The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1882-06-21
DIR. TALMAGE ON STRIKES.
Flowers from the South - The
Blue and the Gray-Labor and
Capital-CO-Operatiye AssOci-
atiOns-Trades UniOns-Better
IL. l.

e ing, the 18th, IN spite of the threat
ening weather, by thousands desir
~ Gus of hearing DR.. Talmage discus
the subject of the present labo
troubles throughout the country
Every seat was filled and hundred
5 sat or stood in the aisles, while 9th
= .ers were unable to gain admission t.
the building.
!. After singing and prayerthe grea
: preacher advanced to the front O
the pulpit, holding in his hand a
small but tastefully arranged basket
of flowers, the handle of which was
trimmed with gray and blue ribbons.
In a few simple words, without ora
torical effort, he said he desired to
introduce to his congregation these
flowers, which were from Virginia.
and were given him by a descend
ant of Patrick Henry, and that it
was not a mere accident that the
garniture of the basket was the blue
and the gray. A mur1nur of ap-
plause run through the great audi
ence, which was only hushed as the
minister began to read from the ell
eventh chapter of Isaiah the picture
Of the final condition of the world
when the " lion and the lamb shall
lie down together" and ga little
child shall lead them"
The text for the morning sermon
was: The eye cannot say to the
hand, [ have no need of thee"
Mr.. Talmage said "This week /
have been in the Carolinas, and l
saw the coming Of such q harvest as
has never been witnessed before in
that climate. Whatever story the
speculator may tell you, there will
be reaped from all parts of the land
mighty crop. There is going to
be plenty to eat and plenty to wear.
At this time Of prosperity, one hun
dred and fifty thousand workmen
halt in their industries. Some per-
sons suppose that this stoppage is of
no great importance, since the toll
ers have gone out on pic mic, and
all seems mild, beautiful and pleas
ant. But every pic mic comes to an
end, and men are the same in all
ages, and hunger and starvation al
ways mean violence; so that the on
ly safety for the people is as soon as
possible to have this labor trouble |
adjusted and the strikes stopped.
The most. alarming and appalling
part of the whole business is that
skilled labor is about to be imported
from beyond the sea, and that many
of those who have quit their toll
have quit those places of occupation
forever. Any man who has any
sympathies-any man who has any
love either for God or for the human
race, ought to be praying now; and
every man who has any Christian
views on this important contest be-
tween capital and labor ought now
to utter them with an emphasis. i 4
Human society is great piece Of
mechanism, controlled BY one great
and ever-revolving force, the wheel
of Gods providence, and if you
harm one part of the machinery of
society you harm all parts. All
professions are interdependent-all
trades, all classes of people-capital
and labor are interdependent There
is no such thing as independence.
Dives cannot kick Lazarus without
hurting his own foot. The eye can
not say. to the hand Il have no need
of thee.
"Labor and capital are to be
brought to a better understanding
by complete canvass of the whole
subject They will be brought to
peace when they find that they are
identical in their interests, and that
what is good for one class Of society
is eventually good for all classes.
When capital maligns labor it is the
eye cursing the hand when labor
maligne capital, it is the hand ours
ing the eye. The vast majority of
are successful laborers.
If the capitalist would draw his
glove yeu would see the broken
the SCARED and blister
ed palm, the stiffened fingerjoint.sL
"In nearly all large mandfactur-
ing establishments, too, you will
find men on wages who once en-
ployed hundreds of hands. The
distance between labor and capital
is not a great gulf over.swhich is
swung q Niagara suspension bridges
it is only step, and the capitalists
are crossing over to become laborers ,
and the laborers to become capital
lists and would to God they might
shake hands while they cross | On
the other hand, laborors are the high
est kinds of capitalists. Their in
vestments are not in banks or stocks,
but their nerves, muscles, bones,
skill and physical health are mag
nifcent capital.
"Again, there is to come relief in
this country from cooperative as
sociation. / am not now speaking
of trades-unions, but of that plan
by which laborers put their surplus
together and become their own
and managers of their
own enterprises. In England and
Wales there are 913 cooperative
associations, with 100000 members
and a capital equal to $4,000, 900,
and business annually of 500, ,000,-
600. One of the most prominent
men of the English Parliament has
said 'Co-operation is the one and
only relief for the laboring popula-
tion-the path by which they are
to come uD from the hand-to month
style of living to reap the honors
and rewards of our higher civiliza-
ton The association in Troy,
New York, existed long enough to
show that great good might come
out of such an institution if rightly
carried on and developed But you
ask, why talk of surplus being