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Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · March 17, 1892

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 7, No. 11

The Sun reports the proceedings of the Legislature, in passing the appropriation bill for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, thus:—

“Sunday and religion were discussed in the Senate, and there was one of the most earnest debates of the session. The occasion was the bill to have New York City appropriate seventy thousand a year to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on condition that the Museum be kept open every day of the week, Sundays included. The bill had passed the Assembly without discussion.

“Senator Hunter moved to strike out the Sunday clause. He said that the bill offered a bribe to the Museum authorities to desecrate the Sabbath day.

“Senator O’Connor said that milk wagons ran on Sunday, and that it was as good for the people to see pictures on Sunday as to get milk and newspapers.

“‘This is a bid for money at the expense of morality,’ said Senator Smith. ‘It’s bad enough in Central Park now without making it worse by passing this bill. People now on Sunday look at the animals, eat sandwiches, drink beer, and see snakes. It’s not right for the State to put a premium on breaking the Sabbath day.’

“The Rev. Senator Edwards made the principal speech in opposition to the bill. ‘Why break the Sabbath,’ he said, ‘and why make an appropriation of seventy thousand dollars for breaking down the American Sabbath? Degradation in morals will surely follow. Stand by the old faith. Those who go to the Museum on Sundays are not the poor people and the working people who could not go on some other day, but loungers who might go as well on a week day.’

“The bill passed by a vote of seventeen to eight. The negative votes were cast by moral Republicans and the Rev. Senator Edwards.”