Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-08-02
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE.
How a Seventh Day Adventist
is Treated in Tennessee.
Bullets as Argu-
m6nts.

menus.
The following communication from
Ed. VIM Covert, of Tennessee. has
been sent to the headquarters of the
Seventh Day Advents' denomination.
and viii appear in the next issue of
the, RecieiC and Herald:
LANE, DYER Co., TENNESSEE. july 8
1889.
1 came to this place June %. and
began meetings the next day. Ihave
now held four meetings. The .oppo-
sition is the most bitter and virulent
that 1 have ever met during the four
teen years Of my ministerial labor.
One arrest has been made here for
Sunday work, and doubtless others
Will be made We write to ask for
your prayers, and to inform you of
the situation. The opposition is not
content with prosecution, but they
have organized a religious Ku-KIux
mob, who use shotguns and revolvers
instead Of scriptural arguments.
A mob Of this character raided
US last night while we were
preaching. They fired fifteen or
twenty shots with evident design to
kill One shot was fired at brother
who sat in window. They evident
ly tried to shoot another brother. who
is being prosecuted for Sunday work.
They also shot through the wall of
the frame building in such a way as
to cause the ball to pass through the
space where had been standing be-
hind the desk, but had just stepped
from behind it when the bullet crash
ed through the wall. These shots
were fred when there were some SIX
ty persons in the room, but providen-
TALLY no one was hit. Language be-
comes tame when we try to find words
to express our feelings of horror at
such intolerant demonstrations.
I closed my meetings at Lane July
6. Nearly all the Interested ones were
so inundated by the mob violence
that they ceased to attend. Those
who began to attend were visited in
the night with shOtguns, and after
shooting among them, they were
threatened, and ordered not to at
tend the Adventist meeting any more.
Bro. Kings trial came off the 9th
Of July, He was fined three dollars
and costs for working on Sunday.
He refuses to pay any fines for obey
ing God The one who prosecuted
the case denies that there was any
persecution associated with it.
We asked the Justice Of the Peace
how long he had been acting in the
official capacity that he was then fill
ing. He said he had filed the Office
in that place for eighteen years. We
asked how many persons had been
prosecuted in his court for Sunday
work during this time. He answered
one person. We then asked him
who that person was. He replied,
Robert King" We asked him how
many people he thought had worked
on Sunday during this time. He re
piled, "All of them" This testimony
then, Of this Official, was to the effect
that all the people had disregarded
the Sunday law for eighteen years,
including the one who wa. prosecut-
ing the case, and not one had been +
prosecuted except one who had con
scientIously kept the seventh day,
The justice stated that he regarded
Bro. King as a man Of excellent NOR
ais, even one Of the best men that he
had ever known. He said he could
only execute the law as a civil magis-
trate.
Thus it is plain that the Sunday
law of Tennessee IS only used as an
inquisitorial machine for the religious
persecution Of those who keep the
seventh day All are allowed to
work on Sunday, provided they do
not keep Saturday.
Wm. COVERT.
EzasssessEsz sl-s--se1