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Show SABBATH BREAKING. Open Violation on lie Laws by the Public, Some Questions Propounded to Officials. Editors Herald: To a fellow up a tree it seems that in this communiiy, as well aa on the outside, Sabbath breaking has become chrooic, and to such an extent has this gone that all our municipal and territorial statutes on the subject are dead letters. Our officials, especially tee territorial ones, aie either incom petent or negligent, as they fail to take cognizance cf most notorious breaches of the law. Our Salt Lake city ordinance sajs: "Any person who shall participate in aoy kind of publio amueement, or annecesiary business or labor within ibe limits of said city, on the first day ol the week, commonly called Sunday, shall be liable to a fine in any sum not exceeding $100, or to imprisonment not exceeding three mouths, or to both fine and imprisonment." Revised ordinances, page 64, Sec. 28. the territorial statute says: "Every person who keeps open on Sunday any store, workshop, bar, saloon.bankiog, house or other place of business for the purpose of transacting bueiutad therein, is punishable by fine not less than five nor more than one hundred dollars." Compiled laws, page 600, sec. 150. And again: " Every person who perlorms any unnecessary labor or does any unnecessary business on Sunday is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined in any sum not exceeding Iwenty.fivedollarB." Ibid, page 600, Sec. 154. Now, in regard to the statute quoted above in reference to keeping open places of business on Sunday, we find specially mentioned, "bar. saloon." I have no wish to haul the city officers over the coals on this question, but only those of tbe terri tory or counties. In this county, just south of the city, are saloons running every Bund ay; beer and other drinks can be obtained at tbe the different pleasure resorts. In Tooele county, at Lake Point, there is a bar which runs openly on Sundays. No attempt is made at concealment, and not even an effort is made to limit the trade to a few; but every person, male or female, old or young, can there obtain all and every kind ol intoxicating beverage bev-erage he or she may wish. Is this conducive to good morals? Djes this make good citizens? Where are the men eleoted by the franchises of Salt Lake and Tooele counties that they do not stop this Suoday traffic? Do they wish for reflection? If bo they must suppress it. A word about the other statutes quoted. They both refer to uoneces sary labor on Sunday. Oue is municipal, muni-cipal, one territorial, consequently what I now say will hit both the city and Ibe county officers. There is a railroad which advertises in the papers that it runs train daily, Suudaya excepted. ex-cepted. Yet this very road is now, and has been for some time, running a train on Suoday afternoons, to take people who wish to go where? To Lake Point, the place before mentioned, men-tioned, where they can obtain the poi-1 poi-1 son they cannot get in the city. The ; running of this train comes clearly within the meaning of the statutes against unnecessary labor. There is no necessity for running a train over that road on Sunday evening to accommodate a few bathers sod whisky drinkers. Every man engaged in running the train can be arrested and fined by the municipal authori-j ties for doing unnecessary labor, find every person who boards the train to indulge his appetite for amusement on that day is liable to arrest and punishment by the same authorities for breaking tho same ordinance. It the municipal authorities submit tamely to the infraction in-fraction of the ordinance the parties are still liable under the territorial statute. Why do we retaiu men in office who will not observe their oath of office and keep the majesty of the law intact by arresting every person who breaks it? And if the statutes are intended to become obsolete, why do not the legislators repeal and ex punge them from the statute books? CrruEN. |