Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York City · June 11, 1896

NOT satisfied with depriving J. W. Lewis of his liberty for exercising his God-given and constitutional right to labor on Sunday, the authorities of Lake County, Tenn., propose to require him to work. The County Court arranged to hire him out about a week since to a farmer. But Mr. Lewis told the sheriff that as soon as he passed into private hands he should consider himself free and act accordingly. The farmer thereupon declined to have anything to do with the matter, and the “criminal” was remanded to the custody of the sheriff. The chairman of the County Court remarked, however, that “this jail business must stop. When we have only one we cannot afford to hire a guard,” said he, “but when we have as many as two or three we will work them.”

Four of Mr. Lewis’ brethren are under indictment and will be tried July 13 or 14; it is therefore likely that Lake County will soon have a sufficient number of these dangerous criminals to form a chain-gang; and, by the way, they have been threatened with balls and chains. Lake County could learn a useful lesson from Rhea and Henry Counties, where Adventist chain-gangs were found to be both unprofitable and unpopular.