Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1879-10-04
WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE
AMONG TH-BREAKERS.

The mistake made by the advocates OF
a public observance Of the sabbath has
been chiefly in directing, crusade
against those who are simply the active,
conspicuous agents of a class OF eni-
blowers, who may be occupying their
pews, and singing psalms, and taking
their rest like good Christians, while
their money is held out as the reward to
their employees to disregard the day
they so scrupulously observe them
selves.
The men who thus sell their right to a
day OF rest are not morally more culpa-
bic because their transgression is overt
and conspicuous than are the men who
covertly put the temptation in their
way, and furnish the opportunity to
disregard OF the day.
The employer is in fact the principal,
IN the eyes Of the employees, though
concealed from the public, and not I'M
ii. the line is drawn behind the former,
to include the principle as we'll as the
agent, in all violations of this character,
will any Roadway be made toward
general cessation of labor and observ-
ance of the Sabbath as day OF rest.
A case exactly in point has lately
arisen in a church in Jersey City,
which has excited good deal OF COM
ment from the press. Among the men,
bers of a Baptist congregation, Rev.
DIR. LODGE pastor, was a man who was
employed by a New Jersey Railway
Company as a locomotive fireman, and
in that capacity was compelled to work
on his locomotive on Sundays.
DR.. LODGE was about to bring
this man to trial for misunderstanding,
when the latter, in order to avoid the
threatened trouble, asked for letter OF
dismission, which the congregation
granted, much to the Pastors disgust.
There was no charge against the fire
man ClldIdClCI as q itllS' Suo mon, ~
cept that Of misunderstanding, but DIR.
LODGE insisted, and still insists, that
his congregation had no right to give a
letter to a Sabbath-breaker certifying to
his Christian character and recommend
ing him to other Baptist congregations.
The press, in commenting upon the
matter, have generally taken the side of
the fireman, and assumed that DIR.
LODGE IS a bigotel and Objectionable
person. But the probability in this case
is, that he is simply practicing what he
breaches. II the church to which he
belongs required of its members an OBJ
seryance of the Sabbath, it was only the
pastors duty to prefer charges against
his misunderstanding fireman.
The New York Times goes to the root
OF the whole question in the following
comments, which We heartily endorse:
"But while the Jersey City minister
has, i'm this case, done what 1t was his
obvious duty to do, there may be other
members of his congregation who are as
guilty as the fireman. 1t 1t is wrong
fora fireman 10 work on 4 locomotive on
sunday, it is certainly wrong for rail-
way company to require that the loco
motive should be operated on that
day. Every stakeholder in
company that runs trains on
Sunday is as much Sabbath
breaker as the firemen and engineers
whom the company employ. 1t there
is a man in DR.. LODGES congregation
owning stock in a railway which is OPP
Grated on Sunday, consistency requires
that he should be tried for sabbath
breaking, and accommodated If found
guilty. Ii would bc unfair to punish
the poor fireman and absolve the rich
stockholder. The misunderstanding of
the one cannot be distinguished by the
most expert theologian from the Sab
bath-breaking the other.
"If the fourth commandment is bind
ing upon railway fremen, it is also
binding upon steamboat firemen, and
the steamboat stakeholder must obey 1t
as well as the stakeholder in a railway
company. No man who works on
ferry boat or who holds stock in ferry
company should be permitted to remain
a member OF DR.. Lodges congregation.
1t will not do to say that it is a work OF
necessity to run ferry boats on Sunday.
People managed to live very com
fortably before steam boats or railway
locomotives were invented, and neither
the one or the other is necessity.
The same may be said OF street rail
WAYS. The street cars cannot be run on
Sunday without labor, and it is not a
kind of labor which can honestly be
called necessary. Every man who is
responsible, eitheras director or stock
holder in a street railway company. for
the running of street cars on Sunday,
breaks the Sabbath as thoroughly as
does DR.. Lodges unfortunate fireman,
and, like him, is unfit to be a member
OF the Jersey City Baptist congreSa-
ton.
at may be objected that no church
which should undertake to eXcommuni-
cate its members owning railway stock,
could maintain it's existence. That has
nothing 10 do with the matter. No church
has right to overlook and CondOne acts
Of immortality on the part of its mem
beers. Either Sunday is the Sabbath or
il is not. Those seCts which hold that
il is cannot consistently permit the con-
tinuance of Sabbath breakers among