The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-07-01
MASONIC HALL

MIR. Fr0thAng hams Arlst0oratlc Snocrs
ut Worklngmon Answered from tho
Standpoint or Christia nifty.
Tho Free Religious Conference, which has held
several Sunday sessions on Eighth avenue,
changed base yesterday forenoon to Masonic Hall,
Thirteenth street, east OF Fourth avenue where.
pursuant to announcement. Samuel Leavtt de-
iivered an address entitled "Mr. Frothingham's
AristOcratic Sneers at the workingmen Answered
from the Standpoint OF Christianity" At the ap-
pointed hour. eleven O'Clock, . congregation Of
four women and eight men had taken possession
OF thirteen chairs and ten settees which had been
CONSIDERABLY placed In the coolest corner OF
the hall, and which were encircled or
divided from the remainder Of the spacious room
by fifty or sixty small pieces OF white pasteboard
suspended by henpen string, and bearing scrip
tural and Other quotations. done In printers ink.
The central pasteboard bore the motto 'Freely Re-
ligious, Not Freely Irreligious," and the remain
der were inscribed with quotations from the Bible
COnfucus, Madame Roland, George Fox. De Stael
Spencer, Tennyson, Swedenborg and Molinos.
posed themselves, Mr. Leavitt entered and taking
his place beside round table, occupied the arten-
tion Of the congregation for over an hour, during
which the substance Of his remarks was as fol-
lows
Rev. o. B. rockingham, at Lyric He'll. I'VE or six
men didn't look starved but had smiling faces, they
had no particular cause for complaint 1t was not
surprising that rockingham and his clique should
take such view when they had
RRNOUNCED THE NAME or CHRISTTANs.
Mr.. rockingham had also said that capitalists
were subjected to the worst kind OF tyranny by
the wOrkingmen who should accept, without COM
plaint, the places In which they found themselves
IN the world. Mr.. Leavitt, who considered him.
self natural preacher, protested against this as
being founded upon dogma rather than necessity.
and thought that where a square-brained man was
found digging In sewer he should be elevated to
better sphere Of labor. The two extremes OF
PIotestantsm, he said were opposed TO the move
ment OF the worklngmen, but the Catholic Church.
with all its mummeries and nonsense, had the
truth Under its piles OF rubbish, and believed that
communism and internationallsm were the result
OF the oppression of the poor by the rich The doc
trine OF
THR BROTHERHOOD OF MAN,
which had never been clearly enunciated before
OF Christianity and the salvation OF tho working
men. He did not believe In the divine right OF the
upper dog In q fight to chaw OF the head OF the
under dog, and he could not 20 the doctrine that
all men should have equal compensation. All
should have equal rights but no man should have
prevent such monopoly he would have the system
OF graduated taxation adopted, 80 that the heaviest
rate would fall upon the itch, who, by Q
rate Increasing In proportions 10 the increase OF
their wealth, should be preve 1ted from making
such enormous accumulati0ns He didn't believe,
with some. that all were going TO the devil and
Tom Scott but thought that by series OF religious
eclectcisms the Church OF the future would be de-
veloped, the brotherhood Of man established and
the cause OF labor uplifted.
and secular papers In support OF his address, and
was followed 10y several OF the congregation, who
spoke upon positivism and other subjects, which
had been alluded 10 by the main speaker.