The key to their success was two-fold --- first, they were rarely enforced down to the last letter; and second, nearly everyone agreed that one day set aside each week for rest and recuperation was a good idea, even if it didn't involve going to church.
Going into June, 1883, the Sunday morning scene in Chariton probably was similar to that in nearly every other town in the state --- a few stores, shops and eating places were open for a couple of hours in spite of laws forbidding it.
That all changed briefly in Chariton during the first week of June when the City Council for reasons that are not clear adopted a resolution ordering its meager police force to enforce the Sunday closing ordinance strictly and encouraging citizens to report neighbors in violation of it.
That resulted in the following commentary, published in The Democrat-Leader of June 13:
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Curses, deep and loud, were freely indulged in on last Sunday morning in Chariton, on account of the enforcement of one of the city ordinances which provides ---
"That it shall be unlawful for any person, within the city, on the day commonly called Sunday, to sell, show, or expose for sale, any kind of goods, wares, merchandise, wines, malt or spiritous liquors, or chattels of any kind, or to open to any one any room, shop or saloon where malt or spiritous liquors are kept for sale.
"The provisions of this ordinance shall not be construed as preventing works of charity or of necessity.
"It shall be unlawful for any person, within the limits of the city, to purchase, on Sunday, any article or thing which by this ordinance is prohibited from being sold on Sunday."
But the curses came only from the ungodly portion of the community, those who are so void of moral and religious training that they do not know what a heinous crime it is to purchase, on Sunday, a morning paper, a cigar, a loaf of bread, a quart of milk, a few fresh rolls, a nice dish of ice cream, a glass of lemonade, a piece of fresh meat out of a refrigerator, or anything else which is calculated to produce contentment and happiness on the "day of rest."
It is high time this ungodly element in the community should be taught a lesson that they will not forget. They should be taught the great lesson that Sunday is not a day of rest and recreation from the toils and cares of the week, but that it should be observed as a day when men are required to crucify their bodies for the good of their souls.
The city council have addressed themselves to the task of teaching the people of this community that Sunday must be observed according to the peculiar views and notions of those who make the question of morals their daily study through the six days of the week, and who on Sunday devote their energies to delving into the Divine law as contained in the latest "revised edition," and formulating therefrom a code of religious rules from which there can be no appeal.
It is high time the ungodly element in this city should waken up to the fact that, instead of cursing these great and good teachers of morals, they should learn to look unto them with confidence and reverence and adopt their views with becoming meekness and humility.
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There's no indication in subsequent newspaper issues that anyone actually was charged with violating the Sunday ordinance and after a week or two, the usual Sunday morning routine resumed.
The whole thing proved to have been a tempest in a teapot, but one that would erupt again now and then as the years passed, most often when large numbers of people developed the urge to do something forbidden together on a Sunday afternoon --- like play football or attend a movie.
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