The Portland daily press., 1901-02-19
SUNDAY LAWS.
70 The Editor Qr The Press

To the Editor of The Press
Believing that there are many good
peopls who do not understand why l
appeared against the passage Of the sun
day BIN proposed to stop Sunday exour-
sions, would like space in the
columns of your paper TO give my reasons
for so doing
Whenever thers Is danger ahead It Is
well for some one TO hang out ths danger
signal. 1t wal religious bill, oailing
for religious legislation respecting the
observance OF the Lords day. The
Lords day is distinciivsly religious In
stitution Instituted by God. Notwith.
standing the advocates OF the bill claim
to call only for the civil observance OF
ths day, the history Of the past shows to
tine contrary. 10 observe the day oivilly
would mean for every man to be civil on
that day as he would on other national
holidays, ,-Christmas Fourth of July.
etc. But our friends Of the bill ask for
more. They ask for the prohibition on
sunday of the very things that are oonsid-
cred proper on other holidays. And whyf
Bscsuse of the saorednesy attached to the
day. as the following quotations will
show.
: In letter written by q supporter Of
the bill to "The Defender" the writer
says, 'iLst the wheels OF business and
pleasure be still on Gods holy day. "
Rev. W. 4. Crafts says, "We, the Sab
bath Union, all the churches and this Y.
NJ. y. A. are lsboring with all our might
to carry the religious Sabbath vita our
right arm and the civil Sabbath with our
left hundreds OF thousands Will receive
It rs q religious Institution and the rest
Will receive IL as civil Institution. and
thus we Will sweep In the whole nation.
Again NJ says, nIf you take religion
out OF the day you take the rest out OF
H. Rev. Joseph Cook says, 1.-The expert
ence OF centuries shows that you Will In
vain endeavor TO preserve SUNDAY as
day of rest unless you preserve it as
day OF worship
IL Will readily be seen by the reader
that these men recognize the Sabbath as
an institution depending on divine au-
thority for its support. Even as the late
Col. Elliot r. Shepher1 has said, it is
q "heavenly institution" 1t may fur
ther be seen that it is not the people OF the
mass that are calling for the law to en-
force what Is termed proper Observance Of
Sunday, but it is the @ hurohes and asso.
Citations which are organized by and
within or among 'he churches. Almost
without an exception the petitions tnat
were presented In favor OF the bill were
those OF church organizations, petitions
from two hundred and thirty six church
es being presented by one member OF tne
house Here is the situation In brief
The churches combine their forces and
bring them TO bear on the law makers
OF the State TO GAUSS them to make la "
respecting the observance OF religious
Institution. In this the churches ssak
for 20 ND "a htaf0rU nf
teen hundred years declares that such
power will be used when once occurred.
Against this Hon. Richard w. Thompson
has forcibIy said, "Io permit church,
any church, to dictate beforehand, what
laws should or should not be passed
would be TO deprive the people of all the
power they have retained in their own
hands and make such church the govern
ing power Instead OF them" The only
safety for the church and state is for each
to work In its Legitimate sphere. Let the
state make the first concession to the
church and she will ask for more. This
has been the history OF the church
through all ages After CONGRESS had
conceded to the wish of the church In
1872, the Rev. Ill. II George ssys, 1--WE
have learned that we hold the United
States Senate in our hands W. +.
Crafts In the "Christian Statesman,
Oct /, 1872 said, 'Ihe great Christian
majority has learned that it can have OF
national and state governments whatever
legislation against immortality 1t Will ask
unlts1lY and earns sstly. Tins "ch arch
is gaining power continually, ana its
voice will be heard In the future much
ofsener than In the past, are the words
Of j. ID. Soude.
The churches at the present time are
following directly In the footsteps OF the
church in the fourth century, which leo
up to the ruil establishment of church
and state, and resulted In the long, dark |
period or prosecutions that followed, and
which must necessarily follow when the
state undertakes to causs men to be, or
even to act as II they were religious, or
attempts to maintain religious tnstltE-
tions Even tbs early history OF our own
New England is marred with the results
OF church and state Its pages are dis
graced with the record of hanging witoh-
es whipping and bAnishing or Baptists
and Q1akers. Yet to my surprise / find
Baptists and Friends before the leg
islative assemblies asking the State again
to make laws that will open the way for
the repetition OF that awful history.
Our fathers, seeing the evil OF state
interference In religious matters and the
wicked results that followed, separate
entirely the state from the church, upon
this principle, that "ail men are created
equal, ana endowed with certain uuaiien-
able rights among which are life, liberty
and the pursuit OF happiness
10 strengthen this principle an amend
ment was added to the constitution de-
claring that "Congress shall make nosiaw
respecting the establishment OF religion
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
These principles need to be inoulcated
deeply in ths heart OF every young Ameri-
can. There Is a mighty inhuencs rising
to undermine this principle OF inter sep
aIation OF church and state, and he VINO
opposes the movement Is true friend OF
Christianity and the state.
II. G. BASNEY.
,,,,,,.,,,,, .,,,.,,r .,IrCp