SUNDAY ENFORCEMENT NEWS AND COMMENT.
[From our correspondent at Washington, D. C.] THREE of the field workers of the Indiana Anti-Saloon League spent Sunday, March 12, in Crawfordsville, Ind., evidently in the interests of Sunday-closing by law. At a mass-meeting in the afternoon one of them said that "unquestionably some young men from Christian homes were at that hour in saloons in Crawfordsville." The mayor was present, and, at the close of the meeting, he came forward and corrected the speaker. He said that the saloons were closed in Crawfordsville on Sunday, and at all hours that the law required. Further inquiry proved the truth of this claim. The mayor said that since September there had been only three arrests for Sunday-law violation. The mayor was elected with the understanding that the laws would be enforced, and he is keeping his word. Some one writing concerning this incident to the Indianapolis News, says that "a crusade of law enforcement [meaning, of course, Sunday-law enforcement] is the crying need of the state of Indiana at the present time." A despatch from Lansing, Mich., under date of March 30, read: "Senator Baird's Sunday-closing bill passed the senate to-day. It is of special interest to grocers, butchers, and keepers of small stores generally. It provides that all shall close on Sundays, and a fine of $25, or ninety days' imprisonment, is carried. Senator Sheldon tried to get the bill amended so as to make cigar stores, pool-rooms, baseball grounds, and theaters subject to its provisions, but the senate refused to support his amendment. The bill was backed by the Retail Merchants' Association of the state." The passage of such a measure as this has been sought for some time by the organized butchers of the state, especially the journeymen. The principal object of the butchers was Sunday-closing in their line, but it seems that7they have united with the grocers, and the bill applies to grocery stores as well as meat shops. It was recently reported from Pittsburg, Pa., that "the Sabbatarian societies, which made so much trouble for the owners of parks last summer, have unmasked their plans, which are to close all the amusement parks on the first day of the week during the coming summer. Woe betide, they say, the manager who attempts any Sunday business this year. Every section of the code of blue laws passed by William Penn will be enforced to the letter, the church people say. Already they have the lid down on everything except the soda fountains and the parks." But, "in spite of the threats of the Sunday people," preparations are being made by its owner for the operation of Kennywood Park, which figured quite prominently in the Sunday-enforcement crusade of the Sunday Observance Association last summer, and which was finally closed up entirely on Sundays. But most of the park operators "are just holding back, awaiting developments." In an address on "Sabbath Observance," before the Central Pennsylvania Methodist Conference, in session at Berwick recently, "Rev. T. T. Mutchler, of Philadelphia, declared that Pennsylvania Germans have an organization, with a voting population of 170,000, pledged to repeal every law upon the statute books safeguarding the sanctity of the Sabbath." More than 5,000,000 men, he stated, by their ordinary toil desecrate each sabbath as it comes around." If he is correct concerning the Pennsylvania Germans, they are, at least in one respect, doing their duty as American citizens; for it is the duty of every American citizen to do what he can for the repeal of "every law upon the statute books safeguarding the sanctity of the Sabbath." Every such law is in plain and flagrant violation of the essential and fundamental principles of Americanism, and in most states is in violation of the organic law of the commonwealth. It is high time that people were pledging themselves to the repeal of these un-American and unconstitutional statutes. Recently, on the strength of the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada respecting the validity of provincial Sunday observance legislation, a Sunday street-car service was inaugurated at Port Arthur. The Port Arthur street-car lines run also through the adjacent municipality of Fort William, and there arose some question as to whether the running of the cars on Sunday was agreeable to the people and municipality of Fort William. So on March 18, after one or two Sundays of the new order of things, a meeting of the Port Arthur railway board was held, and it was decided that it is not the wish of the corporation of Port Arthur to antagonize the sister municipality, and they therefore decided to discontinue the Sunday service, altho the board realized that the recent decision of the Supreme Court gave them the right to operate their cars on Sunday through Fort William, as well as in Port Arthur. "It was decided that, if the people of Fort William wanted the service, they would have to come to Port Arthur and request the board to operate the cars, otherwise the cars will run only to the boundary line." It is said that the operation of the cars through Fort William certainly proved of great benefit to the working classes, and it is not believed it will be long before the Fort William council will ask that the service be resumed. The Pittsburg Leader says: "Special County Detective Robinson and his force of men will put a stop to sports, gambling, and carousing on Sundays in outlying districts this spring." Replying to the recent request of Mayor McClellan, of New York, that he "endeavor to so systematize the work of his department as to do away with street cleaning on Sunday," which request was made in response to "protests from organizations and from the street-cleaners," Street Commissioner Woodbury says: "There are three Sundays in each week observed in this city. The Syrians observe Friday as their Sabbath, the Hebrews Saturday, and the Christians Sunday. We can not stop cleaning the streets three days in every seven. The sweepers and drivers in the department work only half a day every other Sunday. That much work is necessary in order to keep the streets clean." The street-cleaning commissioner recognizes that if the religious holy day of one class of citizens is to be recognized and observed, then in consistency and justice to other classes, the city must show an equal regard for their holy days. It was reported from Elyria, Ohio, on April 4, that "the grand jury now in session will investigate the case of some young men who participated in a game of baseball last Sunday. In open defiance of Prosecutor Stroup's order, the young men played ball." A Sunday-closing law went into effect March 26, at Grandview, Ind. Everything excepting restaurants was included in the town council's order. The Standard, of Albert Lea, Minn., says that petitions are being circulated against golf-playing on Sunday, and against the sale of lemonade on the Chautauqua grounds on that day.