p. 228 | Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · July 24, 1890

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 5, No. 29

Sunday-Law Tactics.

The Oakland Morning Times, one of the best and cleanest dailies published in California, has this to say about the Sunday-law contest in that State:—

At a recent ministers’ meeting in San Diego, Rev. Dr. Thompson, a representative of the American Sabbath Union in this State, outlined the proposed Sunday-law campaign this fall as follows: “First, labor to secure recognition by one or both of the great political parties by Sunday-law planks in their platforms; and, second, in case of failure to effect the point in this way, work upon the individual candidates for the Legislature. Interview the candidate of one party, and, if possible, procure his private pledge to support a Sunday law. Say, ‘your party is not committed either way; you are at perfect liberty to do as you please; your position need not be known during the campaign. Just privately pledge yourself to us, and we will throw our weight in the balance in your favor.’” In this campaign, he added, the church people must be united and agree to vote for the candidates who would give this pledge. If one candidate would not give it then go to another.

The State is under great obligation to Dr. Thompson for thus showing the hand of the Sunday-law tacticians. “Forewarned is forearmed.” Candidates of a character to secretly barter principles for votes must be avoided. Neither of the great parties, we may presume, will be induced to adopt a Sunday-law plank. The Democratic party has a record on this point to maintain, and it will doubtless prove true to it. The Republican party has had an experience with Sunday-law planks which it will probably not be in a hurry to duplicate. So the second or secret plan of operations, with individual candidates, will be fallen back upon, without doubt. But let purchasable candidates, if such there should be—and some such there are sure to be—remember that though their purchasers may contract to give them the solid church vote for a Sunday law, they never will be able to “deliver the goods.”

We have too high an opinion of many of our church people to believe for a moment that they will be a party to any such underhanded transactions, or allow their suffrages to be bartered in this secret way. Some will; but, unless we are greatly mistaken, not the majority, or even those who would be glad to have a Sunday law, if it could be so obtained squarely, and be so sustained by public opinion as to prove effective. But they very well know that if it be not so obtained and supported it would be, if enacted, a dead-letter law, and so, worse than none. They observe the day religiously themselves and would like to see others observe it religiously. At the same time, they are sensible that it is as difficult to enforce devotion as to command affection.

They have seen also the unjust and oppressive manner in which the observance of Sunday is being enforced in other States, and they have too much of the Christian spirit, of doing to others as you would be done by, to desire to see similar wrongs made possible here. And more than all, they are of too open, frank, and honest a nature to be willing to give even a tacit consent to anything which savors of concealment and bribery.

On the whole, then, we have little fear of the success of these secret Sunday-law tactics. We now predict their complete and ignominious failure.