16 
The main defence of the Sunday rest is the popular reverence 
for the day. Break down this defence and the law will become as 
ineffectual here, as it is in Europe, to protect the workingman’s right 
to rest. Open the museums and you cannot stop there. Theatres 
and other entertainments will follow. 
And all this to accomplish an end which can better be accom- 
plished in another way. ? 
The view of the matter here presented is moreover amply sus- 
tained by the experience of England, where, as I have shown, all 
the National Galleries are closed on Sunday, and this in accordance 
with the views of the vast majority of the workingmen themselves. 
I have not argued the opening or closing the museums on relig- 
ious grounds. I do not hesitate to say that my personal convictions 
on this matter are very decided. But my personal views and, I am 
sure, those of the trustees, will not stand against demands made by 
the thoughtful people of the city, nor in the way of what shall be 
generally regarded as a great public good. 
I have given you the reasons for the present attitude of the 
trustees in this matter. I trust that the Board will not place us in 
the unfortunate position of closing our Museum on the Ist of 
January, as we shall be obliged to do if the appropriation is with- 
held. 
I may add that in looking over the law under which the appro- 
priation is made, I believe that itis mandatory on this Board to 
grant this appropriation. 
[At the conclusion of Mr. Jesup’s remarks, Mr. D. Hunting- 
ton, Vice President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said that 
he desired that the statements made by Mr. Jesup for the Museum 
of Natural History, be considered as made also for the Metropoli- 
tan Museum of Art. He said further, that the strong convictions 
on this subject of a very large class of our most valuable citizens 
and tax-payers, should not be disregarded. | 
