Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-01-27
PEOPLES PULPIT,
4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Editor Courier:
Several contributors are still dis
cussing the Sunday laws question. In
order to establish right to make
Sunday laws, they try to establish the
sacredness of the Sabbath. But here
they disagree. One party says Sunday
or the first day should be the sacred
day the other says the seventh day is
the Sabbath and proves his claim by
quoting hundreds of verses from the
musty old records of an ancient semi
barbarous people.
Why not discard the past, quit look
ing backward live in the present and
future and use twentieth century COM
mon sense and reason? The old He
breWs lived under very different con-
ditions from those of the present day.
The writer's were only men and very
ignorant men. 1t would be amusing to
have some of the Sunday laws Of that
day adopted at this time: more ridicu-
lous than the Connecticut blue laws
quoted some time ago.
If YOU get right down to common
sense and justice it must be admitted
that one class Of people can have no
right to regulate the religious observ-
ances of another class.
Now, there Is another point some
what connected with this Sunday sub
iect, which I wish to discuss briefly.
ple-the church classic compel 9TH
ers to pay taxes on their property.
They have a perfect right to build
churches to enjoy their religion in
anv way not interfering with others
rights, but should be honest enough to
bear the expense; and to compel 9TH
ers to help bear that expense is wrong
on the face of it, and many church
members acknowledge it. But it is
done and minorit-- of the people thus
compel the non-sectarian or unbeliev-
ing majority to help support ne
churches.
A certain amount of money must be
raised by taxation on the property or
| the city, for instance. In order to
raise it certain rate is levied. Now,
if fourth or one-tenth of the prop
erty is exempt, the rate must be raised
on the property not EXEMPT in order
to raise the money for exnenses of
| government.
in England and most European
countries they have what is called the
established church. Money is openly
appropriated for support Of the
church. In this country we do it differ
emily. The churches have sly. indi-
rect, underhanded way of filching
from the public treasury b. getting
property used for religious purposes
exempted from taxation, SO that, in a
measure, the whole people are made
to support the churches whether they
want to or not.
In this little town Of $4,000 people
take the churches, the parsonage the
Y. M. G. A.. the Y. w. c. A. the Cath
Ollie convent and land 1t is on, etc, and
at rough guess, there Is approx
mately half million dollars exempt.
1 am aware of the argument made
by the orthodoxy that the churches
are a moral power and should be fos-
tered by the state. But the claim can
not be established. Is there any more
morality in the churches than out?
Take the statistics of our prisons and
they show that almost all of the Grim
! mails have been reared under church
and Sunday school influences, and the
non-sectarian thinkers and un- or
thodox people are almost unrepresent-
ed
Who are the main pillars Of the
church? Are they not in many cases
the great capitalists Of the country;
the leading men in the great corpor-
captains of industry, men who rob
labor of most of it's earnings. who
grind gold out of the lives OF women
and children? Their minds and con-
sciences are SO scared by the love OF
the almighty dollar they don't scruple
to Ever, each and b at their competitors
out of their just dues at every oppor-
tunity. Love Of humanity has beer
smothered and destroyed by competi-
ton, oommercialism, averfce and greed
The church panders to capitalism be-
cause capitalism supports the church
consequently the useful producing
classes are caring less and less for the
church every year. Just as good people
ar4 found outside the churches as il
them. and more. of them
1t is wrong and unjust for one class
of religionists to compel all other.
of different belief to bow at theil
sanctuary or pay penalty of a fine
by an increase of their taxes.
Now as to the claim SO often that ir
this country churches and state arr
entirely separate. Is it SO? This tax.
ing all the people to support tn