1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



943 



OUR 

 HOIS4ES, 



BY A.I. ROOT. 



The fear of the Lord prolonsethdays; but the years of 

 the wicked shall be shortened. — Prov. 10 :27. 



I suppose some people would smile if I 

 should suggest that those who remember 

 the sabbath daj'^ to keep it holy would live 

 longer, as a rule, than those who either pay 

 no attention to the sabbath or make it a day 

 of visiting and seeking amusement. I have 

 already spoken of the frequency of accidents 

 and death on God's holy day; and for some 

 time back I have been noting how the news- 

 papers generally carefully avoid mentioning 

 the fact that certain accidents and sudden 

 deaths occur on Sunday. They give the day 

 of the month without mentioning the day of 

 the week. If the catastrophe occurs on 

 week days they almost invariably give the 

 day of the week. I suppose the explanation 

 is something like this. The friends of the 

 boy who was drowned go to the editor and 

 say, "Please do not mention that it happen- 

 ed on Sunday. Just give the day of the 

 month, and but few people will notice that 

 it was Sunday. You see it looks a little bad 

 to have it given right out in print that he 

 was off with a crowd boating or bathing on 

 Sunday; and it would be better, under the 

 circumstances, to avoid caUing attention to 

 the fact." 



I do not know that this is always true, but 

 I think it must be, because where the ex- 

 cursion comes off without any mishap most 

 of the papers simply say "last Sunday." 



As the greater part of our great city dai- 

 I'es are now exhorting for better morals in 

 i-lmost every direction, I have wondered 

 that they did not come out with more pro- 

 tests against Sunday desecration. The 

 Cleveland Leader comes pretty near hitting 

 the spot in the following editorial which I 

 have just clipped: 



It is true, as it is inexplicable, that the first day of the 

 week, our Christian sabbath, is notable in newspaper 

 circles for its record of violent deaths. Monday's paper, 

 chronicling- the events of the preceding day, bristles 

 with tragedies by water, by fire, by explosion, by acci- 

 dents on railroads, in fact. l)y scores of common or un- 

 usual roads to the grave. Yesterday's paper was par- 

 ticularly marked in the regard referred to. 



You will notice the above cHpping was 

 taken from a Tuesday paper. The last sen- 

 tence refers to the record of accidents of the 

 day before. They record the sad fact as 

 " inexpUcable;" but if they would reflect a 

 little I think they might find a great lot of 

 facts by way of explanation; and it is my 

 purpose just now to mention some of them. 



If we go into any community and sort out 

 or sift out the persons who have little or no 

 respect for the sabbath, you will not only 

 have an ignorant lot, but a vicious lot. A 

 man in our town wanted to run his billiard 

 saloon all night and Sunday. The ministers 

 of our place remonstrated, and their remon- 

 strances were effectual. In talking the mat- 

 ter over with one of our principal divines— 



a man of education and culture— this fellow 



said something like this: "I do not go a 



on your Sunday." Of course, he put in a 

 bad oath where I have placed the blank. 

 Now, he meant that, so far as he was con- 

 cerned, he had no sort of regard for Sun- 

 day, even if the laws of our land besides the 

 feelings of Christian people respected it. 

 Probably his religion consisted in making 

 all the money he could by hook or crook, and 

 looking out for No. 1. t suppose there are 

 not very many who would go to such length 

 as he did, especially in using such language 

 to a minister of the gospel. But there are 

 scores of people in every community who 

 would as soon go to an excursion, circus, or 

 theater on Sunday as any other day — per- 

 haps a little sooner, because they then, as a 

 rule, have more time. Well, is" it not true 

 and reasonable to believe that a crowd 

 made up of such people would have fights or 

 brawls, and accidents and wrecks of some 

 kind? Just last Sunday, Sept. 18, there 

 was an Italian picnic in" Cleveland. Right 

 in front of the band, where the biggest crowd 

 was congregated, somebody exploded a bomb, 

 killing two people instantly, and wounding a 

 lot of others. Two explanations of the mat- 

 ter have been given. One is that an opposi- 

 tion Italian band had a spite against this 

 one. The other is that some stupid idiot 

 placed it there and lighted the fuse as a joke. 

 Next Sunday the Baltimore and Ohio 

 Railroad Co. makes a very low rate all along 

 its line to Wheeling, W. Va. They not only 

 give remarkably low rates for this Sunday 

 excursion, but at the bottom of one of the 

 bills that was put up in our factory they 

 hold out the following inducements to have 

 people join the crowd: 



" Vaudeville show, band concert, bowling, roller coast- 

 er, rnerry-go-round, and numerous other amusements." 



I mention this particularly, because it is 

 the first time I remember to have seen a no- 

 tice of a vaudeville show and band concert, 

 merry-go-rounds, etc., operated on Sunday. 

 Is this within the limit of the laws of our 

 State and of the United States? or have our 

 people got to such a standpoint that they 

 trample the law underfoot? 



Some time ago in a conference with a num- 

 ber of railroad men they expressed a strong 

 desire to be relieved of the Sunday-excursion 

 business. They said they consented to it 

 only under strong pressure, and that railroad 

 employees were against it, and the railroad 

 officials. I have heard this several times 

 since. If this is true, who is it that is right 

 down at the bottom of these Sunday excur- 

 sions? Now, I would not undertake to make 

 any long-range predictions in regard to the 

 weather; but I think I can pretty safely pre- 

 dict (on short range) that there will be 

 death or accident next Sunday at Wheeling. 



A few days ago the younger people per- 

 suaded me to go down to Cleveland to see 

 the automobile races. I objected on several 

 grounds. I do not believe in contests of any 

 kind; I do not believe in strife; and I am al- 

 so opposed to running automobiles at a speed 

 that endangers the life of the driver if a 



