St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-28
SAINT PAUL MATTERS.
A Protest Entered Against the Benefit
to Be Given the st. Paul
Press Club.
E. V. Smalley Addresses an Open Letter
to the Men Who Enter the
Protest.
Mary Lind, the sixteen ear-Olo
Country Girl, Given over TO
Careful Keepers.
T., IT. Wood VIII Contest w. r.. Mer-
riarr,s Election Where People
VIII Worship To-Day.
The following correspondence is self-ex-

The following correspondence is self-ex
planatory:
Dear Sir: The undersigned, a committee
appo nted by the Presbyterian alliance of th'
CITY OF ST. Paul, body composed of the min
listers and elders of the Presbyterian churches
of the city. would most earnestly protes
against the violation of the Sabbath involved
in the concert rendered by the Boston Idea
Opera troupe for the benefit of your clut
next Sunday evening at the opera house IL
this city.
They look upon such performances upon
Sunday evening as surely destructive OF the
respect which this community has always en-
tertained Tor the Sanctity OF the Sabbath day.
as citizens they regard the proper, Lawful
ana religious observance of this day as one
of the buwarkS of liberty and as one OF the
foundation stones upon which the republic
has been SO successfully and gio-
riously builded. As believers in and
supporters of the Christian religion they re-
gard the secuIariZatiOn Of the day as evil in
its influence both upon those who are called
upon 10 labor on that DAY and upon those also
who only use it as day of enjoyment aud
pleasure. As law-abiding members of this
community they regard this infringe
ment of the laws of the state and
the city as both wrong and dan
gerous. Finally, as well-wshers to all who
are engaged upon the press. they look with
its weight 10 the disregard of the Sabbath
dav and to their union with the opera troupe
mentioned. il the violation of the laws upon
the subject.
THOMAS COCHRAN, JAMES BRoDIE,
!. W. COOPER, +. E. BRYANT,
B. F. WRIGHT, H. H. CAMPBELL,
JOSEPH MCA1BBIN, C, MCCLELLAN,
F. L. HOXSIE-
St. Paul, Nov. p.
REPLY OF PRESIDENT sMALLEY.
To MesSrs. Thomas Cochran. J. w. Cooper,
B. F. Wright. Joseph McKi5bin, f. L. Hoxsie.
James Brodie, Z. E. Bryant, H. II. Campbell
and c. Mcclellan - Gentlemeu: 1 differ
broadly from TIE views expressed in yonr
letter. ! do not believe, nor do l think tha
any member of the Press club believes, that
the giving Of concert of high-class music,
in respectable place, by respectable people,
and before q respectable audience, is either
injurious 10 public morals or hos
tile to religion. A daily newspaper
is not fitting place to discuss theological
questions; otherwise ruight argue that there
Is no warrant for the transfer TO the first day
of the week Of the law of the Jewish Sabb ath,
and that the founder of the Christian religion
took special pains TO violate that law in order
10 show that it was no longer binding upon
his followers. I desire only to call your at
tention to a fact which cannot have escaped
your observation as men of intelligence,
namely, that in the progress Of civilization,
old ideas and customs respecting the
observance of SUNDAY are being
constantly modified. When l was
boy pious people thought it wicked to read
any book or newspaper on Sunday not OF a
religious character; to sing or play any music
other than psalms aud hymns; to engage in
pleasant social conversation; to walk or drive
for health or pleasures; to visit a neighbor or
to permit children to laugh or play on that
day. All these things are now done by church
in In
of Christendom public Libraries and picture
galleries are open on Sunday, and it will not
be long before this custom is universal. Sun
day concerts and Sunday lectures have long
been given without protest Concerts have
been freque NIL, held in the Turner hall, in
st. Paul, on Sunday evenings, without, as far
as ! am aware, encOuntering any protest
from your organization. The daily newspa-
per is issued and sold on Sunday,
and although once strenuously condemned
by many religious people now appears to
be accepted by all of them. Street cars run
on Sunday in all our cities; but it is within
my memory that they were stopped for a
time by legal proceedings. instituted by
people who drove comfortably to church in
.heir own carriages. Through trains run.
and through mails are carried on Sunday
the same as on other days of the week. The
baker and milkman make their rounds on
Sunday without thought of misunderstanding,
and serve the religious and the non-religiOus
alike. Music is heard in the homes of good
people. and there IS much sociabilIty
on Sunday evenings. Whatever seems essen
tial to comfort and ease was first allowed,
nd the later opinion. inside as well as outside
of the churches, is fast taking the ground that
whatever promotes mental and bodily health
and at the same time is IN the direction of in
tellectual and moral culture, is as right on
one day of the week as on another.
In all this are we going backward? Is orr
civilization retrOgrading? Are we becoming
an il religious people? l am very positive in
the opinion that we are not. l believe that
there are fewer crimes committed in proper
ion to the population than there were half
century ago, and that the general average Of
public and private virtue is higher. Yet
od-fashioned ideas of strict Sabbatarian
observance OF Sunday are rarely met
with now except in out-Of-tne-way
regions, where the grade of intelligence is
low. Furthermore. l believe Sunday is being
made more valuable to the people of this
country than ever before. as the day of
genuine rest from toll, OF reasonable recrea-
ton and of religious opportunities.
With great respect for your right to hold
and express your own opinions. but with an
earnest protest against what seems to be an
effort to set up those opinions as the only
standard for right action for those who hold
other views, remain, gentlemen, very sim
eerely yours, E. V. SMALLEY,
President of the St. Paul Press Club.