River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-08-15
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE.
How Seventh Day Adventist is Treat
ed in Tennessee.-Bullets
as Arguments.


The following communication from
Ed. VIM. Covert of Tennessee has
been sent to the headquarters of the
Seventh Day Adventists' denOmina.
ton. and has appeared in the Review
and Herald:
LANE. DYER Co. Tenn.
July 8. 1889.
came to this place June %, and
began meetings the next day. / have
now held four meetings. The opposi-
ton is the most bitter and virulent
that 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 con-
tent with prosecution, but they have
organized a religious KukluX mob.
who use shot-guns and reviewers in
stead of scriptural arguments. A
mob of this character raided us last
night while we were preaching. They
fired fifteen or twenty shots with evil
dent design to kill. One shot was
fired at brother, who sat in a win
dow. They evidently tried to shoot
another brother. who is being prose-
cuted for Sunday work. They also
shot through the wall of the frame
building in such way as to cause the
ball to pass through the space where /
had been standing behind the desk;
but had just stepped from behind it
when the bullet crashed through the
wall. These shots were fired when
there were some sixty persons in the
room; but providentially no one was
hit. Language becomes tame when
we try to find words to express our
feelings OF horror at such intolerant
demonstrations.
closed my meeting at Lane July 6.
Nearly all the interested ones were so
inundated by the mob violence that
they ceased to attend. Those who be-
gan to attend were visited in the
night with shot-guns, and after shoot
ing around them they were threaten
ed, and ordered not to attend the Ad-
ventist meeting any more.
Bro Kings trial came off the 5th of
July. He was fined three dollars and
costs for working on Sunday. He re-
fuses to pay any fines for obeying God.
The one who prosecuted ,he case de-
MES 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 ill.
| ing. He said he had filled the office in
that place for eighteen years. We
been prosecuted in his court for Sun
day work during this time. He an
swered one person. We then asked
him who that person was. He re-
piled, Robert King" We asked him
how many people he thought had
worked on Sunday during this time.
'All of them" This testimony, then
of this official, was to the effect that
all the people had disregarded the Sun
day law for eighteen years, including
the one who was prosecuting the case,
and not one had been prosecuted ex-
cept one who had conscientiously kept
the seventh day. The Justice stated
that he regarded Bro. King as man
of excellent morals, even one of the
best men that he had ever known. lie
said he could only execute the law as
a civil magistrate. 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.