The organ of the temperance reform. (Cincinnati, O. [Ohio]) 1852-1853, 1852-06-25
sARRATH nnsncR ALTON.

This is one of the prevailing lniqultes
of our day, and we feel it to be duty to
refer to it, especially as it is intimately and
almost universally associated with the great
vice of intemperance. In those localities
where there is a large proportion of foreign
population there is the greatest disregard oil
the Sabbath. The great body of the Amer
lean people, whatever their religious Opln-
ions may be, have respect for this institu-
lion, and to a greater or less extent, keep il
as day of rest. The contrary is the fact
in relation to the mass Of our foreign pOpu-
lation. Let any one take walk on Sun
day afternoon through the principal streets
in the northern part Of Cincinnati, and il
he has any sense of the sanctity of the day
he will be shocked by the appearance Of
things in that quarter. Every beer-shop is
crowded with men, women and children,
who are drinking, swearing, wrangling and
sometimes fighting, They have attended
church in the morning, gone through with
the senseless forms and ridiculous ceremo-
MES of religion, and then adjourned to the
temples of Bacchus to pay their devOtions
to the God of lust and all uncleanness.
The gardens, gymnasiums, gambling hous-
es, DC, are thronged with all ages and sexes
on the day that God sauctihe2 Every
country village and hamlet in which there
is any considerable number of foreigners,
no matter of what religious faith, this day
is shamefully desecrated. We do not in.
tend, by any means, to assert that the Sab.
bath is disregarded only by our foreign
population. Thousands of our young mel
who have been better taught, make this tht
day of buggy riding, and vicious amuse
ment Often the first step in career of in
= fanny is the trampling upon the sacred in
s.itution of the Sabbath There is prac
q tice almost universal, which is still NOR
bame-worthy, because permitted and en-
S couraged by those who have some sense o
4 moral and religious obligation. We meal
e the running of railroad cars and other pub
+ lie conveyances on that day. The mean
: and facilities for travelling are so great nov
: that there is not the shadow of reason fo
e appropriating Sunday to the transaction q
e business. On some of the roads, and W
believe most of them, all business is sus
pended, except the running of an "expres
train" What reason can be given for thi
exception that will stand the test of exam
2 inatiOn for moment? These open, publ
| and notorious profanations of the law G
, Heaven do much to corrupt the mora
} feelings of individuals and tempt ther
to do violence to their own conviction
of right and duty. How many thousand
of professors of religion would think
great sin to spend their Sabbaths j
their counting rooms, or workshops, or o
their farms attending to their ordinary busi
ness, who, with very little or no compunc
l tions of conscience, will get into rail ca
and travel all the day. They throw off tn
responsibility upon the company who rul
their cars, while the directors of the com
paDy say, we would be glad to stop the
Sabbath trains if there were not so many
who wish to travel.
Thus between them the public morals are
depraved and God dishonored. Dssipate
the benign influences of the Sabbath; let ii
be universally disregarded and profaned,
and our civil liberties are gone forever. We
would appeal to men as mere lovers of their
country, without reference to the value oI
the soul, or the interests and hopes of a
better world, or the necessity and duty o.
obeyng God, to consider this importan
subject.
There is no great interest for time or eter
nifty that is not deeply involved in the prop
er observance of the ornmand-"Remem
Der the Sabbath day to keep it holy" /
general disregard of this command woul,
work the same evils in society as the uni
versal violation of the law, Thou shalt 10
steal" We shall refer to this subject again