Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1894-09-27
A Meeting Of the Sabbath Association

At a meeting Of the Sabbath Asso-
citation on Monday evening. Sept. "a.
1894, at the NJ. f. Church, a report
was given by the committee appoint
ed to visit the business places of the
city and secure the pledges Of the
business men 70 keep their places
closed on Sunday. More than two
thirds Of them signed either the
pledge, We do and will keep our
business places closed on Sunday" Of
I'VE will henceforth keep our BUSH
ness places closed on Sunday. if all
others of the same trade sign this
pledge" All except two signed the
former Of the tgo pledges OF the
remaining number Qess than one
third, some have not yet been seen
By the committee; some do keep their
places closed but refused to sign the
pledge for personal reasons; some re-
fused to sign it because obliged to
keep open part of the time, but for
reasons, now ever, which are not ne
cessarily permanent and which may
in the course of time be overcome;
and still others refused to sign it APP
parently out of a lack of sympathy
with the law, but it is probable that
the lack is not extreme. it must not
be construed as a desire for the total
abolition of the weekly rest day. The
advantages of the day are too mani
fest to suppose, in the absence of an
explicit statement. that anyone could
wish its abolition.
The Sunday law of our State is
either a good law or a bad law If it
is bad law it ought to be repealed;
but until it is repealed, it ought to be
observed. If it is good law it ought
to be retained and carefully observed
by every citizen. 1t is bad law, if
it Injuries or destroys the health and
morals of the people; it is a good law
if it promotes these ends. That the
weekly rest day promotes both health
and morals is we'll attested by the
experience of the race and does not
need to be reargued. The Sunday law
is therefore good one. The obliga-
ton to observe it does not rest upon a
few but upon all alike. 1t is mani
testify unfai. for citizen to take the
position that he will appropriate all
the advantages of the law but will
bear none of its inconvenience; that
is, he will observe it when it is per-
sonal advantage, and he will violate it
when it stands in between him and
personal advantage. If we are to have
civilization, burdens must be borne.
1t is not honorable, to say the least,
for some to avoid these burdens and
let them fall upon others. 1t has re-
Gently come to light in Chicago that
1.-the assessor will spend from $4,000
to $50, 900 to get elected to an office
that pays salary of $1,000" The
explanation lies in the cordial rela-
tions which the assessors bear to the
large property owners of the city"
These large property owners, perhaps
possessing half the wealth of the city
pay the assessor q bonus and thus
eyade the burden of taxation which
falls wholly upon the small property
owners. The poor men are bearing
the burden of the city and the rich
men are riding upon the burden. Poor
slaves, bent under their load of taxa
ton and their bloated and merciless
riders. Whose wrath is so sluggish
as not to stir at such an outrage9
And yet, when we stop to think, is not
man acting upon exactly the same
principle when he evades his share of
the burden Of the weekly rest day"
Civilization is a sort of game at
which we play, with this difference:
in the game when some one persists
in violating the rules for the sake of
personal advantages, the game comes
to an abrupt end; while in civilization,
even though some do violate the rules
for the sake of personal gain, the
others must play on and play all the
harder, and suffer, the lawless ones to
go on reaping their advantages or
compel them to play fair
A Sabbath Association, with its ex-
ira burdens, would not be needed, if
every player were disposed to play
fair.
This report on the committees re-
port is prepared for publication by re-
quest of the Sabbath Association.
P. II. MASON. Pres.