The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-23

| ing classes AS a whole, or any large numbeg of
| them, will ever emerge from the hand To- mouth
| mode of living and get their share In the re-
wards and honors of our advanced civilization:
| Thomas Hughes, the ablest and the most brill
| liant friend of the working man; Lord Derby,
/ John Stuart Mill-men who gave half their life
| time to the study of this question-aH favor CO.
| operative associa ton.
1.-THE principle was illustrated in Ireland.
| One day mailcoach traveller found a man
standing in the water repairing DAM Are
you working by yourselff inquired the traveller
| Yes was the answer Where is your steward
| we have no steward who is your masterY
| We have no master. We are on new system
| Then vino sent you to do this work. The com
| mittee.' Who is the committeeF Some OF the
| members What mem ers do you meanp asked
the visitor. The poughmen and laborers who
| are appointed by us committee. belong
| to the new systemites.'
''You say that there have been great failures
| in that direction. l admit it. Every great
movement at the STARTS a failure. The applica-
/ ton Of steam power failure, electro telegraphy
failure, railroading a failure, but after while
| the worlds chief success l hear some say: why,
it is absurd to talk of a surplus to be put into
this cooperative association, when men can
hardly get enough to ert, and wear. and take
care Of their families reply: Put into my
hand the money spent in the last FIVE years in
| this country by the laboring classes, for rum
| and tobacco. and will start cooperative insti-
| tuition of monetary power that will surpass any
1
| Again remark that relief will come to the
| working classes through more thorough discov-
| cry on the part of employees that it Is best for
| them to let their employers know just how mat
| ters stand. The most of the capitalists of to-day
are making less than per cent, less than per
cent. less than per cent, on their investments.
| Here and there is an anaconda swallowing down
everything, but such the exceptions 1t IS
often the case that employees blame their en-
| ployer, because they suppose he is getting along
| grandiy, when he is oppressed to the last
| point of oppression. L know q manu-
| facturer who employed than 1000
| hands. said to him: DO you ever have any
trouble with your workmen2 Do you have any
strikesp No. he said. What! in this time
| of angry discussion between capital and labor,
no trouolel WE'LL he said, 1 have way of
my own. Every little while call my employees
| together and say: Now. boys, l want to show
| you how matters stand What you turned out
| this year brought 80 much. You see. it isn't so
much as we got last year. / can't afford to pay
you as much as did. Now, you know put ali
my means into this business. What
centase, and what wages ought to
pay you2 Come let US semitic this
And said that manufacturer, we are
| always unanimous When we suffer, we all
suffer together. When we advance. we advance
| together; any my men would die for me- But
when man goes among his employees with
superciliousa air, and drives up to his factory as
| though he were the autocrat Of the universe,
with the sun and the moon In his vest pockets.
moving amid the wheels of the factory, chiefly
anxious lest creased or a smrched hand should
tough his immaculate broadcloth, he will see at
| the end he has made an awful mistake think
| that employers will find out after awhile that it
! is to their interest as far possible to explain
matters TO their employees You be frank with
them. and they will be frank with yon.
| again: l remark, relief will come to the la
| boring classes through the religious recuihcation
| of the country. Labor is appreciated and
| warded just in proportion as country is Chris
| tianized. Why is our smallest coin a penny.
| while in China it takes six dozen pieces to
| make penny, the Chinese carrying in his
own country the cash, as it is called. around mis-
neck like string of beads, dozen of these
| pieces necessary to make the value of one of our
penniesa In this country, for nothing do we want
| to pay less than penny. In China they often have
| to pay the sixth of penny, or the twelfth of
| penny. What is the difference. Christianity.
| Show me a community that is thoroughly infdel
| and / will show you community where wages
| are small. Show a community that is thor
oughly Christianized. and l will show you
| community where wages comparatively
| large How do account for tg The philosophy
| is easy Our religion is democratic religion.
| 1t makes the owner of the mill understand he is
a brother to ali the operatives Of the mill. Born
of the same heavenly Father, to lie down in the
same dust. to be saved by the supreme
mercy. No putting on of airs in the sepulcher
or in the judgment.
| "An engineer in New England factory gets
| sleepy, and he does not watch the steam gauge.
and there is wild thunder of ex-
| plosion, and the owner of the mill and
one of the workmen slain. The
| two slain men up toward the gate OF
| heaven. The owner Of the mill knocks at the
gate. The celestial gate keeper cries: who is
| thereP The reply comes: i was the owner of
! factory at Fall River, where there was an ex-
plosion just now, and lost my lfe and want
| to come in.' Why do you want to come in.
and by wha: right do you come inp
asks the celestial gate-keeper. On"
800 hands. | was great man at Fall River.
| You employed 200 or 300 men, says the gate
| keeper, but how much Christian grace did you
employp None at all says the owner of the
MILL Step back, says the celestial gate keeper;
| no admittance here for you. Right after comes
| up the poor workman. He knocks at the gate.
| The shining gate-keeper says: Who is therep
| He says, a poor workman; L
come up from, the explosion in Fall
| River; / would like to enter What
is your right to come in herep asks the
shining gate keeper. The workman saws: 1
heard that a shining messenger came forth from
| your world TO our world to redeem it, l have
| been bad man; | used to swear when | hurt
| my hand with the wheel; used to be angry;
/ have done a great many wrong things, but
| confessed IL all to the messenger that came from
| your country, aud after confessed it he told me
to come up. here, and that you may
know that | have right to come, taare is
| his name the palm OF my hand; here is
! his name on my forehead Then there
| is q sound of working pulleys, and the
| gates lift. and the workingman goes in. There
was a vast difference between the funerals at
! Fall River. The owner of the mill had great
| funeral. The poor workingman bad a small
| funeral. The man who came upon bis own
| pompous resources was shut out of heaven. The
poor man. trusting in the grace OF the Lord
| Jesus Christ, entered heaven.
| so you see it is democratic religion. do
not care how much money you have, you have
not enough money to buy your way through
/ the gate. l do not care how poor you are.
| if you have the grace of God in your
| heart, no one can keep you out. If
| the shining gate keeper. smitten by some Unjust
| ice, should try to keep you out. all heaven would
/ fly from their thrones, and they would cry: Let
| him I'M let him in!' My friends you need to
| saturate our populations with the religion of
/ Christ and wages will be larger. employers will