Practical Workings of a Sunday Law.
By Wm. Covert
The State of Tennessee enjoys the bliss of a Sunday law; and if there is anything civilizing and elevating in such a law, then Tennessee should be a happy State indeed. A certain neighborhood proposes to have peace and harmony and to hinder their “morals” from being “insulted” by enforcing the Sunday law of the State, and for this purpose a league has been formed. The following is an exact copy of the pledge taken by this league when it was organized in this State last winter:— “NOTICE— To whom it may concern—That the undersigned citizens of ——, being desirous of the welfare of our community, and that peace and harmony may prevail, and that the morals of ourselves and our children may not be insulted and trampled upon by a willful violation of the Sunday laws of our land; do this day pledge our word and honor, that we will individually and collectively prosecute each and every violation of the Sunday law of our State that may come under our observation. This league seemed to think that all that was lacking in the way of morals and peace and harmony could be secured by giving life to the Sunday law of the State. This league is composed mostly of the members of the Methodist Church. The Sunday law had long been violated by the people of this neighborhood. Scores of men have made Sunday a day for hunting and fishing. The gambler has used it as a convenience for his purpose. The church members of different denominations, and also the non-professors, have made it a rule, if business was urgent, to do common labor upon this day. This is the history with reference to the manner in which Sunday has been observed in the past, as gleaned from citizens of this neighborhood. No one has been prosecuted for violating the Sunday law in the past, but of late this church, which has been organized here for many years, has discovered a supreme necessity for the enforcement of the Sunday law. But what has led to this discovery? Answer. The organization in this community of a small church who keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Members of the Methodist Church which had been organized for many years, told the elder of the seventh-day church that, if they “permitted” him “to continue,” their children would not know which the Sabbath-day was. They insisted that he must move out of the community if he wanted to keep the seventh day. He told them that he had been taught by them that this was a free country, and that he was allowed to worship God as he understood the Scriptures to teach. But they said that he must keep Sunday, and not teach their children that the seventh day is the Sabbath; and if he did not comply with their wishes, he would be prosecuted. He cited them to the past history of the community, wherein Sunday had not been observed, and yet they had not prosecuted anyone for its violation. Their answer indicated that all parties would be compelled to keep it from that time on, whether they kept any other day or not. He argued that if he conscientiously observed the day which he believed God required, they should not then compel him to keep a day in which he did not believe, as that would be tyrannical. He also stated to them that he was a poor man, and could not afford to surrender one-sixth of his time from the support of his family. He told them that he could explain the matter to his children, and that, as far as they were concerned, he had no fears but that they would know which is the Sabbath-day, and that the same course of action would be left open for them in the training of their children. But this was the point that gave them so much anxiety. They could never make it plain to their children; and, therefore, they would not tolerate his course. Nothing short of submission would be accepted by them. This feature of National Reform work was going on in Tennessee while the notable National Reform Convention was being held in Washington City last winter. Now for the fruit. The Sunday gaming and shooting has gone on since the league was organized, precisely as it did before. But those who keep the seventh day have not been engaged in this kind of work. Others beside those who keep the seventh day, have worked upon their farms on Sunday during this time in a more public and noisy manner than has been done by those who observe the seventh day. But not one word of complaint has been made about it. When, however, the elder above referred to went out into his field on Sunday to quietly plow out (cultivate) his corn, which was so tall at the time as to nearly hide him from sight, he was promptly arrested. He will certainly be convicted as a criminal, and as he is a consistent Christian man, he feels that it would be wrong to pay a fine for doing what he verily believes is his religious duty to do. So he will go to jail and lie there for obeying God; and his professed Christian neighbors will send him there to satisfy their hatred toward the seventh-day Sabbath. But is this all their zeal leads them to do? No, no; this seventh-day-keeping church desired a minister to visit them during their quarterly meeting, and hold some services with them. But this Sunday-law league heard of it and determined that it was not likely to deepen their neighbors’ faith in the sanctity of Sunday, nor to create any hatred toward the seventh-day people, to permit him to labor in this neighborhood. So they organized a vigilance committee, and armed them with shot-guns, rifles, and revolvers, and on Sunday night, fired into a congregation of men, women, and children. Their aim was to kill the minister, the elder of the church, and another leading member. Some fifteen or twenty shots were fired, but as they had to shoot through the wall of the building and the windows, no one was hit, yet the balls pierced the wall, cutting their way through both the weather-boarding and the ceiling. One rifle-ball passed exactly through the space behind the desk that had been occupied a moment before by the speaker. It seemed a direction of Providence that he had stepped to one end of the desk an instant before the shot was fired. If the Reverend Doctor Brooks were here, he could not complain that the preachers do not “speak out.” They are speaking out, and proposing that as many as do not worship as they do shall be killed. Rev. W. J. Coleman, who spoke at Lakeside, Ohio, in August, 1887, could find the army that he called for who are “ready to pour out treasure and blood” for the cause he was advocating. They are also ready to pour out the blood of innocent Christians, in order to compel people who observe the seventh day to keep Sunday. The minister above referred to, whose assassination was attempted, had mildly but in a very plain and convincing manner, set before the people of the community the inconsistent and unkind manner in which they had proceeded. He also showed that their course was un-American and Papistic. They replied with the rifle and shot-gun. We do not believe that National Reformers will approve of their course, but the speeches they make are, many of them, calculated to incite to just such deeds of violence. National Reformers should counsel moderation for the credit of their cause, if for nothing else.—Wm. Covert, in Signs of the Times.