The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1886-06-09
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Third Discourse of the Series Or
"The Labor Question"
The Trials and Tribulutions OF the Work.
ing Classes-Things Which Should
Encourage the Patient Bear
Ing Of Present Ills.

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage delivered the
third discourse Of his series on "The Labor
Question" in the Brooklyn Tabernacle,
taking for his text:
So the carpenter encouraged the gold.
smith, and he that smootheth with the ham.
mer him that smote the anvil. --Isalah xii, I.
He said: You have seen in factories
piece Of mechanism passing from hand to
hand and from room to room, and one me-
chanic will smite It, and another will
fatten 1t, and another will chisel 1t,
and another will polish II until the work
be done. And so the prophet describes
the idols Of olden times as being made,
part of them by one hand, part of them by
another hand Carpentry cones in, gold
beating comes in, smithery comes in, and
three or four styles of mechanism are en-
ployed. $50 the carpenter encouraged
the goldsmith and he that smootheth
with the hammer him that smote the an
viii" When they met they talked over
their work and they helped each other on
with 1t. 1t was very bad kind Of busi-
ness; II was making idols which were an
insult to the Lord of Heaven. l have
thought II men in bad work can encourage
each other ought not men engaged in
honest partisanship and In honest mech
anism TO speak words of good cheerg
Twill speak this morning Of the general
hardships of the working classes. You
may not belong to this class, but you are
bound as Christian men and women to
know their sorrows and sympathize with
them, and as political economists
to come to their rescue. There is
great danger that the prosperous
classes, because Of the bad things that
have been said by the false friends of la
Dor, shall conclude that all this labor
trouble is "hullabaloo" about nothing.
Do not go off on that tangent. You would
not, neither would |, submit without pro.
test to the expressions to which many of
our laborers are subjected.
You do great wrong to the laboring
classes II you hold them responsible for
the work of the scoundrelly Anarchists.
You can not hate their deeds more thor
oughly than do all the industrial classes.
At the head of the chief organ of the
Knights Of Labor, in big letters, find the
following vigorous disclaimer:
Let It he understood by all the world that
the Knights OF Labor have no afliliation, as.
sociation, sympathy or respect for the band
OF cowardly murderers, cut throats and
robbers known as Anarchists, who sneak
through the country like midnight assas.
sins, stirring up tile passions OF ignorant
foreigners, unfurllng the red flag OF anarchy
and causing riot and bloodshed Parsons,
Spies, Fielding, Most and all their followers,
sympathlzers, alders and abettors should be
summarily dealt with. They are entitled to
no more consideration than Wild beasts
The leaders are towards and their followers
are fools.
You may do your duty toward your em-
ployes, but many do not, and the biggest
business firm in America to-day is Grip,
Gouge, Grind & Co.
Look, tor instance, at the woes Of the
womanly tollers, who have not made any
strike and who are dying by the thousands
and dying by iHhes.
read sfew fines from the last labor
port, juM out, as specimens OF what fe.
male employees endure: -tl..
Poisoned hands and can not work. Had te
sue the man for fifty cents.
Another:
About four months OF the year can, BIZ
hard work, earn a little more than three dol
lars per week. ..
Another:
She now makes wrappers 40 one dollar per
dozen; can make eight wrappers per day. =
Another:
We girls In our establishment have the
following fines Imposed: For washing your
hands, twenty.five CENTS: eating a piece OF
bread at your loom one dollar; also for sit
ting on stool taking drink Of water, and
many trlnlng things too numerous TO men
tion
Some Of the worst villains OF our cities
are the employers of these women. They
beat them down TO the last penny and try
to cheat them out Of that. The woman
must deposit dollar or two before she
gets the garments 10 work on. When the
works. done It is sharply inspected, the
most insignificant flaw Is picked out, and
the wages refused, and sometimes the
dollar deposited not given back The
Women's Protective Union reports a case
place whore she could get more wages, re-
solved to change employer, and went TO
get her pay for work done. The employer
says:
~ hear you are going to leave mew
"Yes," she said, "and have come TO get
what you owe me-"
He made no answer. She said: "Are
you not going TO pay me"
YES" he said, "I will pay you," and he
kicked her down stairs.
never swore q word In all my life, but
I confess that when read that I felt a
stirring within me that was not all devo-
tional.
By what principle Of justice Is II that
women In many Of our cities get only two
thirds as much as men, and in many cases
only halfi Here 10 the gigantic injustice
that for work equally well, II not better
done, woman receives far less compensa-
tion than man. Start with the National
Government. Women clerks In Washing
ton get 500 for doing that for which men
receive 81 800. The wheel Of oppression is
rolling over the necks Of thousands of
women who are at this moment In despair
about what they are to do. Many Of the
largest mercantile establishments OF our
cities are accessory 10 these denominations,
and from their large establishments there
are scores Of souls being pitched Off into
death, and their employers know IT, Ia
there Godf VIII there be judgmentf
tell you, II God rises up 10 redress wom-
ans wrongs, many Of our large establish
ments will be swallowed up quicker than