The National tribune., 1907-07-04
THE SUNDAY LAWS.

our comments on the appeal from the
courts of the State Of Washington to
the Supreme Court of the United States
as to the validity of the Sunday laws
has naturally excited number of our
good friends among the Adventists and
we are receiving quite lot of let
ters opposing our position. DR.. E. w.
Wiltse, Modale, Iowa, writes US a long
srgumentative letter setting forth that
Sunday is not the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God and never will be if legalized
in every land in the universe. The BIZ
BILE teaches that the seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Read
the Fourth Commandment. Also it was
made for man-Mark. 1927. In case
the courts and law makers compel all
men to keep a legal first day. Sunday,
they at once rob men of the founder of
the Christian religion and thus say that
the Sabbath was not made for man"
The National Tribune has expressed
its strong belief that when the case
reaches the Supreme Court of the
United States the decision of that trib-
unal will be that the Sunday laws are
not in any sense religious enactments,
but are the exercise of the police pow
ers of the States. and are. therefore,
!egitimately employed We readily ad-
nit in the fullest that no State can
make a law regulating conscience or
religion. but 1t can make a police ordi
nance affecting public order. The pres
ent thought is that there should be at
least one day in the seven observed
The labor unions are supporting this
quite as strongly as the churches. ana
probably the labor unions are more in
sistent than the churches. At least
they are equally so upon the observ-
ance of one day or rest. They are, in
fact, carrying on wholesale system OF
fining much more searching and un-
avoidable than any police regulations
That is. where labor is required upon
Sunday it must be paid for at one and
must make in the aggregate a sum
vastly greater than all the fines that arc
imposed in the police courts.
The BARRIERS. for example. have been
particularly strenuous in their demand
for the enforcement of the Sunday law
| and it is practically impossible in mos;
of the largdD cities of the country to get
shaved on 1suhday We think that in
some cities, the groccrs and similar re-
tail deaiers1 are following the example
of the BARRIERS, ,aand they should do So
All these trench, directly upon the privi-
leges claimed q by the Adventists and
others of pursuing their usual vocations
on the first day, of the week. but we do
not see how it can be avoided. If there
is day ofsrestz demanded on economic
and sanitary grounds it must be univer-
sally observed. 1t will not be day of
rest unless it is kept by all. One mans
working will disturb another or put
| him at a disadvantage. AT the same
time we believe that there is a good
deal of "pernicketyaess'' on both sides
That is, a great many Seventh Day"
people have been unnecessarily ostenta-
tious in carrying on their work SO as to
offend their churchgo;ng neighbors, and
a great many of the rigid Sunday OBJ
servers have been blamably active in
prosecuting the Seventh Day Adventists.
The whole thing is in a nut shell. If
a man can pursue his work so as taknoI
disturb his neighbors OF offend their
right to work on any day that he pleasss