St. Paul daily globe., 1891-11-09

suddenly threatens, which cannot other
wise he averted; lines of work cannot
eeaSe-for instance, the movements of
SHIPS at sea, the preservation of public
order IN cities, the decent regulation of
the household at home-laWS human
and divine in such and similar causes
authorize work. Again, work is neces-
sary in the very carrying out of the high
purposes of Sunday rest. The few must
labor that the many may attend church,
or that the day be for the many tine
OF rrfreshment from fatigue and re-
newal of energies. Work, however, in
these cases must be reduced to its
minimum, and those engaged in il
should be allowed at other times the
respite which they have fOregOne i'm the
service of the neighbor.
Sunday is not simply time of physi-
cal rest; men will not Slumber the
greatet part of the day or sit i'm idle
musing. Nor is 1t to be given over i'm
its entirety to religion. Too much time
devoted TO religion is detriment to re-
ligiOn itself. Sunday has among its
purposes that of cheering the toiler.
bringing out the better part of his nat
ure, improving him in morals and ideas,
Inc Sunday must come to him as an
OASIS in life. day of JOY, which he
longs for before it has come. There are
many who have all the needed resources
for Sunday enjoyment within them
Seles, or by the aid of their family cir
cles. But we cannot forget the tens of
thousands whose homes have but Scant
charms, the occupants of boarding
houses and of garretS, the inhabitants
OF crowded and unhealthy quarters of
our cities. There are, too. our Young
limo N1Yvs%
lmperiously distractions and excite
ments. How far the Sunday NAV be al
lowed to divest itself of its quietnesS to
meet the
Cravings Of the People
for innocent pleasure and recreation, is
question of difficult solution. The
question cannot be ignored by Christian
and philanthrOpist: and he who by ad-
wee or device aids in making clear the
lines to be followed is indeed a bpne-
factor to his race. 1t seems to me that
these rules can be safely Observed
avoid recreations that are noisy. de-
m0raliZlng in their tendencies, or that
bring labor to many-authoriZe and en-
courage reereati0nS that demand labor
from few, and are for the many ele.
waiting, and afford innocent Joy, if not
useful instruction. | would open libra
rleS, reading rooms, art galleries, even
though few guardians we're compelled
TO stand by. | would scatter out into
sunshine and pure air the labOrer and
his little ones, even though street cars
had to be kept moving. l would have
lectures, even though the subjects were
literary Or scientific | would have
music. even though it were not of
church hymns.
What l would not have?
would have no traffic Sunday. /
would close all stores in city or country
village. In country villages there is all
inclination to open stores for the bene-
fit OF farmers. To do so is an insult to
the Christian feelings of farmers, and
they should resent it by stunning mer-
chants ready to open Sunday. | would
close barber shops Sunday: their work
can well be done Saturday evening. |
would keep TO the minimum Sunday
rdiiroading. Railroad employees conSti-
tute large proportion of the laboring
population of the country; too many of
them know no Sunday. Passenger
trains ought to arrive early Sunday
morning and depart late Sunday after
noon. Railroad freight departments
should not send out trains Sunday
merchants can wait little for their
merchandise. A few days ago II /.
Whitney. general ticket and passenger
agent of the Great Northern railway.
in paper read before convention of
the Young Mems Christian association.
boldly advocated the
Abolition Of Sunday Work
on all the railways of the country.
Noble words were his, betokenlng a
great Christian policy. l deprecate
Sunday excursions Oh railroads under
the patronage of church societies: the
example is very bad. Short-running
pleasure trains for the sake Of empty
ing into the country for few hours the
inhabitants Of the crowded cities |
would not gainsay. But churches and
church societies, because of the far
reaching influence of their example,
should not be concerned in them, eSpe-
cially when pecuniary gain is the ulti-
mate design in view. | would ask
hOusehOldsrS and hotel keepers to di-
mIniSh to the minimum Sunday work
for their servants, and to allow them as
much free time as possible. IL not
seldom occurs that men and women
will applaud a discourse in favor of
Sunday rest who are most eXacting at
home on cook or coaehman. | decidedly
would close saloons on Sunday: would
do so in charity for the salOOnkeeper and
his assistants. They never rest. Monday
or Sunday; the whole week thev breathe
a pOis0n-charged atmosphere; the whole
week their ears are deafened 10y the
constant changing of mugs and the
hOarSe grOan of the drinker. Tney rap
idly lose their health. and in nearly all
cases die premature deaths. | would
close the saloon for charity to the la
borer. We give HIM Sunday that he
may rest and be reiuVenated in soul and
body, and we must not permit that
liquor shark profit OF the day to take
from him his hard-earned wages of the
previous week. TO unfit him by draughts
of alcohol for the tatigueS of the next;
to demOraliZe and unman him. | am
speaking for labor. and in labOr'S name.
for the preservation of its dignity and
freedom. ask state and city to close
saloons. My allies in my crusade against
saloons should be, above all others, the
toilers of the land. who will never rise
in competence and independence until
they have freed themselves forever from
the chains of Seryitude and misery with
which the liquor power is ever seeking
TO bind them for their degradation and
its own monetary and political en-
thronement.
cannot favor Sunday theaters: the
Christian sentiment of the country is
opposed to them. The even
ings are times when church services
take place. and although there are those
who will not go to church. there should
not he general and tempting Invitation
to the multitude TO go elsewhere. A
large number of people. too. are at work
in the theaters, and often the tendencies
of theatrical exhibitions are but little in
keeping with the purposes of the Sun
day. The Sunday morning newspaper
seems to be in such general demand
that we may pass it over. People will
ask for reading matter. and the paper
supplies it. But the obligation weighs
heavily on newspaper publishers to
allow in their columns naught that is
demOralizing or capable of lowering the
public standard of thought or action.
The Sunday in America is at present
in danger. Let us guard it we'll and
wisely, allowing that concessions rea-
son demands, but opposing a firm hand
to all dangerous innovations, rather in
clining where Il decision is difficult 10
.