Religious Legislation in Congress by S. B. HORTON

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 30, 1915

Religious Legislation in Congress

By S. B. HORTON

The Sixty-fourth Congress is now in session, having convened December 6. Upon that day several measures were introduced involving the principles of civil and religious liberty. Representative Siegel of New York fathered a measure (H. R. 491) to amend the postal laws as follows:—

“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever a complaint in writing shall be filed with the Postmaster-General, that any publication making use of or being sent through the mails contains any article therein which tends to expose any race, creed, or religion to either hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy, he shall forthwith cause an investigation to be made under his direction, and shall within twenty days after receipt of such complaint, if the facts contained therein are true, make an order forbidding the further use of the mails to any such publication; but nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the Postmaster-General from restoring such use of the mails to any such publication, whenever it shall be established to his satisfaction that the publication has ceased to print or publish such prohibited matter, and given him satisfactory assurances in writing that there will be no further repetition of the same.”

We can but briefly refer to this measure at this time. By the terms of this bill an extraordinary power is proposed to be placed in the hands of the Postmaster-General, a power that could be used to nullify the Constitutional guaranty of the freedom of the press. In the last Congress, legislation of similar character was proposed, but failed to receive the favorable consideration of the committee to which it was referred.

On the same day two rest bills were introduced, one by Representative Buchanan (H. R. 1111), “to grant all employees in the District of Columbia one day of rest in each seven days of employment;” the other by Representative Keating (H. R. 642), providing for the closing of barber shops on Sunday in the District of Columbia.

On December 7 a bill was introduced in the Senate (S. 645) by Mr. Works, “to provide for the closing of barber shops in the District of Columbia on Sunday.”

Other Sunday measures will doubtless find their way to both houses of the present Congress, inasmuch as the Lord’s Day Alliance and kindred organizations have during the current year announced their intention of laying plans to secure from Congress, laws on the subject of Sunday observance.

In the light of the responsibility placed upon Seventh-day Adventists by the threefold message of Revelation 14, it behooves us to study anew the principles involved in the measures referred to, and to be ready to join the Religious Liberty Department in sounding a note of warning to our lawmakers.

S. B. HORTON.