The Perils of Sunday-Closing Laws
By Editor
We do not know how much the National Municipal League is lending itself to the church-and-state regime, born under the National Reform roof tree, and nurtured by the Federation of Churches. It looks, however, as tho it were yielding itself to become one of the branches. In its sheet sent out under date of October 17, it asks this question: “Has your city a Sunday-closing law? Is or can the law be enforced?” We would like to suggest to the National Municipal League that the powers of government are purely civic and never ought to enter the religious field at all. Sunday is a religious institution. If it is designed by these questions to help promote temperance legislation, we would say that the only true temperance is temperance seven days in the week. To pass a temperance law for one day of the week is not to honor temperance, but rather to enthrone the saloon. The design of such a law is always to specialize and exalt a day.