The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-07-23

which the different ways Of observing
that day in various cities Of the nj
ted States were described: but without
any effort being made to decide to
which Of them belongs the distinctive
title American This paper had
evidently been inspired by the efforts
of pious people TO settle the vexed
question of the excise law by what
they deemed proper or the reverse on
Sunday; but, seeing how wide is the
divergence Of their opinions with re-
gard to Sunday obscrvances, it is not
likely they will come to any unani-
nous conclusion about the excise law
either. The editor Of the World says:
Through the length and breadth Of
our country the people who wish to
worship on Sunday are protected by
the Constitution in the free exercise
of their religion. This day being by
general consent set apart for rest and
religious uses, the law very properly
prohibits the doing on that day Of
certain acts, which are serious inter
ruptions Of the repose and religious
liberty of the community"
One cannot help thinking that the
editor arrived at rather an odd con.
clusion when he said: "The Amcri-
can Sunday is not ordained in the
Bible, for the commandment to re-
member the Sabbath (seventh) day
and keep it holy was instituted some
thousands Of years before the discov-
cry Of this country. 1t would be
about as reasonable to argue that the
Christian religion was not instituted
for US either since it was founded,
while not only America, and large
part Of the rest of the globe, was still
hidden in ''the Cimmerian darkness
beyond the ocean stream Of
the ancient poets. We know very
we'll that neither the Decalogue nor
the Sermon on the Mount, which
practically embody the teachings Of
Christ, were intended for any particu-
lar land, nor to be confined to the lit
tie country Of Syria where they were
given to men. They were intended
for all nations and people, and TO be
handed down by them from generation
to generation until the end Of the
world. If, therefore, Americans have
any Sunday at all, t is that ordained
in the Bible, SO long as they profess
to be Christian people.
Those whose memory can reach
back few decades cannot fail to OBJ
serve that great change has come
over this whole country with regard to
Sunday observances This is partly
owing to gradual revolt against the
too strict laws Of the Puritans and
other religious bodies of two or three
centuries age But the main cause is
found in the immense influx Of for
eigners into the country, who have
brought with them their own ideas
with regard to the day of rest, and
the proper manner Of keeping it.
New York being so cosmopolitan it is
difficult to say exactly what kind Of
Sunday is most in evidence there; but,
be it what it may, the day is very diff
ferent to what it was twenty-five years
ago, not only among the foreign pop
ulation, but among those who claim to
be Americans in the full meaning of
the word Much that would then
have been regarded as absolutely
wrong, indecorous, or in bad taste.
according to each persons way Of
looking at the matter-is now looked
upon as proper, or at least permissi-
BILE; and each year the line between
what is allowable and unlawful on
Sunday becomes more and more
blurred and indistinct. Only small
remnant of conservative people arc
found who still adhere to the tradi-
tions Of their people and Church. and
refuse to sanction festivities and
amusements on what they regard as
sacred day, se. apart for rest and relig-
ious observances Even those who
have no such scruples themselves, and
who affect to ridicule those who have,
hold these people in greater respect
than they do those members Of relig-
ious bodies who still keep the name,
but have forsaken the observances of
their forefathers.
In many other cities throughout
the land, Chicago, St. Louis and New
Orleans, for example, Sunday observ-
ances partake very largely Of the char
acter they bore in the lands beyond
the sea from whence the bulk Of their
x1onu1oksrr boa Nbot L..