Adventists fined and observed, and reported to the grand jury indicted, arrested, tried, convicted, fined; and having no sent to jail. money to pay the fine, these moral Christian citizens of Arkansas were dragged to the county jail and imprisoned like felons for twenty-five days — and for what? For daring in this so-called land of liberty, like felons. in the year of our Lord 1887, to worship God! Was this the end of the story? Alas, no, sir! They were turned out; and the old man's only horse, his sole reliance to make bread for his children, was levied on to pay the fine and costs, amounting to thirty-eight dollars. The horse sold at auction for twenty-seven dollars. A few days afterward the sheriff came again, and demanded thirty-six dollars, -- eleven dollars balance due on fine and costs, and twenty-five dollars for board for himself and son while in jail. And when the poor old man a Christian, mind you told him with tears that he had no money, he promptly levied on his only cow, but was persuaded to accept bond, and the amount was paid by contributions from his friends of the same faith. Sir, my heart swells to bursting with indignation as I repeat to you the infamous story. On next Monday, at Malvern, six as honest, good, and virtuous citizens as live in Arkansas are to be tried as criminals for daring to worship God in accordance with the dictates of their own consciences, for exercising a right which this government, under the Constitution, has no power to abridge. Sir, I plead, in the name of justice, in the name of our republican institutions, in the name of these inoffensive, God-fearing, God-serving people, our fellowcitizens, and last, sir, in the name of Arkansas, I plead that this bill may pass, and this one foul blot be wiped from the escutcheon of our glorious commonwealth. Christians imprisoned Old man's horse sold. His only cow levied or. Helped by friends. Continuation of prosecution." Plea for Sabbatarians May 21, 1888. Title -to promote day of religious worship. Secular work prohibited. Revival after sixty years of quiet. A notable hearing. NATIONAL SUNDAY-REST BILL.' SENATE BILL NO. 2983, INTRODUCED IN FIRST SESSION OF FIFTIETH BILL TO SECURE TO THE PEOPLE THE ENJOYMENT OF 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 employee 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 1 For nearly sixty years the question of Sunday legislation received no attention in Congress, the famous and unanswerable Sunday Mail Reports of 1829 and 1830, prepared by Col. Richard M. Johnson, having put the matter at rest for this time. But with the introduction of the National Sunday-rest bill by Senator Blair, of New Hampshire, in 1888, the question was again revived, and for a number of years this and other similar measures before Congress were discussed and widely agitated throughout the country. A notable hearing was held on this bill before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor, of which Mr. Blair was chairman, December 13, 1888, in which the merits of the bill and the principles underlying it were argued at length and vigorously contested. Its unconstitutionality was noted, and the history of Sunday legislation brought to bear upon the issue. Petitions for and against the measure were widely circulated. than committee. The measure, however, got no further 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. Mails not to be handled on Sunday except in SECTION 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 cases of collected, assorted, handled, or delivered during any part of the first day of the week: Provided, That Early in the first session of the fifty-first Congress, December 9, 1889, Senator Blair re-introduced his Sunday bill, but stripped largely of its religious terminology, and with an exemption added to the last section, section 6, in favor of observers of another day. The title to the bill was changed to read: "A bill to secure to the people the privilege of rest and of religious worship, free from disturbance by others, on the first day of the week." The exemption in section 6 read as follows: "Nor shall the provisions of this act be construed to prohibit or to sanction labor on Sunday by individuals who conscientiously believe in and observe any other day than Sunday as the Sabbath or a day of religious worship, provided such labor be not done to the disturbance of others." Soon after its re-introduction, the Litchfield (Minnesota) pendent" commented upon the matter thus: "Inde 'Senator Blair has, since the present session of Congress opened, re-introduced his famous Sunday-rest bill. He has changed the title and made other modifications in the bill to disarm opposition. One of the most important is a sop thrown to the Seventh-day Adventists in a proviso exempting them from the operations of the bill. Notwithstanding these disguises and concessions the spirit of the bill remains the same. The principle is wholly, radically, and fundamentally wrong, and it matters little how the act is doctored and tinkered to satisfy this or that element of opposition. We hope Congress will sit squarely down on it." Quoted in "American Sentinel," March 3, 1890. But although divested thus of its glaringly religious character, and exempting observers of another day, the measure again failed to carry, the exemption itself testifying to the fact that the proposed legislation entered the realm of conscience and the field of religious controversy. The bill died with the fifty-first Congress. necessity and mercy. Due observance of day as day of worship guarded. Interstate commerce prohibited. Day of religious worship. whenever any letter shall relate to work of necessity or mercy, or shall concern the health, life, or decease 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 or letters in packages separate from other mail matter, and shall make regulations for the delivery thereof, the same having been received at its place of destination before the said first day of the week, during such limited portion of the day as shall best suit the public convenience and least interfere with the due observance of the day as one of worship and rest: And provided further, That when there shall have been an interruption in the due and regular transmission of the mails, it shall be lawful to so far examine the same when delivered as to ascertain if there be such matter therein for lawful delivery on the first day of the week. SECTION 3. That the prosecution of commerce between the States and with the Indian tribes, the same not being work of necessity, mercy, nor 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 or employee of any person or corporation, who shall willfully violate this section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten nor 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. SECTION 4. That all military and naval drills, musters, and parades, not in time of active service or im mediate 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. Payment on Sunday or for Sun unlawful. SECTION 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 transpor- day work tation of persons or of 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. SECTION 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 healthy 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.1 " of 1 As with its title, this last expression was a "dead give away the measure and the whole movement demanding its enactment. The act was to be so "construed" as to secure to the people "the religious observance of the Sabbath day." When the bill was re-introduced, this expression was omitted, and in its place the "sop" exempting "conscientious" observers of another day inserted. What works perSunday. missible on Securing Sunday as day of rest object of bill. and worship A giveaway clause. |