Religious Intolerance in Arkansas.
THAT the various attempts to secure National and State Sunday laws are in the exact line of the work of so-called National Reform, becomes more and more apparent as we notice the character of the work. The idea of all who are thoroughly committed to the work seems to be that they own the earth, and that any who differ with them, no matter how conscientiously, have no rights whatever. The readers of the SENTINEL are familiar with the remark of E. B. Graham, a vice-president of the National Reform Association, that its opponents, whom he denominated “opponents of the Bible,” might “go to some wild, desolate land, and in the name of the devil, and for the sake of the devil, subdue it and set up a government of their own.” The Rev. G. W. Bothwell, D. D., of Oakland, speaks lordly of Sunday-law people as being the “benefactors” of the observers of the seventh day, because they allow them to live in their country, and quietly live out their religion. In the same line is the speech of Senator Tillman, of Arkansas, in support of his Sunday bill, in the Arkansas Legislature, March 4. The bill in question is a bill to repeal the clause which now exempts conscientious observers of the seventh day from the penalties of the Sunday law. From the report in the Little Rock Gazette, March 5, we take the following:— “Senator Tillman, the author of the bill repealing the statute, taking the floor in favor of his bill, said:— “Mr. President, I assume that Christianity is the true religion, and that the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath. The Christian Sabbath is an institution of God Almighty, and should be respected as such, and if assailed the civil law should be invoked to protect it. This bill provides for the general observance of the first day of the week as a day of rest from secular enjoyments, other than those of necessity, comfort, or charity. It is in the nature of a civil regulation only. It is not of the character of State protection to church. It does not seek to violate the principle that affairs of Church and State should be kept separate. It interferes in no way with the full and free exercise of religious freedom. The State has a right by legislative enactment to provide for the observance of the Sabbath-day, and to punish a violator of the same, and keep within the purview of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Arkansas. The Supreme Court of this State, in the case of the State against Scales, decided that the law of 1885, which the bill seeks to revive, was constitutional. “I have a local interest in the measure. In my county (Washington) we have a religious sect known as the Seventh-day Adventists, a very devout and respectable people, but they labor on our Sabbath and greatly annoy the Christian people of that section. In Springdale, where most of these people live, there exists a very great demand for the passage of this bill. I promised those people to introduce a bill of this kind. I have done so, and worked earnestly for its passage, and if it does pass this Senate I will meet with a hearty ‘well done’ from my friends there on my return from my labors here. “I want to ask senators who vote against the bill if they would like to have their children raised in a community where they would be compelled to see the Christian Sabbath desecrated? What effect would it have on a child to pass, on the way to church or Sunday-school, men plowing or reaping in the fields, when you are doing all you can to bring it up in the way it should go? I imagine you gentlemen would not relish exposure of this kind. If you lived in Springdale for a few months your opinions on the ‘religious liberty’ function would undergo a radical change. Those Seventh-day Adventists are generally good citizens, but they have become very aggressive since the passage of the Sunday law of two years ago, and our people are getting very tired of them. The senator from Independence suggests that if this bill should pass it will drive these people from the State. That would not be a serious loss. There would be fewer Sabbath breakers to deal with. After having left Arkansas they might very truly exclaim—
“True patriots are we,
For be it understood,
We left our country
For our country’s good.” It is apparent that proscription is the handmaid of Sunday legislation. What is the reason that Mr. Tillman wants to restrict the God-given privileges of Seventh-day Adventists to work on six days and rest the seventh? Oh, since they were granted, not equal rights, but simple toleration, they have become “aggressive.” What does that mean? Simply that they have been actively preaching the faith which they profess, and have induced many to accept it. Has that faith made them more vicious? does the acceptance of it by any people make them worse neighbors, and endanger life or property? No; not by any means; but it is contrary to the belief of the majority; and so it must be suppressed, and those who hold it be driven from the State. Yet the Senator dares say that the bill is not in the nature of religious legislation, nor of State protection to church, and that “it interferes in no way with the full and free exercise of religious freedom.” We prefer to have religious freedom defined by somebody who gives better evidence of a knowledge of religion than being the author of a bill to drive innocent people from the State, because they do not believe as others do. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 16 to 11. We have not yet heard from the Lower House.