SENTINEL LIBRARY.
Terms, 25 cents per Year. Entered at the Post Office in Oakland. No. 56. 8 pps. Oakland, Cal., October, 1893. Prlca, 1 Cent.
SUNDAY CLOSING
OP THE
MIDWINTER EXPOSITION.
The Midwinter Exposition in San Francisco is an assured fact, at least so far as human calculation goes. It will doubtless be held as contemplated, and will be all that its most earnest advocate could wish in respect to its exhibit of the products of ah; science, and nature. Seventy-five nations will be there represented.
The same conflict has already begun in respect to its closing on Sunday that was waged Oyer the World’s Fair at Chicago. The Christian Endeavorersof Alameda County set the ball rolling, and the Presbyterian ministers of San Francisco next entered the field. The editorial staff of the Occident, the Presbyterian paper of the coast, is also inclined to claim “ first honors.” More recently there has been a joint meeting of the ministers of San Francisco, and a committee has been appointed looking to a canvass of the Pacific Coast for petitioners to those having the Fair in charge, to close on Sunday. They are determined that the Fair shall close. For instance, the Christian Endeavorers of Alameda County intimate that the opening of the Fair on Sunday will be against “ the good name of our State, as well as the moral character of our people,” that it “ would be a dishonor to God, and a grievous violation of his law,” and call on all “ law-abiding citizens ” to take “no concessions at the Fair and of entering into no contract regarding exhibits or other matters without a clear, irreversible clause securing Sunday closing during the entire time of the Exposition. ” And in similar language have spoken various clergymen of San Francisco.
Let us not be misunderstood in the matter. We are not pleading for an open Fair on Sunday nor for a closed Fair. That is not our business. If it is open, no law, State, Federal,
2 SUNDAY CLOSING OF THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION.
or Divine, will be violated. Let this be clearly understood by all our readers. We repeat it: If the Midwinter Exposition be opened on Sunday, no law, State, Federal, or Divine,
VILL BE VIOLATED.
CALIFORNIA HAS NO SUNDAY LAW.
Sunday is simply a holiday, subject to the same exemptions as other holidays. But the law does not say how that day shall be spent. Certain kinds of business are not legal if done on that day, but the same kinds are not legal if transacted on the Fourth of July, or Admission day. But everyone has the privilege of working or resting, of going to hear a lecture or a sermon, of attending church or theater, of staying at home or going to the fields and parks and groves, of reading the Bible and other religious books, or the newspapers, of doing missionary work and relieving the sick and poor, or attending a baseball game. A man is not made a criminal for doing something on Sunday that he can laudably do on other days.
And this is just as it should be. We do not mean by this that the influence of church and theater and ball game and picnic and newspapers and Bible are alike good, and that it is a matter of indifference as to which men choose. It makes all the difference in the world as to what influences and occupations men choose. But the privilege of choosing is alike sacred to each and all. It matters not though the baseballer may number one thousand and the churchgoer but one, the baseballer has no right to compel or coerce the churchgoer to attend a baseball game on Sunday, nor to so hedge up his way that it shall, outside of his home, be baseball or nothing. And it is just as true that the churchgoer, though he may number a thousand, has no right to compel or coerce the baseballer or theatergoer to attend the church on Sunday, nor so to hedge up his way that it shall, outside of his home, be church or nothing. This privilege of choosing or refusing as to just how the day shall be spent is alike precious to both parties and is equally the right of each. The law of California grants it, and he who attends the theater is as law abiding as he who attends the church.
no federal jurisdiction.
If the Midwinter Fair be opened, no Federal law will be violated. What powers the Constitution did not grant to the Fed-
SUNDAY CLOSING OP THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION. 3
eral government were reserved to the States and the people; and the Constitution expressly forbids the law-making power of this government to legislate in the religious domain. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” are the words of the Constitution. California is a free and sovereign State. The Federal government has no more jurisdiction in respect to the closing of the Fair on Sunday in San Francisco than it has in respect to the politics of the man the people of this State shall choose as governor. It is not, therefore, a violation of national law if the Exposition be opened on Sunday.
THE DIVINE LAW OF THE SABBATH.
It is not a violation of divine law if the Exposition be opened Spnday. God has set apart but one day as the Sabbath, and that is the seventh day, the day just before the first day of the week. See Mark 16:1; Luke 23 :56; 24:1; Matt. 28:1. The “first day of the week” did not come, according to Mark, till “ the Sabbath was past.” The next day after the Sabbath was the first day of the week. The commandment for the Sabbath is given in Ex. 20:8-11, and is as follows:—
“ Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy workj but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
This commandment enjoins the seventh day. The following are recognized principles in the interpretation of law:—
“ In the case of all law, it is the intent of the lawgiver that is to be enforced.”
“ When words are plain in a written law, there is an end to all construction; they must be followed.”
“When the intent is plain, nothing is left to construction.”
Certainly the words of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue are plain. If language means anything, that law means that the intent of the Lawgiver was that the seventh day should be the Sabbath, and this God based on reasons which will ap-
4 SUNDAY CLOSING OF THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION.
ply to no other day. God showed his intent by the threefold weekly miracle of the manna for forty years, thereby precluding any construction of the plain words of the law. The only weekly Sabbath or holy day known to the word of God is the seventh-day Sabbath, the memorial of creation, and the sign of sanctification, redemption, or re-creation in Christ. Eze. 20:20.
NO DIVINE LAW FOR SUNDAY.
On the other hand, there is no law in the Scriptures of truth enjoining the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest or to be kept holy unto the Lord. The following are a few of the expressions used by Protestant authorities with reference to this matter. Chambers’ Encyclopedia (article “Sabbath”) declares:—
“ By none of the fathers before the fourth century is it [the first day of the week] identified with the Sabbath; nor is the duty of observing it grounded by them either on the fourth commandment or on the precept or example of Jesus or his apostles.”
The Augsburg Confession, drawn up by Melancthon, states:
“The observance of the Lord’s day [Sunday] is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the church.” —Cox' Sabbath Manual, part 2, sec. 10.
Rev. Geo. S. Mott, D. D., president of the American Sabbath Union, says, “ We admit there is no such [divine] command ” for Sunday observance.
There will therefore be no crime committed, no infraction of law, State, Federal, or. Divine (and we may add, municipal), if the Midwinter Exposition be opened on Sunday. And, according to the law of the State of California, according to the Federal Constitution, according to the inspired word of the living God, no man or woman in California will or would transgress any law, State, Federal, or Divine, by attending the Fair on Sunday. Have we not, therefore, good reason why we, and, in fact, everyone else, should not care if the Fair be opened on Sunday ?
WHAT CHRIST SAYS.
But what if Sunday were indeed the Sabbath of the Lord? Because some observe that day, because they believe all ought to observe it, even though God should command it in his word,—
SUNDAY CLOSING OF THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION. 5
all this is no reason why they should seek to compel others to observe it, or condemn them if they do not. For, first, man can never compel religious observance, which is a matter of the heart and life; and, secondly, God never has given man that ‘right, no, nor did even the Perfect Man claim this right when he walked upon the earth. Says Jesus Christ: “ If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12:47. “As he is so are we in this world.” He also said, “Whatsoever^* would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets,”
No true follower of Christ Jesus can, therefore, seek to compel a Jew, Mohammedan, or even a pagan to do contrary to the convictions of that Jew, Mohammedan; or pagan. He may entreat, he may persuade, but he has no right to compel or coerce. No religious body, or combination of religious bodies, whether they are right or wrong as regards the true Sabbath, have any right to bring pressure to bear, any right to coerce, or seek to compel the observance of their wishes. None are compelled to go to the Fair on Sunday; let not Sunday keepers seek to compel others to stay at home.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN ?
1 But all this Sunday-closing agitation goes farther than the mere opening or closing of the Midwinter Exposition. It has greater ends in view, With still farther reaching results.
The whole object of this agitation is to obtain a California Sunday law. The closing of the Fair is but a mighty lever to that end. The professed ministers of Christ and religious organizations are endeavoring to force the directors of the Fair to close on Sunday. If the Fair be closed by the law of the State, the law is wrong, because the closing of the Fair for religious reasons pertains to that with which the State has nothing to do. If it be compelled by “Christians,” these Christians are using antichristian methods. The language of the gospel is “persuade, ” “ beseech, ” “ entreat, ” “ come. ’ ’ It recognizes man's free will. Jesus came not to condemn, to judge, to coerce, but “ to save,” “ to minister.” See John 12 :47; Matt. 20:28; Luke 9:51-56. But efforts are now being made to coerce the conductors of tile Fair into the closing of it. The initial step toward
6 SUNDAY CLOSING OF THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION.
this was taken by the Christian Endeavor Societies of Alameda County, July 17, in the following resolutions:—
Whereas, Sunday opening of the Columbian Exposition has proved to be so objectionable to the larger part of the intelligent citizens of these United States, as seen by the strong protests against it, and the multitudes who on that account have refrained from attending said Fair; and,
Whereas, The Christian Endeavorers of California hold in high regard the good name of our State, as well as the moral character of our people, which will be greatly affected by the manner of conducting the proposed Midwinter Fair; and,
Whereas, We firmly believe that Sunday opening on that occasion would be a dishonor to God, and a grievous violation of his law; therefore be it
Resolved, That we, the Christian Endeavorers of the Alameda Count> Christian Endeavor Union, welcome the coming of this Fair, and we do most earnestly petition that the Lord's day be respected by closing the gates on that day; and we suggest to all Christians and law-abiding citizens of the Pacific Coast the eminent propriety of taking no concessions at the Fair and of entering into no, contracts regarding exhibits or other matters, without a clear, irreversible clause securing Sunday closing during the entire time of the Exposition; and be it
Resolved, That we recommend to the president of every Christian Endeavor Society in this county to prepare at once and present to every adult member of their society, church, and congregation, a petition setting forth these facts; and be it further
Resolved, That our corresponding secretary be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions to the corresponding secretaries of every union in the State, and ask them to pass similar resolutions and circulate such petitions to their societies.
THE MOVEMENT RELIGIOUS.	*
Note that the Whole matter is based on the Sunday closing of the World’s Fair, an object specifically “ religious,” and as such so demanded. “The larger part of the intelligent citizens of these United States ” refers to the protests of the church people against the opening of that Fair. It is safe to say that not more than one-third of the Protestant members ever personally protested against it, while many in the Episcopal Church, and the greater part of the Roman Catholic Church, and millions belonging to no church whatever, were positively for Sunday opening. Surely it cannot be said that the small minority which protested and boycotted and anathematized and threatened are the larger part of the intelligent people of this country. It is true that many “ refrained from attending ” because they did not want to pay a full price for a half show. This is what the “ Christian ” boycott accomplished, by the gospel of force and coercion, but not by Christian means.
The second reason given by the Endeavorers why the Fair should be closed is to save “the good name of the State as well as the moral character of our people.” We have before shown that no law, State or Divine, will be violated by opening the
SUNDAY CLOSING OF THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION. 7
Fair on Sunday, and the “good name ” of the State is not so much to be sought as its right action; and no power in this world can “affect ” “ the moral character of the people ” without the consent of the people as individuals. With their choice, not their compulsion, rests their morality. In this the Endeav-orers arrogate to themselves the authority to say what is moral for the people of California, and to take such steps as they think will prevent immorality. The church has no business to make or dictate laws for the State. It is a position which Christ himself would not assume (John 18:36; Luke 12:14), and he expressly forbade his church exercising such prerogative (Matt. 20:25-28; 1 Cor. 4:5).
The next step of the Endeavorers is to declare their conviction that to open the Fair Sunday is “ a dishonor to God, and a grievous violation of his law.” And they want the directors of the Fair to close for that reason; and more than this (for the object is a State Sunday law), they want the people of this State to.say that the opening of the Fair Sunday, an act which would be perfectly legitimate on other days, is “a dishonor to God and a grievous violation of his law.” If they could compel the closing of the Fair, then the prestige of this step would be used on the Legislature; and when the Legislature yielded and passed a Sunday law for the same reason (and a religious reason is the only reason why a Sunday law is desired), the State would stand as the sponsor of religious faith, the authoritative interpreter of divine law. It would come between the soul and Christ. The conscientious who were equally good citizens, but who interpreted the Bible differently, would be forced to suffer.
THE BOYCOTT.
Following the preamble, comes the Endeavorer resolution to petition “ that the Lord's day be respected, by closing the gates on that day; ” and then they “ suggest ” (a mild term for advising a boycott) “ to all Christians and law-abiding citizens of the Pacific Coast the eminent propriety of taking no concessions,” etc., or, in other words, not to patronize the Fair unless their demands be complied with. We say again that every man in California who treats his fellow-men civilly, though he labor every Sunday, is as law-abiding a citizen as the most earnest Endeavorer in the State.
There is more in the resolutions, which we have not space to consider. These resolutions are scattered throughout the State, and we understand have been cordially indorsed generally by the Endeavor Unions. The Christian Endeavor Society stands at the very head in its influence at the present time in religious circles. And right in the initial stage of the Fair, when its promoters are struggling for funds to insure its success, these religious societies of the State take this advantage to com-
8 SUNDAY CLOSING OF THE MIDWINTER EXPOSITION.
pel the recognition of a religious institution. Compelling it here, compelling it in municipalities, the next step will be to compel it in the State.
THEY ARE NOT ALONE;
But the Endeavorers are not alone. The preachers of San Francisco and Oakland met in San Francisco, September 14, and asked the directors of the Exposition “at the earliest possible moment to declare that the gates of the Midwinter Fair shall be closed on Sundays,” and in order that this may be done, they unite in asking for a Saturday half holiday. One of the reasons which they give for the closing of the Fair is that “the accomplishment of this patriotic object will barely depend, upon the due observance of die weekly rest day, that most beneficent institution which has become incorporated in our national civilization, which commands the respect, not only of the churches, but of the best thinking classes outside of the churches.”
We do not know what is meant by the first two lines of the above quotation unless it is that, unless the Sunday is respected by the Fair, its accomplishment will be made a very difficult matter by the religious classes. These ministers were from the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, and Christian Churches.
With all of these is the religious press, and behind it all is the American Sabbath Union. Dr. Edward Thomson, the active agent of the union in California, boasts that the union now has twenty-nine denominations in its organization; that by its efforts “twelve counties in California have passed some kind of a Sunday-closing ordinance.”
These and many more utterances which we have not space to give, clearly show just what the churches (with few honorable exceptions) are working for in California. It is by every plea whicn can be made save that of liberty, by subterfuge and sophistry unworthy of equality, patriotism, and Christianity, that these people seek to turn backward to the Dark Ages the one now free State. It is to degrade into the dust of tyranny, by religious bigotry and arrogance, the only State of any great influence which is not cursed by religious laws to-day. And the churches which are behind this movement, it matters not how honest their intention, are forsaking Christ and his power and laying hold of earthly power; in other words, the professed spouses of Christ are desiring to commit fornication with the powers of earth. Will all who are in the folds of these churches thus forsake Christ ? Will the State yield to the threats and seductions of the church and thus invite political ruin ?
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