Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-19
REASONABLE OBSERVANCE
OF SUNDAY LAWS URGED
Rev. j. X. JolliH, In Sermon, Dis
cusses Operation OF the
"Oustcr" Act.
SCORES puRITANIcAL IDEAS
Variance of Opinion as to What Con-
stitutes Necessary Employment
Must BE Determined by Competent
Authority, Declares Minister.

Favoring a reasonable enforcement
or sabbath laws. decrying on the one
hand tendencies to the continental
wide-open day. and, on the other, to q
return to Puritanical strictness, Rev.
!. n. Joilif. pastor of Laurel Street
Methodist Church. preached yesterday
morning on the text. There Is No New
Thing Under the Sun" He said:
There is nothing new In the Sum
day law so far the law of God is
concerned, nor anything new in the
laws that govern its observance so
far the State is concerned. The
law of God in the matter is rooted in
the deep abysses of creation, and is
based upon the deepest human need,
ana upon the divine example So we
are not discussing anything new when
we come to insist upon a holy day
set apart for rest and divine service.
What is new in the matter is the
sudden accession of zeal on the part
Of the authorities with regard to the
enforcement of these laws that have
been on our statute books for per-
maps fifteen or twenty years. There
is scarcely change of even slight
consequence in the law that has re-
Gently sprung into startling signif-
canoe az blue Sunday law The
statutes forbidding work on Sunday
are much older than the last Legis-
nature. SO ar. those forb!dding any
sldered essential to the public welfare.
SO also is the oath required OF pub
lie officials TO enforce the law. as II
Is upon the statute books older than
the last Legislature. But for some
strange reason those oaths of office
nave never pressed heavily upon the
ofhcial conscience until now. Did ]
say Tor strange reason Forsooth,
IL should be strange reason, indeed,
mat would acqu!t any public official
from the discharge of sworn duty.
how any official can deliberately ig-
more che efficient administration of
any law which he has sworn to exc
cute faithfully without being false TO
MS oath OF Office, and how the public
can deliberately re-elect such per-
son TO responsible Office without stulti-
hcation of itself. is matter that
passes beyond the reasoning CAPACITY
or ordinary mortals. But here is q
state wide law regulating the matter
OF the Sabbath Day, concerning which
nothing has hcen done except in semi
occasional local sporadic outbreaks for
,he past htteen or twenty years, that
mas suddenly gotten upon the con-
science Of our city officials and has
stirred up such sensation that our
seventh Day Adventist friends are try
ing TO make IL an occa sion Of having
while the sun shines to bolster up
an unsupportable and helpless cause
WONDERS AT SUDDEN
ACCESSION OF ZEAL.
Now, why this sudden accession Of
zeal? Why this sudden awaking of
conscience on the Sunday question?
Why this purblind talk about prevent
ing even work of necessity on the Sab
bath Day? Why this fatuousness of
the threat to suspend church services,
to arrest organists and sections of
churches and others who, equally with
them. are employed to the spiritual
help and profit Of humanity? Is II
really matter of conscience after all,
TO render unpopular a law which they
do not approve. but which they fear
not TO execute because failure to do
so would bring about their own legal
decapitation?
rs II matter of their oath of Of
flee and of conscience, or is it the fear
OF this custer law that hns awakened
these gentlemen 20 this sudden desire
TO execute, and at the same time ridi-
cnle, the Sunday laws of the Common
wealth? ! fear that in the light OF
past records the impulsion of the oath
of office has had less influence than
the fear Of losing the office itself, and
what the public good could not ac-
complish has at last been effected by
the fear Of recall from positions or
public trust and honor Gut whether
conscience or fear, or Do:n, has cf-
fected It. we are confronted to-day in
the Commonwealth OF Virginia with a
virile Sunday law, which promises to
secure to us q better and more careful
observance of the holy day.
II wish to say first of all that 1t