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Pennsylvania Sunday-Law Hearing

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 29, 1913

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 90, No. 22.

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Pennsylvania Sunday-Law Hearing

By C. S. Longacre

A MOST interesting hearing on the Standard Bill for One Day of Rest in Seven, “and that Sunday,” was held May 14 at the Pennsylvania Legislature before the Committee of Labor. The bill was introduced by a special committee of the American Association for Labor Legislation, at the request of the Commission on the Church and Social Service, a department of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America.
It will be interesting to know that this Sunday bill had already passed the first and second readings of both the house of representatives and the senate without any opposition to it. Elder A. R. Bell, however, had asked for a hearing on the bill before it was reported out of the committee for a second reading, and the chairman had promised our people a hearing in case it would be reported. But the religious element brought much pressure to bear upon the chairman. It was charged in the house that he was attempting to chloroform the bill in committee. Because of this pressure, he reported it out of committee without granting the hearing promised to our people.
Brother Bell demanded that the bill be sent back to the committee and that the hearing which had been promised, be given. Some of the legislators did not want to do this, but they found out that if they did not, a member of the house would demand it, and expose the fact that they had broken their promise, hence the sponsor of the bill recommitted it, and we were granted the hearing.
This seems to have been providential. We were given a most respectful hearing on the part of the committee, and those who were present said it was apparent that the Spirit of God worked on the hearts and minds of the committee as they listened to the truth. Elders Bell, W. A. Westworth, and H. M. J. Richards and the writer spoke in opposition to the bill. Four lawyers also filed briefs in opposition to the bill in behalf of railroad companies that they represented. A representative of the Committee on Labor Legislation and the sponsor of the bill were the only ones who spoke in its favor. So far as we could judge, the committee had their minds completely changed and are now opposed to the passage of the bill. We are hoping that it will be truly chloroformed in the committee. I believe the hearing resulted in a glorious victory for the truth and that steps will be taken to repeal some of the drastic Sunday laws Pennsylvania has now on her statute-books. One of the penalties still in existence for breaking Sunday laws in Pennsylvania is to put the offenders in the stocks as they used to do in Puritan New England. Another Pennsylvania Sunday law requires the keeping of Sunday from sunset Saturday night to midnight Sunday, a period of thirty hours.
C. S. LONGACRE.