The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-08-03
Weather Forecast.
Northern California-Fair, nearly station
airy temperature.
SHAMEFUL FACTS.

Tennessee continues to send people TO
Jail who dare to do any labor on Sunday.
But the popularity OF the situation is that
those who are arrested, convicted and
sentenced are all of one religious faith no
one is ever pursued for the offense who is
not of that religion-the Seventh Day
Adventist. Yet it is in evidence that
plenty of people labor on Sunday in Ten
nessee who are not complained OF, though
the law applies to all offenders. The law
is an outrageous thing as 1t is. but when
1t is used as q weapon of persecution and
outlawry against a particular class, while
all others are practically exempt from its
operations. 1t becomes an infamy.
The eight Adventists now in jail at
Dayton, Tenn, for violation OF the Sun
day law are admitted to be good citizens,
honest, fair-desling, law-abiding and
conscientious; gentle, merciful, indus
trious, tenn erate, respectful and self-con-
proachable, and no man can or does say
ought against them except that on Sun
day they work in their fields. because
they keep Saturday holy as the Sabbath.
In their defense they say that Holy
Writ commands them to keep the Sew
enth day of the week and to rest from
labor on that day. 1t does not command
them to observe the first day of the week
and they quote extendedly from the
Bible on this point. But the State COM
mands them to observe one OF the six
days,of the week prior TO Saturday. and
thequestion is "Shall we obey the law OF
our faith or of the State and suffer the
penalty Of the local law?" They decide
to take their punishment.
The logic Of these people is defective,
because, carried out in all its fullness, it
would enable reliRionists to set up codes
of faith that would justify them in dis
obeying the essential good order laws
of the land. Until they can bring the
laws into such shape as to except them,
their better course would be to lose day
and obey the law. But, on the other
hand, the law is bad, and its application
is persecution and outrage. While 1t is
true that The Constitutions of the States
guarantee freedom OF conscience and
that one shall not be punished for faiths
sake. the Divine law also directs the
Christian to be obedient to the powers
that be. to uphold and respect the law of
place and to render unto authority its
due. In other words, the Christian N ust
suffer the penalty II he chooses to disobey
the law, and the penalty in this case
would be. as 1t is in many cases with the
Jew. the loss of two days from labor in
stead of one.
Nevertheless, 1t remains that the law
which attempts to compel observance of
Sunday, as does that of Mississippi and
Tennessee, is bad, and shame to civil
ization. What is necessary to the preser-
Walton of good order, public peace and
the protection of the rights Of others, no
ole will object to. even il it is a so-called
Sunday law. But in the case of the law
of the two States referred to- it is not con-
tended that the Adventists disturbed any
one. infringed any right or trespassed upon
good order by their observance of Satur-
day, and their non-observsnce of Sunday.
The labor they do is on their own prem
ises. is noiseless practically. and mainly
consists Of spading in the garden, doing
household chores, and perhaps blowing
in the field or pruning in the orchard.
The Sunday laws of Tennessee and
Mississippi as applied smack of dis
elimination, persecution and outrage.
They select, in application, one class of
religionists and pursue them alone.
There is no following up of those who
labor on Sunday who do not worship at
the Seventh Day Adventist altar. In the
case of Mr.. Nash of Amory, Miss, he
was arrested and put into the prisoners
dock to be shamed in public, while the
person who informed against him was
more guilty than he, because as Nash was
digging his potatoes the complainant was
travelling about engaging teams to work
his premises on Monday. But no one
caused the arrest of the prosecutor,