The Charlotte News
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1938
TWO EDITORIALS
Advices from Barcelona said there were 158 war orphan children among those killed. They were in the basement of an old church on which the planes scored four direct hits.
* * *
So, in part, runs the Associated Press account of the bombing of Barcelona by General Franco's planes Sunday.
This General Franco, you will remember, is, according to his own profession, leading the Italo-Germano-Morisco assault on his country because of his will to save the Church from destruction at the hands of the Red atheists. Nor is it only General Franco who says it. The Pope himself has said as much, and tacitly has given General Franco his official blessing. Which is why, we take it, that General Franco's planes are using churches crowded with children as their targets, although, truly, that doesn't seem to make much sense.
The Ministerial Association has a meeting scheduled for this afternoon to decide what to do about the Council's modification of the Blue Laws. Indications are, it is said, that a delegation will appear at the Council meeting tomorrow to ask that the action be rescinded and the ordinance re-stated as it was.
Well, we don't believe the Council is going to take anything back, so that the ministerial appeal probably won't do any good. But besides that we hope the ministers themselves decide, on the sheer indignity of their case, against appealing. Much as they may attempt to hallow their argument and to make it a question of morality or immorality, it comes down to this: that they are doing their best to invoke the lawmaking power to prohibit grown men and women from playing golf or tennis in the city on Sunday and from going to baseball games on Sunday.
They never got any such precept from the life or the teachings of the Master they serve. And even if they had, and even if they succeeded in enforcing the sanctity of the Sabbath by having recourse to the police power, it would be a very grudging sanctity they would obtain.
Framed Edition
Links-Date -- Links-Subj.