Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-09-10

mune on the Sabbath day, Jesus the
name Of fellowship with which we
shall associate together on the week
night. Jesus, Jesus only!
Sabbath Day Observance.
Appetizer means of benefiting the
workingman is to insist on the observ-
| ance Of the Lords day. The Sabbath
| day as sacred rest day is to be
great factor in teaching the laboring
classes how rightly to spend their
evenings. 1t Is not only, as william
f. Gladstone once expressed 1t, to be
"the great conservator Of physical
health" but also the golden gate which
shall open to let the laboring man into
the higher and nobler life of the Spirit.
| 1t Is to be the foundation stone Of the
| sacred church. 1t Is also to be the
foundation stone Of the pure home and
of the pure place Of evening entertain
| ment.
An oriental legend in very graphic
way taught the truth of Ralph Waldo
Emerson's terse saying, 1.-THE Sabbath
day Is the very core Of civilization"
both spiritual and temporal. 1t pictur-
ed King Solomon on his way to visit
the queen Of Sheba. While journeying
along he came to a valley filed with
peculiar tribe Of monkeys. BY inquiry
from the neighboring people he found
that this tribe of monkeys was the d.
rect descendants Of Jewish colony
which long ago had settled In that val
ley. This people as people had start
ed on their social degeneracy when
they, through avarice, had learned to
despfse the Sabbath day. Sabbath
Dissertation always means n degener-
ting man. II means the human race
descending from the godlike to the
brutelike. On the other hand, the in
direct lessons of this legend are also
true. Teach man how to worship
God Alright on Sunday and you stiffen
bis backbone You will raise his fore
heads dome. You will also teach him
how to live Alright, both during the
week day and the week night
But again says some one to me,
why do you use the future tense?
Why do you say, The Sabbath day is to
let the laboring man into the higher
and the nobler life Of the Spirit?' Why
do you not use the present tense or
even the past tense?" Because, my
friend. to a great extent, Avarice, with
her dusky landmarks, Blasphemy and
Wanton Plea sures. have stolen away
our blessed Sabbath. When Agasslz
q ch No
asked what most impressed him about
the new world The quiet of the Amer.
can Sabbath" was his reply But. alas,
alas, the American Sabbath is not now
day of rest and worship, but of work
and pleasure seeking In many large
cities and In many country villages the
stores are opened, and business, if not
running at full blast is being done at
least with driving force. The barber
shops and grocery stores and drug stores
and dry goods stores and liquor stores
and billiard halls and theaters and
often foundries and factories are open
and know no difference between Sun
day and Monday or Saturday The
question How shall we keep SundayY
is fast acquiring a secondary signifi-
cance," once powerfully spoke Bishop
Huntington. Once the fear was that
the Sunday might be broken Now the
anxiety is lest it be wholly lost. In
a word, we are threatened with the
forfeiture Of an available franchise, the
annulment Of an ancient charter, and
It is high time that we bestir our
selves" Yes, yes Bishop Huntington
we'll spoke the truth. The Sabbath day
is to be Il great factor in the future in
teaching the laboring classes how to
spend their evenings, because now the
Sabbath day as day of rest has been
stolen away 1t must be recaptured.
1t is high time that the labor unions Of
this land And the church of Jesus Christ
join hands to win back that Sabbatic
treasure which Lord Beaconsfield-
who, like King Solomon, was a Jew
once declared was the greatest bless
ing ever given by God to man"
A Restful Sunday.
The labor unions may logically base
their claims upon physical grounds.
Rest, rest! Give us more rest!' cry
the barber unions and the grocery clerk
unions and the drug store clerk unions
and oil other unions. Our men must
have physical rest-periodical rest for
the eye, the hand, the brain, the heart;
rest, and complete rest, on physical
grounds" And, thank God, a begin
ming has already been made, for the
labor unions are everywhere presenting
their just claims for restful Sabbath.
On the other hand, the church of
Jesus Christ must 90 into this battle
for restful Sabbath emphasizing the
spiritual as well as physical claims.
The church of Jesus Christ must have
ut least one whole day per week to tell
the people about God; one whole day
per week to teach men how they should
be good husbands and good sons and
good fathers; one day per week to
teach a man his duty to his fellow men
and to his state; one day out of every
seven to teach a man how his life may
be spiritual and his death glorious.
Rest. Rest" A Sabbath for sacred
rest and worship should be the cry of
the church. May this Christian pulpit
OH this Labor Sunday help to be the
means of leading the church and the
labor unions to clasp hands in the holy
conspiracy Of capturing the Sabbath
for God raCaDt,rr-iDp IL for nhvc;oal