THE following important letter from a former American Editor has just been received by the Lord’s Day Observance Society with reference to the issuing of Newspapers on the Lord’s Day, and has been sent to the Press throughout the Country:—
“It is the duty of every Christian who loves the Lord’s Day to protest vigorously against certain newspapers which are regularly issuing Sunday* Editions. From an experience of many years of journalistic work in America, I warn the British people of the far-reaching evil with which they are threatened. The Sunday Newspaper is the greatest curse in the United States to-day, with the possible exception of the Liquor Traffic. The evil began during the Civil War, just as it is commencing here during the present War.
“I can imagine no greater calamity that could come to the British nation, as the result of the conflict now in progress, than the establishment of the Sunday Newspaper, which secularizes the Lord’s Day, and destroys its sanctity. Furthermore, it is not only editions of the daily papers which are to be guarded against at this time, but also secular Sunday papers under various names. One such journal has already sought to beguile the Christian public by advertising in religious journals that their paper is printed ‘without Sunday labour.’ This does not affect the question, as the real evil is the consumption of secular news on the Lord’s Day.
“Canada fully realizes the deadly nature of the Sunday Edition, and not only forbids its publication, but absolutely prohibits the entrance of copies into the Dominion on Sunday.
“If the British people are to escape this evil, now is the time for strenuous and concerted action. May I suggest two or three things that may be done by everyone who loves the Lord’s Day:
First, purchase no Newspaper on a week day that issues a Sunday Edition.
Second, write a courteous letter to the Editor, telling him why you have been compelled to stop purchasing his paper.
Third, pray earnestly that the Sunday Editions may be stopped and the nation delivered from the impending evil.
“When the Children of Israel disregarded the Sabbath, God made their land desolate, and sent the Chosen People into captivity. Will He spare this fair land if His Day is similarly disregarded? Let us pray and work without ceasing, and may God crown our efforts with glorious victory!
GEORGE J. B. DAVIS.”
*We object to the name “Sunday,” but we give the word as it appears in this letter, which is otherwise excellent.—ED.