Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-03-31

The receipts of the following persons Will be
THE SABBATH.
Shall America Keep or Lose Her
sabbath

Inc QuestiOu ID Jue1 AAo"
exciting a deepinterest. And thinking,
earnest men all over our land, ire
spective of religious views and church
connections, are very seriously asking,
"Shall America rave her Sabbath, OF
let it go7" The reason for this is seen
in three facts, vizs
1.-The Sabbath, i. Q. the weekly
Sunday rest, has Away been observed
in these United States. In this n
the Sabbath is, or has been, a distinct
lively American institution. From the
very beginning the people of this coun-
try have kept the Christian Sabbath,
have rested from work on the Lords
Day.
A gentleman once asked the late
Prof. Agassiz the question, "What was
the thing above all others which most
arrested your mind when first coming
to this country Pr The thoughtful
man replied, cit was your American
observance of the Lords Day."
2.-This Sabbath observance has had
much to do with making us what we
are as a people. America has hereto
fore kept the Sabbath; and the Sab
bath has blessed and kept America. We
owe much of our progress, our stabili-
ty, and our present position among the
nations to the fact, that We have so
generally Remembered the Sabbath
day." This no Christian, and few
thoughtful men,will doubt or question.
S.-We are fast losing our Sabbath.
The last rs years have wrought a
mighty change in this respect all over
our country, especially in our large
cities, and along the great lines Of
railroad travel.
And these things being SO it is no
wonder that intelligent, patriotic men
Of all religious faiths and of no faith
are seriously asking themselves and
one another, "Shall we try and keep
this Sabbath, or let it go? Is it not
worth saving 2 And how shall we pre-
serve it 2"
By the courtesy of the editor some
friends of the Sabbath propose from
time to time to present, through the
columns of the Intelligencer, some
views upon this subject for the calm
and candid consideration of all their
fellow citizens. We speak as to wise
men; judge ye what we say.
Below will be found two articles,
which discuss the question from a pure
ly secular standpoint. We ask your
careful perusal of them both. L.
Here is the experience of Col. II. W.
Payne, civil engineer, in regard to rest
Ing upon the Sabbath:
"Some years since, before a railroad
was built, or stage line established
across the plains, there was a large en-
igration to California overland. The
necessary supplies were carried by
horses, mules, and oxen, which obtain
ed their subsistence from the grass that
grew not too plentifully along the route,
Having passed beyond the limits of civ
litigation, and having left churches and
religious institutions behind, the re-
stralnts of the Sabbath were O for.
gotten by most, and all days were alike
employed i'll a dillgent march onward.
The company Of which I was a men,
Der, however, halted for one or two
Sabblths. Stopping II Sunday near
where several Of the routes converged
one of our company counted one hum
dred and ninety.seven teams that pass
ed during the day. The idea of losing
our advanced position (for we had
started early in the season), and week
by week getting farther behind, was
not relished. The best of the grass, if
not all of it, would be used up by those
ahead of rs. The absence of any relip.
1ous services and other reasons were adj
duced against stopping, and those who
were i'll favor of resting were in the
minority. But after the days rest, on
resuming our JOURNEY next morning,
we were not a little surprised at the
rapid gait of u teams as compared
with those of other companies. In two
days we had overtaken and passed more
teams than had passed us on Sunday.
and all the week through we added to
the number. When the next Sunday
came around every voice was for rest
ing all day, and so we continued to OBJ
serve the Sabbath all the way through.
l aflerward compared notes with trains
which Travelled every day, and found
that not only were they weeks longer
in performing the journey, but that
they had lost many of their cattle and
horses i'll crossing the last desert, while
the rest were disabled when they arriv-
ed at their journeys end, because in SO
poor condition. Ours, on the other
hand, arrived in good condition, and
really sold for good price,"