A Review of Sunday Legislation in Century Nineteen
By Prof. P. T. Magan
A REVIEW OF SUNDAY LEGISLATION IN CENTURY NINETEEN.* NO. 3.
BY PROF. P. T. MAGAN.
SO MUCH for the Blair Amendment; now to the Blair Sunday Rest Bill, which the same senator introduced four days earlier. Here is the complete text:—
50TH CONGRESS, } S. 2983.
1ST SESSION.
A bill to secure to the people the enjoyment of the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord's day, as a day of rest, and to promote its observance as a day of religious worship.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no person, or corporation, or the agent, servant, or employe of any person or corporation, shall perform, or authorize to be performed, any secular work, labor, or business, to the disturbance of others, works of necessity, mercy, and humanity excepted; nor shall any person engage in any play, game, or amusement, or recreation, to the disturbance of others, on the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord's day, or during any part thereof, in any territory, district, vessel, or place subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States; nor shall it be lawful for any person or corporation to receive pay for labor or service performed or rendered in violation of this section.
SEC. 2. That no mails or mail matter shall hereafter be transported in time of peace over any land postal route, nor shall any mail matter be collected, assorted, handled, or delivered during any part of the first day of the week: Provided, That whenever any letter shall relate to a work of necessity or mercy, or shall concern the health, life, or disease of any person, and the fact shall be plainly stated upon the face of the envelope containing the same, the Postmaster General shall provide for the transportation of such letter.
SEC. 3. That the prosecution of commerce between the States and with the Indian tribes, the same not being work of necessity, mercy, or humanity, by the transportation of persons or property by land or water in such way as to interfere with or disturb the people in the enjoyment of the first day of the week, or any portion thereof, as a day of rest from labor, the same not being labor of necessity, mercy, or humanity, or its observance as a day of religious worship, is hereby prohibited; and any person or corporation, or the agent, servant, or employe of any person or corporation, who shall willfully violate this section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten or more than one thousand dollars, and no service performed in the prosecution of such prohibited commerce shall be lawful, nor shall any compensation be recoverable or be paid for the same.
SEC. 4. That all military and naval drills, musters, and parades, not in time of active service or immediate preparation therefor, of soldiers, sailors, marines, or cadets of the United States, on the first day of the week, except assemblies for the due and orderly observance of religious worship, are hereby prohibited; nor shall any unnecessary labor be performed or permitted in the military or naval service of the United States on the Lord's day.
SEC. 5. That it shall be unlawful to pay or to receive payment or wages in any manner for service rendered, or for labor performed, or for the transportation of persons or property, in violation of the provisions of this act, nor shall any action lie for the recovery thereof, and when so paid, whether in advance or otherwise, the same may be recovered back by whoever shall first sue for the same.
SEC. 6. That labor or service performed and rendered on the first day of the week in consequence of accident, disaster, or unavoidable delays in making the regular connections upon postal routes and routes of travel and transportation, the preservation of perishable and exposed property, and the regular and necessary transportation and delivery of articles of food in condition for healthful use, and such transportation for short distances from one State, district, or Territory into another State, district, or Territory as by local laws shall be declared to be necessary for the public good, shall not be deemed violations of this act, but the same shall be construed so far as possible to secure to the whole people rest from toil during the first day of the week, their mental and moral culture, and the religious observance of the Sabbath day.
Now, first, we will recur to a statement made already in this paper, viz., that the Blair Amendment to the Constitution was for the purpose of making this bill, and all other bills of similar cult constitutional; for, according to the Constitution as it was then and as it is to-day, this bill and all other bills of kindred ilk were and are unconstitutional. But this bill is essentially a religious bill, that is, it is in the interests of one particular religion. And that phase of religion with which it deals and which it is intended to protect is SUNDAY KEEPING. Therefore, it logically follows that the Blair Constitutional Amendment was intended to pave the way for the teaching of a proper observance of Sunday in the public schools of all the States.
The question may arise in the minds of some persons as to what is the good of declaring against these measures, since they died in the Fiftieth Congress, and never were enacted. We answer, First, because, although these measures are dead, the spirit which gave birth to them still lives, and is even now seeking to enact laws infinitely more blasphemous, more papal, and more entirely antichristian than these. Second, since that time, although the associations backing these bills have been apparently content with the enactment of milder measures, these are only an index to what they will do when they have the power. So that, although technically these bills are dead, practically they are very much alive, as the remainder of this paper will amply prove.
Now to the Blair Sunday Rest Bill, per se. We have already made some charges against it, all of which and many more we are prepared to defend against the world.
The object of the bill is stated in the first paragraph of section 1, viz., "to secure to the people the enjoyment of the first day of the week . . . as a day of rest, and to promote its observance as a day of religious worship." Now religion—true religion—is the duty which man owes to God; it is "man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God." Therefore, according to this, the State is to take upon itself the duty of superintending "man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God" in this matter of Sunday observance. This is in verity to overturn the whole foundation upon which the civil structure of the United States rests,—it is to make the government the people's censor morum, the pater patriae,—father of the people, instead of their creature. It turns the legislative assemblies into hierarchs and the judiciary benches into boards of inquisitors. It puts the rulers in the place of God; for Jesus Christ distinctly declared that the things of God are to be rendered to God and the things of Caesar to Caesar. But this bill is for the purpose of making the people render an account of their religious observance of Sunday to Caesar, which is civil government, so that its intent is diametrically opposed to the plain command of Christ. Since, therefore, this bill puts rulers in the place of God, by empowering them to call men to account for their religious observances, it follows that this bill is blasphemous. All such attempts to make men religious by torturing their bodies for the good of their souls are repudiated by high heaven, for Christ himself said, "If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not." John 12:47. And again, "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17. It is a bill worthy of the genius of Louis XIV. of France, of whom it was said that he dragooned his subjects to heaven.37
Moreover, it is papal, for it is in the interests of a papal institution; for Sunday is a creation of the Catholic Church; it is the distinguishing mark of the "mother of harlots"—the beast which is to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. It is for the purpose of enacting a lie. Sunday is not the Sabbath; Sunday is not the Lord's day; far from it, it is the distinguishing feature of the most iniquitous system for oppressing and degrading the souls of men that ever has been, or that ever will be, upon the earth,—the Roman Catholic Church. So far from being the Sabbath day of sacred rest, Sunday is a day upon which God commanded men to work; for the fourth precept of the Decalogue emphatically declares, "Six days shalt thou labor; . . . but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work." Ex. 20: 9, 10.
Then, since these men, styling themselves Christians, seek to enact laws commanding men to rest upon a day on which God distinctly said, "Thou shalt labor," are not they antichristian?
It is wrong in principle. Who can cite an instance in the Bible where Jesus Christ ever asked for civil power to enforce his teachings? And when they did try to make him a temporal prince, so that he might have that power, he repudiated their efforts.
Again; this act puts into the hands of all unprincipled persons the power of "wiping out old scores" in a manner that is revolting to civilized society. Section 5 says:—
SEC. 5. That it shall be unlawful to pay or to receive payment or wages in any manner for service rendered, or for labor performed, or for the transportation of persons or property, in violation of the provisions of this act, nor shall any action lie for the recovery thereof, and when so paid, whether in advance or otherwise, the same may be recovered back by whoever shall first sue for the same.
Let us, for the sake of example, suppose a case: Here are two firms, both engaged in the manufacture of threshing machines. Firm A makes better machines than firm B, consequently A gets more orders for machines. The prices of both firms are alike. The directors of A see that they cannot produce a sufficient number of machines, running six days per week, to meet the demand, so they decide to run on Sunday also. They employ 300 hands. Then B commences to reason like this: Our trade is light; we cannot compete with A, but the law provides—
that it shall be unlawful to pay or to receive payment or wages in any manner for service rendered, or for labor performed, or for the transportation of persons or property, in violation of the provisions of this act, nor shall any action lie for the recovery thereof, and when so paid, whether in advance or otherwise, the same may be recovered back by whoever shall first sue for the same.
So we will enter suit against all men working for A, and recover the wages paid to all for last Sunday's work. We will make about $1,000, and cause them an infinite amount of trouble.
Now this is no improbable case. It is a fair illustration of what would happen under such a law.
Further, it will be an accepted axiom with all fair-minded men that an increase of hypocrisy is always the inevitable result of connecting any description of penalty with the profession of particular opinions. Sunday work is the outward expression of an opinion. "Whatever may be the case with individuals, it is certain that the majority of men find an extreme difficulty in long resisting constant temptation. And when the temptation comes to them in the shape of honor and emolument, they are too often ready to profess the dominant opinions, and abandon, not, indeed, their belief, but the external marks by which that belief is made public. Every man who takes this step is a hypocrite; and every government which encourages this step to be taken, is an abettor of hypocrisy, and a creator of hypocrites. Well, therefore, may we say that when a government holds out as a bait that those who profess certain opinions shall enjoy certain privileges, it plays the part of the tempter of old, and, like the evil one, basely offers the good things of this world to him who will change his worship and deny his faith."—Buckle.
But a nation of hypocrites means national ruin, inevitably. And to national ruin the United States was doomed from the day she started upon the road of religious legislation. We may be defeated by the acts of our enemies, but our own deeds alone can degrade us. And religious legislation always has, and ever will, yield a harvest of wickedness and woe.