News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1913-01-22
A Protest Against Sunday
LEGISLATION

The meeting at the North, Hyde Park
Park Seventh Day Adventist Church la 1t
Saturday resolved itself into what might
be termed a mass meeting, when resolu-
tions were passed demonstrating against
proposed Sunday Legislation now before
the United States Senate in Congress in
Washington, D. G. The resolutions were
brought before the congregation by G. G.
Drown, Elder of the church, and were
passed unanimously. They read as fol-
| lows:
| WHEREAS, The Johnston Sunday Bill,
now pending in the Senate Of the United
| States. is religious in it's character, in
that it is designed to foster the religious
observance of Sunday, and
| WHEREAS, the exemption clause at
tached to one of the sections of this bill
| indicates most clearly its religious charac-
| ter, by exempting from the application
of this section those who belong to a reli-
| gious society which observes some other
day of the week than Sunday as Sab
| bath, and
| WHEREAS, religious legislation is con-
| trary both to the spirit and letter Of the
/
carried to its logical conclusion means a
union of church and state, and the perse-
cution of dissenters; therefore,
RESOLVED, That we respectfully, but
earnestly, demonstrate against tn pass
age of this bill, or any other bill re quir-
ing the observance of Sunday az rest
! Cay W. 'cE \ \, come before the Senate.
Simiiar rs,onuoDs ", re passed in every
one of the 1000 Seventh Day Adventist
churches in the United States, thus show
| ing that about 10, 600 members in this de-
nomination alone are strongly opposed
to any kline of Sunday Legislation.
Elder c. C. Drown said the reason the
Seventh Day Adventists are so vigorously
opposed to the Johnston Sunday bill in
Congress is because the passage of it
would be the first step towards the union
of the church and the state, which would
ultimately bring persecution upon dis
senters. 1t was stated that not only are
Seventh Day Adventists opposed to Sum-
day Legislation, but also thousands of
others who love religious liberty.
In giving further reasons why his de.
nomination is opposed to Sunday Legis-
lation, Elder G. G. Drown said:
"Our denomination has always stood
for the entire separation of church and
state, and has earnestly opposed all at
tempts at religious legislation. Sunday
laws we believe to be religious laws;
therefore we are uncOmpromisingly OPP
posed to all legislation in behalf of Sun
day observance. Sunday is a religious
institutions; its observance is a religious |
act; law enforcing that observance is |
religious law; therefore we believe it |
should not exist in this country. We |
would be uncompromisngly opposed to
any legislation for the enforcement of |
the seventh day of the week. The Sab |
bath is religious institution, and its OBJ |
servance is religious act, and from our |
standpoint it would be entirely wrong |
for the state to attempt any legislation |
for the observance of the seventh day of |
the week. The same may be said regard |
ing baptism, prayer, or anything else |
pertaining to religion. We believe that |
Christ, the founder of the church., taught |
the complete separation of the church
from the state; and this, we believe,
should be the attitude of every protested
follower of him.
"Now, as to our attitude regarding
law to close the saloons on Sunday:-It
is known by all who know anything about
Aaventists that they are uncompromis-
ingly opposed to the saloon on all days
of the week. We believe that they are
menace to the welfare of the state, and
that they should not be permitted to
carry on their destructive work; there
fore we join in every movement to secure
laws for the closing the saloons entirely"