The Sunday Question

At the Episcopal church congress in St. Paul yesterday, Rev. Henry Tatlock, of Ann Arbor, read a paper on the "Sunday Question."

"It is patent to all," remarked Mr. Tatlock, "that within the last half century our American Sunday has generally been losing its character, and there is little doubt that if the forces now undermining and assaulting it are allowed to maintain their operations without resistance, in another half century it will be transformed into a continental Sunday. The problem is to stop this secularization of Sunday, and, after all, the problem is a simple one. It is a question of what we want and how many of us want it and how much we want; it is a question of influence.

"Sunday as a day of rest and as a day of religious observance, is an American institution. It is recognized by the laws of the nation and by the laws of every state. It is a custom of the people, and the people have a right to demand that their customs shall be protected. My contention is that we must be willing to adopt a basis of action broad enough to win the support of all who desire to make our Sunday a day of rest from labor. To this end I would advocate the multiplication of agencies like the New York Sabbath committee, and I would establish them in every important center of every state in the union."