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The Petition Work

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 15, 1908

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 85, No. 42.

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The Petition Work

By W. A. COLCORD

THE right of petition is guaranteed by the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States, the same amendment which guarantees religious freedom to all so far as national legislation is concerned.
The object of our petition work is threefold,—to preserve as long as possible the blessings of liberty; to prevent the passage of measures that would restrict religious liberty; and above all, to enlighten the people upon the great issues involved in religious legislation, particularly in Sunday legislation.
The blessings in the petition work are likewise threefold,—a blessing to those who are interviewed and asked to sign the petitions; a blessing to those to whom the petitions are sent; and a blessing to those circulating them.
The petition work affords an excellent opportunity to converse with the people in regard to the truth for this time.
Petitions and memorials played an important part in the great struggle for religious freedom in this country, fought out in old Virginia in Revolutionary times. Instance the many earnest and able petitions and memorials of the Baptists and Presbyterians, and Madison's masterly memorial and remonstrance.
Petitions and protests against religious legislation had much to do in defeating the Blair and Breckenridge Sunday-rest bills in 1888, 1889, and 1890.
Accompanied by earnest efforts, appropriate letters, and the free distribution of literature, petitions may yet be the means of accomplishing much good in the closing work of God in the earth.
W. A. COLCORD.
Secretary Religious Liberty Bureau.