Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-01
Proposed Sunday Law for the District.

To the Editor of The EVENING STAR:
Our national legislators in the marble palace
on Capitol Hill are being petitoned to pass a
law forbidding any secular labor or business
by any person on Sunday, &c. This bill has
been introduced by Hon. Mr.. Breckenridge. The
American Sabbath union, composed Of clergy
men and members of various religious denomi-
nations i'll the District of Columbia and else
where. are doing their utmost to impress upon
the public that it Is an absolute necessity to
have such law passed for this District.
convention is being held in this city for the
purpose of letting the citizens know that Wash.
ingon as the capital of this glorious country has
no Sunday law; j. e.. that persons are being
forced to labor on Sunday and Sunday rest is a
thing not known in this beautiful capital As
a citizen of the United States and as a minister
of the gospel l asked for the privilege of adj
dressing the convention on this impor tant sub
ject, stating that was not in sympathy with this
movement from the standpoint OF an
evangelical Christian and a citizen to
whom liberty of conscience was guaranteed
by the national Constitution. The answer
given me by the secretary of the American
Sabbath union was: This is no debating club.
If you think otherwise you have the privilege
to do So This is free country. We cannot
allow our opponents to come in here. You
would not allow minister of another denomi-
nation to preach In your pulpit. You are the
first Evangelical Lutheran minister | met
who is opposed to our movement" These ex-
pressions do not tally very well with the state
ment made at the opening OF the convention
by this same gentleman: .'We want fair play
and desire thorough understanding Of this
subject"
1t is an outrage upon the Christian people of
this city, an insult to the ministers of Christ
who yet believe in the power of the preached
word as a means OF grace To ask the civil
government to legslate for the consciences of
men must be taken as the strongest testimony
that christianity Is not capable to educate and
raise people who will, from conscientious
motive, keep and rehgiously observe the Lord s
day IN accordance with the spirit of the gospel.
1t is a self-accusation on the part of those min
listers who favor such legislation as a
means to rescue our people from
the charge of desecrating the Lords day.
They say the gospels not able to do it. Please
help Us by means of civil law. Fortuna tely
there are some ministers and laymen-not Jews
nor infdcls, neither such belong to the
sect of the Seventh Day Adventists or Baptists,
nor all who keep saioons-who raise their
voice in solemn protest against such I'M
christian insinuations as logically follow from
the wording of the pending Sunday bills.
Their principle is this, that Christ's gospel
has the same power today that it ever had.
The church will exist without the aid of civil
legislation. as it always has. My kingdom is
not Of this world,' says Jesus Christ God has
instituted the Sabbath day of rest under
the Old Testament dIspensation. Christ has
taught that the Sabbath is made for man. The
scripture which teaches that all mosaical cere-
monies can be omitted after the gospel
is revealed has abrogated the Jewish
Sabbath. Yet, because it was requi-
site to appoint certain day that
the people may come together for pub
lie worship, the Christian church has appointed
the first day of the week, commonly called Sun
day. So the Christian liberty has been proved
by the Christian church under the gospel. and
all true followers OF Christ remember the Sab
bath day to keep it holy" The promoters of a
(Jewish) Sabbath civil or religious. cannot
deny this truth. or do they see in the necessity
of making law that the Christian people of
this District have not had a day Of rest and
worship, or the privilege to keep and observe
1t in accordance with their religious belief
The men who worked on Sunday on the It'll
street cable road we're not forced to it; they
did it voluntarily and took their pay for il. If
this is free country, as Mr.. Crafts tells me,
then 1t would be denying such freedom to that
person who chooses to work on Sunday. Sun.
day laws create hypocrisy well as idleness,
which always leads to crime. If the Lords
day is to be observed as day of rest and wor-
ship teach the people, educate the masses to
that effect Begin in the home, the family,
continue in the church and then you will come
to that rest in heaven which is the eternal Sab
bath. JOHN MUELLER
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