The herald., 1896-07-06
The Views of Rev. DR.. Wilson
On Sunday Closing
PRELUDE TO HIS SERMON
Does Not Ask the Council to Make
People, by Law, Pious
A Broad-minded Jew Who Dave UP Parry
Interests to Favor the Cause OF
Fellow Citizens

son. who aired his views on the matter
as a prelude to his last evenings sermon.
A large number of people were assem-
bled in the First NJ E. church last even
ing and evinced keen interest in the ex-
preston of their pastors views DR..
Wilson, in referring to the attempts OF
a certain element to prevent the coun-
Gil from taking steps that shall make
the petition for Sunday closing law.
handled the affair without gloves and
bitterly assailed the oppossers OF the
proposed project. He spoke as follows:
Tomorrow a most important question
will be voted upon by the city council.
A petition, representing 1870 voters, tax
payers and merchants of Los Angeles,
will respectfully petition the passage OF
an ordinance prohibiting all mercantile
and business houses, boiler SHOPS. etc''
excepting hotels, restaurants, livery sta
bles and drug stores, to keep open on
Sundays. Believing that the passage
of such an ordinance would ada 10 tne
welfare of this city and would benent
the business interests of this commun-
ity, we respectfully urge its passage
This petition Is in the interests OF the
toiling wage-workerS of the city in par
ticular, as we'll as of every one in gen
eral. 1t c0ntemplateS uniform ana
common day of rest and worship Tor all
alike-the only concept that does not
contravene the very purpose OF day
of rest.
1--WE are not asking the council to
make us, by law rest or worship, but
only to protect dependent wage-work-
ers in their right to one common day
in seven, nor do we make 1t condition
the use that shall be made of it. We are
not asking that man be made piouS by
ott Nv only that that
portunity be given them, leaving it upon
the individual conscience the use that
each one shall make of it. With the
right secured it becomes the business OF
the pulpit to persuade men to make 1t
not a day of recreation, but of sacred
rest. But, however it may be used, no
employer should have the right to COM
pei work upon the day of common rest
on pain of discharge for refusal to
comply with his wishes.
Neither are we asking for any new
thing, but for law which prevails in
the Oldest best governed and most
moral states of this union: laws under
whose benign influence our country has
come to it's present greatness; laws un-
der which four-fifths of the population
of this splendid and moral city were
reared and developed their high stand
| ard of character and conduct. 1t is
/ nothing new or unAmerican, but abso-
lutely in the line of the highest and best
| citizenship, a conservation of public
morality. And 1 plead with you this
| evening to cast whatever influence you
can get to secure it's passage or to sus-
tain the council after they have done so,
if such thing comes to pass. AT the
| hearing of the petition by the committee
| on public morals there appeared also a
| counter petition, signed by 1900 people,
every one who could be induced to at
| tach their signatures being represented.
i IL 80 i
went up to worship the devil went with
him, so now a request for a uniform
day of rest for the toiling wage earners
| of the city could not be made without
| a protest from that other element of So
ciety. tastes, preferences and interests
! of which demand the prostitution of the
| Lords day and other than restful and
sacred purposes. 1t is a usual thing on
such occasions, and we always expect
| the Objectionable presence and protest
Of saloon and grog-shop keepers and the
proprietors Of tobacco shops of the in
fidel liberal Lacquer and Ingersolian of
every name clamoring to buy and sell
gin and to get drunk and degrade men
upon every one Of the seven days in the
week. But while their names upon the
| protest may have seemed of overWhelm-
ing number, these people were not pres
ent at the hearing. Nor were they need
ed. The Seventh-day Adventists were
.l 1 PieScuI " w tIlc ullW VI lily NOI n VI
their absent allies. On all questions of
| protecting the poor mans right to a
uniform day of rest these people always
stand cheek by jowl to join with the
vicious, the lawbreaking and the hui
manityruining. There was preacher,
backed by company of his people to
amen him through, while he plead
against any law or ordinance guaran-
teeing a uniform day of rest unto those
| who, without such an ordinance, can
command no day of rest whatever. The
declaration was openly made by this
reverend ally of the saloonist and In
| gersolian that these working people
| would be better off without any such
day at all. Think of it.
| Il am reminded of a story of the devil
| who went to community to Withstand
temperance revival but found high
license preacher standing in the breach.
| The devil at once returned home and
apologized for his abandonment of the
field by the remark that Parson Jones
could take better care of his interests
than he could himself. And Satan was
right. A devilish preacher can always
outdo the devil when he espouses the
devils cause. In striking contrast to
this misrepresentation of the Christian
faith was broad-minded Jew who ig-
noring his own personal preferences as
to the day, was there to plead the cause
of his fellOw-citiZens who need COM
mon day of rest. All honor to the presi-
dent of the board of trade! His attitude
was one of mercy and of patriotism !
| never before came in personal contact
! with these Seventh-day people. though
l have kept UP somewhat with their
fight against the day of the Lord They
differ from almost all other faddists
and would-be reformers in that they
demand the privilege of reforming the
earth according to their theory. even
| though 1t be at the expense of every one
| else. The early Christians who made
the day of resurrection their sacred day
did not fly in the face of their Jewish
brethren, but made the sacrifice of both
days from secular pursuits The devout
Jew of today, while observing without
protest the common rest day of the land
in which he lives, also keeps sacred the
day which we call Saturday. But not SC
with these other people. They must
break down every restraint by which
the first day has been guarded and ev.
erybody, according to their views. mus
conform to their fad or be deprived O.
a common day of rest. If they want tt
reform the church and the world. in or.
der to make it conform to their views
why not pay the price that reformer!
always pay? But when one of theil
number pays the penalty of violating
a law a cry of religious persecution i!
raised throughout the length ant
breadth Of the land and an appeal il
made to the sickly sentinlentality o
which this country has, by far q sur
plus. Let them simply observe the Law
set for the protection of public morals
observe Saturday as sacred If they pre-
fer, and conduct themselves well upol