Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, February 1922 · page 34 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #30 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This editorial celebrates Rev. D. H. Jones, a Baptist minister who resigned rather than enforce his congregation's demands for strict Sunday closing laws (blue laws—statutes prohibiting commercial activity on Sundays). The satire targets religious hypocrisy and coercive moralism. Jones argues that forced piety corrupts Christianity; the church should attract through moral example, not punishment or legal coercion. He criticizes "professional reformers" and "Christian lobbyists" in Washington—likely referring to temperance and Sabbatarian advocacy movements—as self-righteous busybodies using religion as a weapon rather than inspiration. The phrase "I would rather be a man than a minister" emphasizes that personal integrity matters more than institutional authority. The editorial mocks the presumption that legal restrictions on others' behavior reflect God's will, comparing it to expecting roses to smell of polecat. The headline, "The Bull is Mightier Than the Bullet," suggests moral strength surpasses force—a dig at legislated morality.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
32 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Whiz Bang Editorials “The Bull is Mightier Than the Bullet.” HATS off to a real man of the cloth. The Rev. D. H. Jones has resigned the pulpit of Huntington Park, California, Baptist Church, because of the fanatical attempts of his flock to enforce Sunday closing. “I prefer to dwell with the worldling and be true to my inner self than to live with the saint and betray it,” Reverend Jones says. “There is a way to make the church the super-attraction; but it will never be done by coercing the consciences of men. The Cross of Christ is proving to be the greatest magnet in the world, but use it as a club, and it will become a colossal failure.” “Killed professionally, yes. But, frankly, I would rather be a man than a minister. Character is greater than profession.” “I would just as soon believe that the perfume of the rose comes from the polecat as to believe that the spirit of the blue laws comes from God.” “Christ whipped men out of the church, but never into it. ‘Profesional reformers’ and ‘Christian lobbyists’ at Washington may mean well, but most of them are misguided swivel-chair heroes of the Cross.” “ ‘Close every door except the church,’ cries the reformer, forgetting that open hearts are greater induce-ments than closed doors.” “The doctrine behind the blue laws is this: ‘I am in