The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-06-19
CUSTER Law SUDDENLY
AWAkENS AUTHORITIES
NOTHING NEW UNDER SUN
Rev. J. X. Jollin breaches In Laurel
Street Church on Sunday ooser-
vancc-Asks Law he Not Ridtcuieu'

Using as his text the words OF Solo
mon There is no new thing under
the sun" Rev. ]. K. Jolliff preached
on the sunday law in Laurel Street
Methodist Church yesterday morning.
In part Mr.. Joliff said:
The wisdom OF the ancient seer In
this book of Ecclesiastics and In the
book of Proverbs Is SO abundant, ana
his knowledge of the laws that govern
the life OF man SO complete. that IL
would be a proftless task to undertake
to controvert His teachings. or to seek
10 overthrow the anal conclusions
which He reaches. Yet. / am some
times led to wonder that IL Solomon
had lived in this kaleidoscope ago
II he might not have modified the con-
clusion reached above; and nave pun
that something Of 'newness and fresh
ness might not be attributed to many
situations that arise out of the com
piex nroblems of modern life. Be that
az 1t may. the assertion of this text
is wholly true in regard to many ana
most of our life problems. and Will
continue to be true, because the un-
derlying. fundamental relations OF NE
are immutable from one age 10
another. The moral laws and neces-
slties of our fathers were the same as
those under which we live today.
Nothing New In Sunday LAW.
There IL nothing new in the sun
day law so far as the law OF God Is
concerned. nor anything new IN ln ne
lawn that govern its observance so
far AZ the State Is concerned. The
law OF God in the matter is rooted in
the very abysses OF creation, and ls
based upon the deepest human need
and upon the divine example 30 we
are not discussing anything new when
we come to insist upon holy day--set
apart for rest and divine service.
Il feel therefore that, in ertnging
you this message today / shal heea
10 do little more than TO emphasize
he fact tina, the Sabbath Ia divine
institution. established by God In the
beginning for two purposes:
~. To conserve the physical
strength and health Of the race. IL
is regarded by ail students of man
kind as essential TO the best develop
ment and health of the race that one
day out OF every seven should De
day Of rest from toll and labor.
fact recognized by student and pubic
ST well. anu tpHrAlti tt HhihNA@fiNAs
important to he written into the plat
form OF one OF the great political
parties in its recent convention, II
IL unnecessary that | should repeat
here with any undue elaboration the
arguments that are familiar to all IN
support OF this position. rest day Is
absolutely essential 70 the best racial
development
strengthen Spiritual TAfe.
"e II was not only to meet a ply
steal need that God esta biished the
Sa bbath day. but also to provide suit
able opportunity to deepen and
strengthen the spiritual life of the
race BY a day OF communion with. and
worship OF. God. For this reason the
Lords day is unlike any other day. 1t
has peculiar significance In the life
OF the race 1t 10 a day of quiet and
rest and OF worship. or should be. 1t
is day when the noises and distra c.
tons and attractions OF other days are
hushed into solemn stiffness and quiet
or should be. day in which
man, the creature. draws near to God.
his Creator and Preserver, That 10
what God meant the day to be, and
man has recognized II as a necessity
to his higher life.
Hence, the State alec has recog-
nixed II as a duty TO its citizenship
that It should place the seal of its
appreciation upon this divine law
and write into its statutes those laws
that arc meant to keep II inviolate as
, day OF rest and worship. And this
every Christian State has done from
the beginning. 1t is no new thing.
therefore. for US to be confronted with
statutes for the protection OF the
Lords day. They have been recog-
ntRnA n fn so np
religious rights and liberties and the
spiritual life Of the race
What Is new in the matter is the
sudden accession OF zeal on the part
OF tho authorities with regard to the
enforcement OF these laws that have
been on our statute books for per-
haps fifteen or twenty years There
10 scarcely change OF even slight
consequence in the law that has re-
Gently sprung into startling signifi-
canoe as q blue Sunday law. The
are much older than the last Legis-
lature. SO arc those forbidding any
but those sales and occupations con-
sidered essential to the public welfare
Laws Ignored ny Officials.
80 also IL the oath required Of pub
lie omcials to enforce the law, as 1t
10 upon the statute books older than
the last Legislature. But for some
strange reason those oaths OF Office
have never pressed heavily upon the
official conscience until now, Did
say for strange reason? Forsooth.
1t should be a strange reason, indeed
that would Heeuit any public official
from. the discharge Of a sworn duty.
How any official can deliberately ig-
more the efficient administration of
any law which he has sworn to exc
cute faithfully without being false to
his oath of office and how the public
can deliberately re-elect such a per-
son to responsible Office without stulti-
ication OF itself is a matter that passes
beyond the reasoning capacity Of ordi-
nary mortals. But here Is a Statewide
law regulating the matter of the Sab
bath day, concerning which nothing
has been done except in semi-occa-
sional local sporadic outbreaks for
the past fifteen or twenty years. that
has suddenly gotten upon the con-
science of our city ofilcials and has
stirred up such q sensation that our
Seventh Day Adventist friends are try
ing to make II an occasion OF 'haying
while the sun shines to bolster up
an unsupportabie and helpless cause
Now, why this sudden accession OF
xAa17 WHY this anddeu waking NJ