The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-27
Adventists Make a Vigorous
Protest Against Sunday
Closing.
ENDEAVORERS ARE CONFIDENT.
Both Sides Claim to Be Able TO
Present a Majority Pc
tition.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN Francisco CALL,l
ID i Z

COS Broadway, Sept. 26.
The first big gun in the campaign for
the Sunday closing of saloons was fired to-
day by the Seyenth-day Adventists.
Thousands of copies of an octave illus
trated magazine of eight pages, entitled
THE Present Crisis were distributed
free all over the city, declaring in every
article that Sunday closing is in the nature
of religious legislation, and as such is OPP
posed to the spirit of the constitution.
The Adventists are stronger in Oakland
than in any other city of the coast, but, al
though they have always opposed what they
call Sunday laws" they have never before
made such spirited appeal to the citizens.
There is not a line of matter in the whole
magazine that does not bear directly on
the subject at issue, and it forms one of
the strongest campaign documents that
has ever appeared in Alameda County.
The following paragraph clearly shows
the stand of the Adventlsts:
The Alameda County (Cal.) Christian En-
deavor convention of July II, 1898, declared,
in their protest against the opening OF the
Midwinter Fair on Sunday, that il would be a
dishonor to God and a grievous violation OF
his law" and therefore they petitioned that
the Lords day be respected by closing the
gates on that day"
The above utterances clearly show that
these religious organizations, which are be-
hind this Sunday closing and all Sunday law
agitation count the Sunday as religious in
stitution, an Essential factor" of religion, and
that they demand laws for the enforcement OF
its observance for this reason. The movement
is, therefore, an essentially religious one.
To offset any charge that an alliance has
been formed with the saloon-keepers there
IS an editorial from which the following
paragraph is taken:
We have been told that Sunday-closing laws
are temperance measures, but ii is obvious TO
all that the results OF liquor drinking are as
evil on one day as another The only logical
temperance law is that which Will close the
saloons every day. Were the present move
ment really in the interests OF temperance this
article would not be written. The saloon is so
great an evil that language cannot picture it.
The misery, woe, Indebtedness, crime, grief,
groans, tears and despair which result from it
cannot be described. They must be seen and
felt. Bat Sunday law will not cure them. 1t
may diminish drinking little for one day in
the week, but it will make the saloon respect
able the other six days. Again, the same
power which can close saloons one day in the
week in a republic can close them seven days
in the week if it is so disposed. That it does
not do this shows that the proposed ordinance
is not a temperance measure, but religious
measure.
The city Christian Endeavor Union,
which has decided to vigorously prosecute
a campaign to have an ordinance passed.
ordering the closing of saloons on Sundays,
is already hard at work. The members are
districting the city and committees will be
appointed who will see that petition is
presented to every resident in the city.
They declare that they can obtain a ma
joritv of the signatures OF all the residents,
and that when such petition is presented
the Council will have no alternative but to
pass the desired ordinance. 1t is stated
A. IS aa1a oil,
have already pledged themselves to vote
for the ordinance. The Endeavorers are
very sanguine and declare that they will
have carried their point before the advent
of the new year. They have the backing
of nearly all the church party and of the
prohibitionists.
The opponents of Sunday closing are
also hard at work and declare with equal
confidence that they can obtain a majority
petition. From this time on the crusade
regarding Sunday closing will be bitterly
waged on both sides.