The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-16
VISITOR WRITES ON
 LOCAL PROBLEMS
Rev. Ralph Conner Gives His Views on Sunday j.
 Observance Here
10 the Editor of The Age-Herald.

To the Editor of The Age-Herald.
 Pardon the liberty that an entire stranger to you and your city takes in writing a communication to your col umns My comrade-in- arms, Rev. Thomas P. Byrns of Erie, Pa, and my self, are only birds of passage that have settled down here for two weeks to look after the interests of some of our ellen tele, and to find more citizens who need and want a religion of sweetness and light, of cheerfulness and reason. 1t is singular that an opportunity to defend the faith and to maintain the rights of our constituency should present itself so soon.
 Immediately upon arriving in your prosperous and wonderful city, we bought papers and 1t made our souls smile to see that Birmingham has at least one prophet preacher (we hope and trust that YOU have many more) whose eyes are to- ward the front, whose face is toward the east, whose heart goes out to his brothers and sisters in Christian com passion and who knows the difference between the old Hebrew Sabbath and the new Lords day, or Christian Sum day.
 I refer, of course, to Rector Barn. wells noble, clear and cogent discourse of last Sunday morning. He is perfect him, but I recognize in him a friend and alder of the pure and unadulterated re- ligion of the spirit. That sermon of his is a modern masterpiece of it's kind. It is a contributions to the timely topic that stands in the spotlight of your munich pal life today. To have heard it deliv- cred must have been a unique religious experience.
 My own ideal of Sunday nearly coin cides with the preachers. I might not choose to rise as early as he and might omit that first gathering of the faithful Sunrise prayer meetings never struck a very popular chord in our fam ily. But I would have every human be- ing rise by a. m., take bath, don the best clothes and go to church and wor- ship God, which is the very highest pos sible act of 8 free spirit. Then, Tn the afternoon would have him take stroll with the children, ride or walk out in the pure air and the sunshine. enjoy to the full the gospel of the open, visit friends. paying special attention to the needs of the sick and shut-in. If 1t comes right, I would have the family group step into some or Q o'clock ves- per service where there is sweet. inspir- ing music, and where a short and sincere message is spoken from the heart Of a man who does not place a dead man hand on a living mans heart Finally, would have the evening spent as hoine festival in the heart of ones own 1amlly. Life at it's longest is all too short and the more of it that loved ones spend to- gether the better.
 day of the whole week, especially for our children. Libraries and reading rooms should be open, or we should compel the rich to paddock their litera- ture on that day.
 Art galleries should also have their gates ajar, for the wealthy do not turn their costly paintings to the wall; l would also have our modern Sunuay the healthiest day and the most nelp- full day of the the whole week.
 Regarding moving pictures. one IS sometimes Unanimously divided. There are movies and movies A very wise and human censorship IS aD- solutely necessary. As a rule. those descriptiye of scientific discovery, travel and clean sport are excellent. Too many are morbid, narrowing and lood-curdling. They are sham and counterfeit and not real life. Young peo- ple are seeing not life, but death, when they witness abduction, burglary, Kidnapping and domestic trifling and dis loyalty Our years trip abroad Was partly spoiled by seeing cheap actors and bedizened actresses posing before every ruin and castle with the click of the moving picture machine most audi ble. Surely John Ruskin was seer when he wrote generations ago these jewelled words:
 s'The best romance becomes danger ous, if by it's excitement. it renders the ordinary course of life uninteresting, and fits us for scenes in which we snail never be called upon to act"
 A large amount of spice, pickle and mustard may we'll be eliminated.
 I have spoken highly of the sermon published in your Monday paper More might be said, but at least this ought to be said:
 Ry the way, there was one slight mis- statement made in the discourse. Preacher Barnwell said: These people have had every variety of religion of fered to them that the fertile brain or man could invent, and some varieties that God Himself invented, and yet they stay away" Pardon, but to the best of our knolwedge, the unitarian faith has never been represented Tn your city The religion of Thomas Jef- ferson, John C. Calhoun John Adams John Quincy Adams. Willard Fillmore, William H. Taft, Charles W, Eliot the great poets of our country and the mar jority of the names of those that are inscribed in our National Hall of Fame. has never had an organized move ment here. It is for this reason that my companion and commissioned rep |resentatives of the American Unitarian association have come and intend to hold meetings every night Tor two weeks in the Chamber of Commerce building. Yours for q Christian, com mon sense applied to Sunday and every other question of city life Thankfully yours, RALPH CONNER.
 Birmingham, February l5, 1916.