Sunday Laws Infringe on Personal Liberties.
By L. H. Logan
WHEN we begin to legislate in religious matters or in things that pertain exclusively to the individual conscience, we are going to infringe on some one's rights and liberties. It is inevitable. As a matter of fact, in the realm of conscience there is no other right than the right of individual conscience. There is no such thing as a collective, corporate, or sectarian conscience. Conscience pertains solely to the individual. It is the individual's own view of his personal relation of faith and obedience to God, neither is there such a thing as "civic righteousness." There is only one kind of righteousness, and that is the righteousness of God. It is imputed to us as individuals and not as a corporate body. Religion is calculated to make men righteous. Then, since religion pertains solely to the conscience, to our duty to our Maker, and no one can deal with our conscience righteously but our Maker, it necessarily follows that all religious legislation is unrighteous legislation. Sunday legislation is religious legislation, it matters not by what name it may be called, or under what garb it may be carried on. We will state two undeniable facts in evidence of it: First, Sunday is a religious institution; it originated as such, it is observed as such. Second, leaders in this Sunday-law movement are religious. From the first Sunday law that was enacted by Constantine in the fourth century to the last Sunday law that has been enacted in the world in the twentieth century, it has had for its object, directly or indirectly, to make people more religious. We repeat that we can not make people more religious by legislation. It only makes hypocrites of those who submit to it, and if allowed to go on to its ultimate end it will result in religious persecution. The pages of history are written with the blood of innocent victims for over 1,000 years as a result of the first Sunday law enacted by Emperor Constantine in A.D. 321. And since human nature is the same the world over and in all ages, and since like causes produce like effects, it follows that the same kind of legislation now would produce the same results. So, with malice toward none and good-will toward all, we must register our objection against religious legislation in all its forms.—L. H. Logan. Pure Milk in San Francisco.—With the endeavor to clean up the city, on the part of the united forces of federal, state, and municipal governments, there are also organizations which are fighting for pure food. Milk conditions have been shown to be deplorable. Stringent laws have been enacted against these unhygienic, unsanitary milk supplies. The law has been upheld by the courts, and if properly carried out, San Francisco will be given better milk in the future. The same warfare is extended to the butcher shops, and thousands of pounds of meat have been condemned. Let the good work go on. Sometime perhaps men will learn that there is a better food than meat, one that will sustain life and energy equally as well or better, and that food is an endless variety of fruits, grains, and vegetables. In connection with the discussion of drunkenness at Stanford, it is stated by those who seem to know that Stanford is not an exception in the matter of drunkenness, but that in other great universities in the land it is just as common. This certainly is a sad condition of things. If the great centers of education are weakly yielding to the destructive appetites and desires of human nature, what can we expect of the product they will turn out? True education ought to build up a whole man, mentally, physically, spiritually, well-balanced and strong to meet the perplexing trials and conflicts of life. That education is defective which develops such a class of students as is in evidence in some of the great institutions of learning, or which condones their weakness and vices. San Francisco is opening a free market in which producer and consumer can be brought together. One of these is to be located on West Mission Street, between Herman Street and Deboece Avenue; and one is planned on the water-front at the gore formed by East, Pacific, and Dunn Streets. Mr. John H. Behan, clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 70 Eddy Street, solicits correspondence with producers and growers. This is a splendid step if carried out justly, as we are assured it will be. It will prevent tons of produce from being dumped into the bay if the trust can not get its price. People in San Francisco ought to hurrah for a free market. Jews and Sunday Laws.—The Pueblo Star-Journal, of February 9, published a long paper from Rabbi Montague N. A. Cohen, of the Jewish synagog in that city. While he inveighs against the blue laws of New England, at the same time he urges a civil rest day. This is nothing strange. Rabbi Cohen does not know the first principles of true Sabbath-keeping: if he did he never would seek to obtain a civil Sabbath law. No Jew who believes the Bible would hold with Rabbi Cohen in his position. Fire Losses in San Francisco.—The Scientific American tells us that the actual fire losses in San Francisco at the time of the earthquake were $600,000,000, only $200,000,000 of which was covered by insurance, leaving a net loss of $400,000,000.