Show Sunday and the Fair I Some of the truly pious papers notably the New York Mail and Express are bewailing be-wailing the opening of the Worlds fair last Sunday and calling for its future closing by force of law As will be seen from dispatches to THE HERALD the State of Illinois has some rights in the Premises and has something to say on this question as well as the Federal gov rnment The probability is that the fair will be opened again tomorrow and for several Sundays in succession if not during dur-ing the whole term of the exposition TIle Nail and Express thinks that if the Attorney General had performed his duty the government would have revented the shameful desecration of the Lords day at Chicago and the no less shameful violation of a written con tract Ifc is a pity that these very zealous religious papers do not appreciate the true position and sphere of the gov rnmenton such matters The desecration of the Lords day at Chicago is not a subject with which the eneral government has anything to do l f it belongs to any civil authority it is with the municipal officers of that city or with the State of Illinois The Attorney General or any other officer of the government govern-ment is not in it all What right has tho ational power to interfere in municipal affairs or to make any recognition of the Lords day which is n religious designation designa-tion and outside the scope of civil government ernment As to the violation of a written con tract if there is anything of the kind between the government and the Worlds fair commission the attorney general would have the right to say something Ve understand that Congress imposed a condition that such appropriations as should be made for the exposition should be upon the condition that the said exposition ex-position shall not be open on the first day of the week commonly called Sunday We do not see how this can be called a contract It takes at least two parties to make a contract They must be agreed to its conditions and both sign the agreement We do not know of any written promise on the part of the commissioners I com-missioners to comply with this condition imposed by Congress so the charge of violation of a written con tract does not seem to be any more sub stantial than the supposed obligation ol a government to enforce the observance of i the Lords day The Worlds Fair commission are under obligation to obey the laws of the state in which the exposition is held A court of the state has decided that they may not close the gates on Sunday The citi zeus of the state have rights on those grounds occupied by the Fair and may not be excluded That is something the commissioners cannot ignore Whether Congress had any right to impose im-pose that Sunday condition is a very serious seri-ous question Whether that body had any right to appropriate money for the Worlds Fair is another It would take a iretty good lawyer to find any power to do either in the national Constitution and the pietists had better not be too anxious to invoke the authorities of the United States in reference to a subject that savors too much of mingling the affairs af-fairs of religion with the affairs of state |