit of the church." THE chief of police of Braddock, Pa., has inaugurated a movement looking toward the closing of all stores on Sundays, with the exception of the pharmacies. THE question of the legality of Sunday wedding ceremonies when accompanied by music and dancing has recently been raised and passed upon in Boston, Mass., as the result of an officious attempt at Sunday enforcement. A police captain undertook to forbid and suppress music and dancing at Sunday weddings in the South End section of that city, with the result that a number of cases were put into court and considerable unfavorable comment was created, especially on the part of the Hebrews, who were chiefly affected by this attempt at Sunday enforcement. The protests raised "led to the chairman of the police board calling upon the services of the legal adviser of the board for light upon the law envolved," with the result that the following official statement was issued by the chairman on July 18: "For all charitable or religious entertainments on Sunday at which admission is charged permits are granted by the mayor of Boston. For all religious ceremonies where no admission is charged and music is part of the ceremony no permission is needed, as such ceremonies are allowed by law. Marriage is a religious ceremony, and if music is a part of the ceremony it is allowed by law." That's it. Marriage is a religious ceremony, therefore anything that is a part of the ceremony is allowed by the Sunday law, even tho it is not allowed in connection with other things that are not deemed religious. And yet we are told that there is nothing religious about the Sunday law. It seems that dancing at weddings on Sunday is left under the ban by this official statement on the subject.