p. 243 | Untitled article by C. P. B.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · August 11, 1892

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 7, No. 31

The Postmaster and the Adventists.

By C. P. B.

A GENTLEMAN in Kansas having read in THE SENTINEL the account of the persecution of Adventists in Henry Co., Tenn., found himself unable to believe such things possible in the United States in the latter part of the nineteenth century; and, that he might know of a surety concerning the facts, he wrote to the postmaster at Springville, Tenn., asking if the things which he had read were true. The postmaster's letter has been sent to us, and here it is verbatim, without even a letter added to it, or taken from it, with the exception of the omission of the name of the gentleman to whom the letter was written:—

Springville July 11 1892 MR. ———— Sir yours of the 7th Received I Cannot tell why I am Cold on to answer the questions in your note But I will answer them as Correctley as I can and I am personely acquainted with all of the Gentlemen now in Jale or pretended to Be But I doubt very much wheather the Jale doors has Been locked Since they have Been put in there or not But I think not But I dwo no that they was put in Jale for a strict violation of the Sunday law and I no when a pore Boy is prosecuted for a violation of the law for Carryin a pistol or playin Cards they ar put in Jale and locked up and they have to stay untid they ar paid out But I only charge this to the Jaler for lack of his duty according to law Well I will now give ther names J. H. Dortch W. D. Lowry J. Moon and James Stem they all Live within 2 miles of this post office and dwo ther maling and Receving of male at this place ther church is within 2 miles of this place and it is very Demarlizen to the young and Rising people of this Settlement they call themselves Seven day adventist they pretend to keep Saturday and Work on Sunday at all kinds of farm work plow Role logs hail Cross ties and in fact there biggest days work on Sunday when they no that it is Strictly against the State law to work on Sunday there is a little nest of them in this Settlement and have been trying hard to Increase there church for about 10 years and I think they have in that time got in there church about 12 white male members and 1 negro man and Wife and about the Same amount of white ladys and Sum 12 or 15 Childer But there is no other church of the kind in this County nor adJoining Countes there has Been 3 Jentlemen of this Church Indted in this Cort Sum 2 or 3 years ago for working on Sunday they was fined 25 dollars Each they appeled to the Supreme Cort of the State and the Judgment of the Circuit Court was Conferred But they yaud not pay fine nor Cost and of Corse according to law had to go to Jale But they was walking about over town the most of ther time these fore Jentlemen was tried Befor Judg Swigart and the Judg Red the law and the Desisions of other Corts all against the Sunday working But Said Jentlemen I will onley fine you one dollar Each and the Cost But they will not pay Either fine or Cost and I learn that them of that Church that is at home is Still at work on there farms on Sunday Just Shur as Sundy Cums there is Sum of these Jentlemen that is Very Clever men But I think Every good Citizen aught to observe the laws of his Cuntry and I think that if a man Violats the laws of his Cuntry wilfully and nonly and Cannot Be made Suffer for it he mite Be Coded an outlaw for which I Suppen there is a Remady or at least aught to Bee they ar like the Rest of us only Commen talent I Belive I have in all the Information Cold for Respectfully Thos Riggs P M

This letter confirms all that has been said in THE SENTINEL concerning the Springville persecutions. The writer of the letter is one of the worst enemies of the Adventists, yet it will be noticed that he has no evil thing to say of them except concerning their faith. Their church, he says, has a very demoralizing influence in the community. The sense in which it is “demoralizing” will be explained by the following dialogue between a Methodist and an Adventist in that neighborhood shortly before the recent persecution was inaugurated:—

Methodist.—“You people are doing a great deal of harm in this country.”

Adventist.—“Why, how is that? We are quiet, inoffensive people.”

Methodist.—“Yes, but were it not for your church we would have regular meetings here at Springville, and all the young people who now go to your meetings would be working members of the Methodist church.”

Adventist.—“Well, show us our error and we will all be Methodists.”

Methodist.—“That’s just what we’re going to do; we’re going to prosecute every one of you.”

The “great deal of harm,” and the “demoralizing” influence consist in teaching things contrary to the doctrines of the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches, and principally in denying that Sunday is the Sabbath.

The postmaster at Springville has considerably underestimated the membership of the Adventist church in his neighborhood. One of the editors of THE SENTINEL has spent a number of weeks at Springville and is personally acquainted with twenty-seven male members of the Adventist church there. The number of female members is somewhat larger. It is the most prosperous church in the neighborhood; and the only one having regular weekly services. This fact makes it a thorn in the side of members of other churches. The persecution is designed to weaken it and turn the tide toward the other churches.

The statement made in the letter that Adventists do their biggest day’s work on Sunday is absolutely false. As has been previously stated in THE SENTINEL, they avoid on Sunday all work that could possibly be a real annoyance. Only the more quiet kinds of farm work are done in the Springville neighborhood on Sunday. The postmaster there may not know personally just how this is, for none of his immediate neighbors are members of that church and none of the Adventists live in the village. They are all farmers and the postmaster knows of their work only as he hears of it or else goes out of his way to see them at work. C. P. B.