Prohibition and Sunday Laws.
By T.
WHY is it that we always find lurking in the prohibition movement such a strong sentiment in favor of Sunday laws? Why is it that prohibition, which is in itself one of the greatest blessings that could come to the whole country, has so many political and semi-political questions continually mixed with it by the majority of its leading advocates? If we could have prohibition put before the whole country on its merits, it should carry the support of all who are now advocating it, and would gather a vast army besides among those who fear the outcome of these political and purely religious measures that are so generally linked with it.11 From the standpoint of economy pure and simple, the state has sufficient grounds to abolish the liquor traffic, instead of licensing it. From the standpoint of debauchery of its citizens, the state has more than sufficient grounds for the abolishing of the liquor traffic. And among other things that might be mentioned, the state has sufficient grounds for abolishing the traffic because of the miseries and sufferings that strong drink thrusts upon the unfortunate members of the drunkard's family. But when the question of Sunday observance, for instance, is brought into the campaign for prohibition, there are a great many strong temperance advocates who are cut off from the work because they can not indorse this religious legislation. For, deny the fact as you may, it still remains the truth that Sunday is purely and solely a religious institution. And it is impossible to put it rightfully on any other ground. There is a good deal of talk about a "civil Sunday," and of compelling people by law to rest on that day. But a man's time is his own, and he has an inalienable right to spend it as he chooses, so long as he does not interfere with the equal right of another individual to spend his time as he chooses. The tyranny that would be brought in by laws that regulate how a man may spend his God-given time would be incalculable. It is a system of paternalism that is altogether wrong. Wherever it has been attempted, it has worked hardship and suffering. And temperance reforms as well as all other reforms should be free from such things that will in the end work oppression. We have no sympathy with the so-called "personal liberty" idea, which means the untrammeled liberty to degrade and debauch mankind. But the question of the observance of a day of rest or the non-observance of the day is a question, not between man and his fellow man, but between man and his God. All of the history of Sunday observance and all the sentiment that clusters around that day are essentially religious. You take the religious sentiment away from the day and no one would think of such a thing as compelling people to rest on that day. And hence laws can not be enacted in regard to Sunday without bringing in the religious idea. It is often said that history repeats itself. Then let it ever be remembered that the apostasy that led up to the Dark Ages had as one of its main pillars the Sunday law of Constantine. Constantine's Sunday law and his state religion combined were not able to prevent the superstitions and the ignorance and the subserviency that made those Dark Ages a possibility. Indeed, the mental and moral slavery that was brought about by having the individual tied up at every turn with some sort of law or state-enforced ceremony was the direct result of that church-and-state system. We need to be devotedly on our guard that we do not go over the same ground in this very twentieth century of unparalleled progress and great enlightenment. T.