Report of the Secretary of the Religious Liberty Bureau
By W. A. Colcord
Revival of the Work
AFTER several years of inactivity, we are glad that the religious liberty work has been revived, and that this phase of our work has again been taken up with energy by our people. Till the close of time this work must form an important feature of the message which God has commissioned us to give to the world. So long as Satan lives, and sin exists, God's message calling men to repentance and obedience will meet with opposition, and the warfare between religious freedom and religious oppression will go on. The proclamation of truth, a blameless deportment, and an unswerving faith are continual reproofs which disturb the peace of the ranks of sin and rebellion. Hence, if we live the life God would have us live, and do the work he would have us do, we must expect nothing else than a continuation of this conflict until the last battle against sin and the powers of darkness has been fought, and the crown of victory has been given to the overcomer.
A Department of the General Conference
As already pointed out in the Chairman's address, this work has been made an integral part of the General Conference. On all our letter-heads the statement is distinctly made that the Religious Liberty Bureau is a “department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.” All the reports of the work which we have done of late have represented the work as done by Seventh-day Adventists. While the denominational name has not been flaunted, no attempt has been made to disguise or conceal the fact that this people are the ones who are doing the work and championing the principles set forth.
This, we think, has been a great advantage. Besides bearing the imprint of frankness, honesty, and the courage of conviction, it has given a definiteness, a positiveness, and a pointedness to the work which the use of some general, indefinite, and undefined name could not possibly have done. Under the present arrangement the denomination receives credit for the work done by the denomination; the message is credited with the labor performed by those who believe it and preach it; and all ground for the charge of deception or working under false colors is thus taken away. Those in charge of the department believe that “the name Seventh-day Adventist carries the true features of our faith in front, and will convict the inquiring mind;” that, “like an arrow from the Lord's quiver, it will wound the transgressors of God's law, and will lead to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
An earnest endeavor has been made to place the work, as far as possible, on the right foundation in every respect; to profit by mistakes which have been made in the past, and the instructions the Lord has given in regard to these and the work in general; to avoid extremes; and to get hold of the principles which should guide us in all our work. To this end a number of very earnest prayer and council meetings were held at Takoma Park last fall by the leading brethren and workers located here at Washington, in which all these matters were freely discussed. These proved a great blessing to us in starting the work.
Headquarters at the Right Place
Recent developments have shown the wisdom of having the headquarters of the department located at Washington, and we doubt not that future developments will still further confirm this fact. As the message which we have been commissioned to give to the world radiates from a passage of scripture near the close of the Bible,—Rev. 14:6-12,—and sheds a flood of light back over the entire Word of God, so we believe that the proclamation of this message, starting from the capital of this last and latest of nations, will, from here, radiate to other and more ancient lands, until the earth itself has been encircled with its glory. How appropriate that God's last message of liberty should go forth, not only from the land known all over the world as the land of liberty, but from the very place in that land where the great principles of civil and religious liberty were fought out, and were given expression in national law. How fitting, also, that right here where all this glorious work is to be undone, where the image of the beast is to be made, and the papacy is to receive a short, rejuvenated life, the headquarters of that department of our work, which, above all others, has for its keynote the warning against the worship of the beast and his image and the reception of his mark, should be located. Adapting the words of Paul to the situation, we can say, “We are ready to preach the gospel in Washington also.”
Need of the Work
From what has recently taken place, both here and elsewhere, it is evident that this line of work has not been resumed any too soon. The headquarters of the General Conference had hardly been located in Washington before two Sunday bills affecting the District of Columbia were introduced into Congress. And almost before the brethren were aware of it, one of these bills had passed the House, and had been sent on to the Senate. By earnest prayer and quick and persistent efforts, its further progress was prevented until Congress had adjourned for the session. This was during the winter and spring of 1904.
But when Congress convened again in December, these bills, one of which was pending in the Senate, and the other in the House, were still alive, and were liable to be called up at any time and acted upon. And evidences were not wanting that efforts were to be made to press them through. The very opening day of Congress, Dec. 5, 1904, Mr. W. F. Crafts announced, through the Washington Post, that the Sunday work which had been going on in the capital in connection with the new depot and filtration plant would be used “as an argument for pressing again for a District Sunday law.”
In a number of States during the past winter, efforts have been made to secure additional Sunday legislation, and in two States, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and in Hawaii, attempts have been made to repeal or amend Sunday laws already in existence.
In Washington, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and other places in the United States, and in England, Canada, Victoria, and New Zealand, controversies have been going on over the question of religious instruction in the public schools.
In France a movement has been made10looking toward the termination of the concordat between the government and Rome; and in Russia there has been talk of disestablishing the Orthodox Church.
In Austria a law passed a few years ago circumscribing the freedom of Protestants preaching in that country, has lately been set into more vigorous operation; and in Turkey three of our brethren have been imprisoned for preaching the truth. In New Mexico a brother has lately been sentenced to forty-three days' imprisonment for Sunday work.
The agitation for Sunday enforcement is becoming more general and insistent, and the alleged necessity for religious instruction in the public schools in the interests of morals and of good citizenship, and as a matter of self-preservation to the nation, is being urged more and more. Further and further the people are drifting from the principles of civil and religious liberty which have characterized the epoch now closing.
All these things indicate that the time has come for us to work, and to work with great earnestness, tact, and zeal. Wherever either of these questions come up, there is an opportunity for us to do a special work in proclaiming the truth, and in setting forth the fundamental principles of the gospel message for this time.
What Has Been Done
While the religious liberty work has existed as a department of the General Conference since the conference held in Battle Creek four years ago, for various reasons it did not get into real working order until about six months ago, when Elder K. C. Russell, of Boston, was chosen chairman of the department, which was removed to Washington, and, in connection with the secretary and other members of the Bureau, and with the advice and help of the president and the vice-president of the General Conference, active work was begun.
The first work done was the preparation of four small religious liberty leaflets for general circulation, entitled “Principles Too Little Understood,” “Sunday Laws,” “The Logic of Sabbath Legislation,” and “The Civil Sabbath.” As to the utility and influence of these, it is encouraging to note that wherever they have been used in the past winter in legislative assemblies, in connection with petition and personal work, no Sunday bills have been passed.
Next, petitions, headed “Petition Against Religious Legislation,” and a leaflet entitled “Sunday Bills Now Before Congress,” were prepared for general circulation throughout the United States, with a view to opposing the passage of the two District Sunday bills which had been introduced into Congress. Fifteen thousand petition blanks and twenty thousand of the leaflets were published, and circulated in forty-seven States and Territories. The petitions returned to us contained 71,215 names. Of these, petitions containing 62,780 signatures were sent to each house of Congress; the remaining 224 petitions, containing 8,435 names, came in too late to be presented before Congress adjourned. These will be preserved to use in the future as occasion may require.
The Washington clergy having announced their intention to begin a campaign for “better Sabbath [Sunday] observance” in the District of Columbia the first of the new year, an “Open Letter” to the clergy on the Sabbath question and Sunday legislation was prepared under the direction of the Religious Liberty Bureau. Ten thousand copies of this were printed in tract form for free distribution throughout the city of Washington. The matter was also published in the Washington Post of Dec. 26, 1904, under the heading “Appeal to Clergy.” Three hundred marked copies of the paper containing this article were sent to our leading brethren all over the world. The Post has a circulation of about thirty-three thousand copies. The article was published in abbreviated form in the other Washington dailies, the Evening Star and the Washington Times, and was republished in a number of newspapers in different places. And the Review and Herald Publishing Association has since printed nearly half a million copies of the document in tract form. Thus it has been given a very wide circulation.
A number of meetings under the direction of the Bureau have been held in Washington, most of which were fairly well attended, and were well reported in the papers.
Quite a large amount of work was done with members of Congress. With a number we had personal interviews, in which the principles involved in the proposed Sunday legislation were discussed. To a large number we wrote letters and sent petitions at different times, and all were supplied with a copy of the leaflet, “Sunday Bills Now Before Congress,” and with the four small religious liberty leaflets already referred to. In response we received hundreds of letters, all courteous, many promising that the matter would receive their careful consideration, and saying that they would present our petitions with pleasure, and others assuring us that there was little likelihood that the Sunday bills would pass at this session of Congress. One went so far as to say he thought we were “unnecessarily alarmed over the prospect of such legislation.”
The following expressions, taken from some of these letters, will at least indicate the way our work and principles are regarded by some members of Congress:—
“I am very much in sympathy with the object of your petition, and I assure you that I will gladly oppose any measure that has for its purpose the abridgment of religious worship.”
“With high regards, and best wishes.”
“Should the matter come up for action, your views will be given careful consideration.”
“I will do what I can to carry out your wishes.”
“The suggestions contained in your letter will be carefully considered when I am called upon to act.”
“I thank you very much for your suggestions relative to this bill, and I assure you that I will give them faithful consideration, so that when the measure comes up for action, if at all, I may be prepared to act. Until I have thoroughly studied the subject, I can not assure you that I will either support or oppose the measure. However, I thank you for your kind suggestions. With best wishes, I remain,” etc.
“Assuring you that I shall always be happy to serve you in your opposition to any legislation that proposes to interfere with the freedom of the conscience, I beg to remain,” etc.
Letters and petitions were also sent in to members from many individuals throughout the country.
As a result of all this, the Sunday bills were not disturbed during the session, and died when Congress adjourned on inauguration day, March 4. Our brethren and sisters who engaged in the petition work received many blessings, as we learned from numerous communications; quite an awakening came to many of our churches and conferences as the result of the campaign; and the principles of religious liberty were widely disseminated.
A New Issue
Hardly had the agitation over the Sabbath question abated in Washington before a new issue was sprung upon the people,—that of religious instruction in the public schools of the District of Columbia. This created a greater stir even than that of the Sabbath and Sunday legislation controversy. While in that, so far as active opposition was concerned, we stood practically alone, in the school controversy many came over to our side,—Baptists, Lutherans, Methodist Church South, the People's Church, Jews, Secularists, Citizens' Associations, and the Knights of Labor.
Against this movement we held several meetings in the city, in the Lafayette Opera House and Pythian Temple; circulated a remonstrance, petitioning the Board of Education not to accede to the demand, to which we secured 2,562 signatures; prepared and published 25,000 copies of an eight-page leaflet, entitled “Religion in the Public Schools,” 16,000 copies of which have been distributed here in Washington; wrote letters and articles for the daily papers; and had a hearing before the Board of Education.
Results of Careful, Christian Work
We have endeavored to carry on our part of these controversies in a dignified, yet kind, careful, Christian, and convincing way. This has won the respect and elicited the sympathy of many thoughtful people. Shortly after the appearance of the “Open Letter,” the editor of the Post, in an editorial entitled “Sabbath and Sunday,” wrote: “The controversy between the Sabbatarians and the observers of Sunday, to which the Seventh-day Adventists made an interesting contribution in the columns of the Post on Monday, has been one of long standing. . . . The contention that Sunday is not the original day of rest specified in the Bible is so well established as to be beyond further dispute.” And in conclusion, he warned those who observe Sunday against the danger of becoming intolerant.
A lady writing to the same paper, under date of January 30, said: “It seems, on investigation, that the Seventh-day Adventists have better ground for their contention than is generally supposed.”
And after the appearance of our remonstrance against religious instruction in the public schools, as published in the leaflet entitled “Religion in the Public Schools,” a gentleman writing to the Post of March 30, said: “I would like to be one to subscribe whatever may be necessary to put the temperate and unanswerable argument against religious teaching in the public schools, by the Seventh-day Adventists, published in your paper of the sixteenth, in the hands of everybody in the District.”
The Washington Papers
The space accorded by the Washington papers, during the last four months, to the discussion of the questions of the Sabbath and the introduction of religious instruction into the public schools has been most liberal. In the Sabbath controversy thirty-five columns of matter, including three editorials, appeared in thirty-four issues of these papers, nearly eighteen columns of which were furnished by Seventh-day Adventists. In the religion-in-the-schools controversy, ninety columns of matter, including seven editorials, were published in sixty-two issues, about twelve of which were supplied by our people; making, in all, a total of 125 columns of matter, including ten editorials, in ninety-seven issues, thirty columns of which were written by Seventh-day Adventists. Reckoning the circulation of each paper at thirty-three thousand copies, their average circulation, this means the printing of over four million columns of matter on these topics in four months, and this, too, in the leading papers of the capital of the nation. This we consider remarkable indeed. In what other city of the country would so much space have been granted to the discussion of these questions in the daily papers? and from what city would the matter published have had a greater circulation or a wider influence?
During this time we have purchased and sent out to our brethren throughout the field eleven hundred copies of these papers. From all we have heard, this has been much appreciated. We have also sent out many hundreds of sample copies of our various leaflets and documents which we have prepared.
Victories Gained
As the result of our religious liberty work, the passage of any Sunday laws by Congress for the District of Columbia, has been prevented for the present.
Sunday bills have likewise been defeated recently in the States of Missouri, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts, and in the island of Porto Rico.
In Hawaii a bill lessening the restrictions concerning Sunday observance has been passed.
The movement for the introduction of religious instruction into the public schools of the District of Columbia, may, we think, be considered as practically defeated, though definite action on the matter has not yet been taken by the Board of Education.
Influence of Our Literature
In every instance where victories have been gained, vigorous work has been done by our people. In every case literature has been supplied to the legislators having the proposed measures in charge.
As already stated, every member of Congress was supplied with our religious liberty leaflets, and the District Sunday bills were never called up, but were allowed to die in the committees to which they had been referred.
In Missouri, where a Sunday bill had gone so far that any effort to prevent its passage appeared useless, a free use of our literature and the press, played an important part in turning what seemed an inevitable defeat into a glorious victory.
In Wisconsin, where a most subtle and deceptive Sunday bill, backed by strong church influences, had been introduced late in the session, every member of the legislature was supplied with our religious liberty leaflets, and the bill was defeated on the floor of the Assembly when it came up for final action.
Commenting upon the defeat of the Sunday bill in Massachusetts, Elder Lee S. Wheeler, writing April 6, says: “The Sunday bill was overwhelmingly defeated to-day in the Senate, though it was strongly recommended from the committee, backed by the lobby. The committee was unenlightened. The Senate was instructed by our literature. Praise God for victory.”
After passing both houses of the Hawaiian Legislature, the bill lessening Sunday restrictions was vetoed by the governor, but the two houses passed it again over his head. Explaining the cause of this, a brother of the secretary, writing from Honolulu under date of April 24, says: “Your religious liberty leaflets were used effectively. Pains were taken to see that each senator and representative was supplied.”
The lesson to be drawn from these experiences is plain. Our religious liberty literature should be circulated far and wide. Especially should the members of every legislature in which Sunday bills or other religious measures are introduced, be supplied with it. The principles of civil and religious liberty are little understood by the masses of the people to-day; the great struggles of the past for religious freedom have been almost entirely forgotten; and the value of the blessings which these have conferred upon succeeding generations is little appreciated. There needs to be a great awakening upon this subject. The principles wrought out in these conflicts need to be set home again upon the heart and conscience of the people, for they are gospel principles, and the guaranty of the peace and prosperity of nations.
The Conflict to Be Renewed
While we feel that but comparatively little has been done to what needs to be done, and that our work has, as it were, just begun, we are glad and thankful for what has been accomplished. But of one thing we are well assured, and that is that while God has given us some little success, and we have gained what we may call a few victories, the enemies of the truth will not give over the battle. The struggle will be renewed with new life and added power, and will spring up in new places, in the very near future. It would be the height of folly, therefore, for us to sit down complacently now after gaining a few victories, and think we were going to have an easy time of it, and that we need to exert ourselves but little from now on. We must expect that the conflict will grow keener and more intense from now till the close of time. We have entered upon stirring, thrilling times. We are facing great issues. We are fighting unseen foes. There is every indication that, combined with great wisdom, tact, and charity, we shall need to exert ourselves to the utmost to beat back the incoming tide of oppression, and let the light of truth shine forth.
From what has taken place within the last few months here in Washington, it seems evident that God will permit one issue after another to come up just as fast as we are able to meet it. This being so, we must prepare ourselves for conflict; we must expect to meet opposition; we must face the foe.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we wish to express our appreciation of the counsel, encouragement, and valuable help rendered this department by the president and the vice-president of the General Conference, and by other members of the General Conference Committee; and also for the manner in which our people throughout the field have taken hold of this work. By the blessing of Heaven and the guiding hand of the Lord, we hope to see the usefulness of the department extended, and many glorious victories come to the cause of God through this line of work, which, we have been told by the servant of the Lord, should be kept to the front. We are glad for the assurance that “God has victory for his people.” With this assurance we can go forth cheerfully with the great Leader of God’s people, conquering and to conquer.