New Jersey’s Sunday Law and Temperance
While New Jersey is the recognized home and foster-mother of most of the great trusts and many other corrupt corporations, it has the credit of having a good Sunday law. Theoretically, it ought to counteract all the evils of such institutions, rather than to encourage them; at least that is the doctrine that is being advocated in California as an inducement for a state Sunday law. The Sunday law is to be the great purifier and disinfectant of all branches of society; but it has no undisputed testimonials from other states. Even Utah Mormonism sustains its Sunday law. New Jersey's Sunday law makes the buyers as well as the sellers of liquors amenable to the law, which is at least equitable; but all Sunday-closing laws make the liquor traffic and its auxiliaries legitimate six days in the week. How temperance advocates can favor legislation giving the business the dignity of legal support six-sevenths of the time is a mystery.