Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-07-09
ARE NO EXCEPTIONS

Reverend c. c. Cline, pastor of the Christian church. last night denounc- ed violations of the Sabbath laws and gave his reason for calling for their strict enforcement. His subject was: "Pine Bluffs Violations of Our Sunday Laws" He declared that every busi- ness of every nature should cease on the Lords day. In his discourse he referred to soda fountains, ice plants, drug stores, railroad trains, summer parks, etc., should be closed on Sun day. Among other things, he said:
 'For the succeeding two hundred years the Christians Lords Day. bat tied for recognition against the claims of the Jews Saturday and the days of the week given to the wor- ship of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Sun, by the Romans; until Christian ity became the religion of the empire under Constantine the Great, when in 321 A. D. he decreed that Sunday, the sacred day of Christianity, should be observed in all the Empire by the cessation of trade and labor. Once more the unio nof church and state brings about the union of the civil and religious Sabbath, but this time the first day of the week, Sunday, and not Saturday becomes the legalized Sabbath. From that day to this all countries favorable to the Christian religion have by civil legislation pro- noted the highest interests of the re- ligious Sabbath by creating a civil Sabbath on which trade and labor must cease.
 Our Sunday Laws.
 Let us now take up our Sunday laws as set forth in Kirby's DigeGt, chap. 4S, subdivision 60, section at a time, that we may see to what ex- tent they are now being violated.
 Section 2030 forbids all labor on Sunday save customary household du- ties of daily necessity, comfort or charity. The railroads, street cars and postoffices are the chief violators of this law. When I was young man the railroads did not run on Sunday, and the earth continued to revolve on it's axis without any wis. ible disturbance and we failed to see any impression made upon the moon. What right have these railroad mag mates to convert the great army of operatives into living, breathing in- tellectual machines to do their bid ding with no more regard for their souls eternal interests than they have for the water and coal by which ths iron horse is fed? In behalf of tn. army of our railroad men I protest in the name of my God against this fearful offering of souls upon the al tar of Mammon. The Almighty Dol lar demands seven twenty-four hour days in each week in impudent disre- gard of the one day in seven Almighty God demands; not for his own glory but for the health and happiness if the body and the intellectual and spiritual culture of the soul of him who labors. We are told in the Scrip ture that the love of money is the root of all evil. How certainly true is it that the love of money is the tap-root of this gigantic evil of com mercializing the Lords Day. Grant the railroads demand for that seventh of each mans time which belongs fo God, for the transaction of it's legit iniate business, and it will not stop there. In it's unsuitable greed for gold it will conduct series of Sun. day excursions in utter disregard rf the best interests of it's victimiZea passengers. What is true of rail- road violation of Sunday laws is true to less extent in street car corpora tions. Their operatives are compell- ed to labor on the Christian Sab- bath in open violation of sections 2O3O and 2031, while their owners, perhaps are going through the ap- pearance of the faithful observance of the Lords Day. Give me a God fearing and law-respecting street car corporation and I will show you one that will respect the God-given and state-given right to one-seventh of the time of it's employees in which both to rest and to prepare their souls for