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University Daily Kansan Friday, Jan. 13. 1961
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Supreme Court to Consider Constitutionality of Sunday
United Press International
Sometime during the next few months, the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down a decision that could change your way of life.
It will decide whether Sunday is constitutional.
Not Sunday as a day of the week, but Sunday as a day of rest and worship, recognized and protected by law.
Pending before the court are four cases challenging Sunday closing laws in Massachusetts, Maryland and Pennsylvania. But the basic issue is much broader than the specific statutes of these states. It is whether any governmental body in the United States has a constitutional right to accord a special legal status to a day which is considered holy by many but by no means all Americans.
Jewish groups and some small Christian bodies like the Seventh Day Adventists, who observe Saturday as the Sabbath Day, have long contended that Sunday observance laws violate the first amendment's guarantee of governmental neutrality in matters of religion.
In the past, with a single exception, lower courts have upheld the constitutionality of Sunday closing laws. They have ruled that states have a right to enforce a shutdown of general business activity one day a week, not for religious reasons, but to protect the health and welfare of workers. The choice of Sunday for this day of rest may have been prompted originally by the tenets of the Christian faith, the courts have said, but it can now be justified on the grounds of social custom and long-standing tradition.
The single exception was a ruling in 1959 by a Federal Court in Boston. It held Massachusetts' Sunday law unconstitutional on the grounds that it "furnishes special protection to the dominant Christian sects" and discriminates against those who observe a different Sabbath.
Some Washington observers believe there is a better-than-fair chance that a majority of the Supreme Court justices will take the same view as the Massachusetts Court.
If that happens, the relatively small minority of Americans who observe a Saturday Sabbath will feel that a great injustice has been corrected. But the vast majority of Americans—not only the practicing Christians who go to church on Sunday, but also the millions who regard Sunday as sacred to other purposes such as golf, late-sleeping or
University to Get Zoo
BERKELEY, Calif. — (UPI) — The University of California has laid plans for a 20-acre zoo for the use of its psychologists, zoologists and anthropologists.
It isn't that the scientists are getting younger — they will use the zoo to study behavior of fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and small and medium sized mammals of all varieties. The zoo is being financed by a $667,700 grant from the National Science Foundation.
family outings—may find their way of life rudely altered.
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The trend toward "Business-as-usual" on Sunday—which has been very conspicuous in recent years—would doubtless be tremendously accelerated by the total removal of present legal restrictions, however riddled with exceptions and loopholes they are.
Without Sunday closing laws, it is hard to see how downtown department stores, chain groceries and other retail and service businesses could long resist the competitive pressure to keep open seven days a week. And if Sunday becomes just another shopping day for customers,
it will perforce be just another work day for millions of employees.
There may be a way out of the dilemma—a solution that neither destroys Sunday as an institution nor denies the rights of minorities. Twelve states have adopted laws which exempt from compulsory Sunday closing jobs those who observe another day as their holy day of rest.
When a law of this kind was challenged in Ohio in 1959, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the case on the ground that no "substantial federal question"—i.e., no major constitutional issue—was involved.
Colgate University Orders Fraternities To Remove Discriminatory Clauses
The Student Senate of Colgate University has passed a resolution for elimination of fraternity discriminatory clauses by October 1966.
The Intercollegiate Press Bulletin reported that Colgate fraternities which do not meet this deadline will be suspended from the University.
Commenting on the resolution, the Colgate Maroon said:
"By October 1, 1966, all the fraternities presently having restrictive clauses will have had a maximum of five summer conventions in which
Ulcer Factory
BETHEL, Vt. — (UPI) — Town Manager Donald R. Thomas said he resigned to write a book slated to be titled "Life in the Uleer Factory." He said it will deal with "the trials and tribulations of town management."
to act to eliminate the clauses from their nationals.
"If at the end of this period they are unsuccessful, they will probably be forced to go local or be suspended. It is gratifying to see the predominance of the moral concern over the 'comfort' and 'security' of membership in national fraternities. This expression represents a strong oath of loyalty to the University, far outweighing any loyalty to restrictive 'fraternalism'."
Seagondollar to Talk At Tuesday Forum
The last Faculty Forum of the semester will be held Tuesday noon in the English Room of the Kansas Union. L. Worth Seagondollar, professor of physics, will speak on "Modern Weapons."
GETTING DOWN TO CASES . . . WITH AN ELECTRONIC COMPUTER
A young lawyer may spend many years searching through the countless volumes in a law library before he ever gets a chance to plead a case. His job is to research the cases which may provide legal precedent. It's a very necessary but tedious task.
Recently it was demonstrated that an IBM computer could accomplish electronic retrieval of statutory law. Nearly 2,000 statutes pertaining to a specific area of the law were stored in the computer's memory. In response to inquiries, the computer searched its memory at electronic speed and on instructions pointed out either citations or the full text of relevant statutes. This was accomplished in minutes. It might have taken a young lawyer the entire day.
Putting computers to work in unusual ways is not new at IBM. Computers are now doing remarkable jobs in interesting and important areas of business, industry science and government.
If you are interested in a company that offers you an exciting career with virtually unlimited growth potential, then you should investigate IBM. Positions are open in research, development, programming and manufacturing.
The IBM representative will be glad to discuss any one of these fields with you. Your placement office can give you further information and arrange for an appointment. Or you may write, outlining your background and interests, to: Manager of Technical Employment, IBM Corporation, 590 Madison Avenue, New York 22, N.Y.
You naturally have a better chance to grow with a growth company. IBM will interview February 9 and 10.
IBM