Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-09-04
VACATION PAPERS.
a CONFEDERATION or THE MORAL
BRSkFITs on LARO..
ITS chief Good IL In EniarGing the Moral Ma.
turs OF the fndividuai-some Thoughts
That Are Pertinent to tho Present
Labor situation.

There Is something In labor that Is on.
nobling to our manhood. A man who In out
OF occupation somehow feels lowered In his
own estimation as well as in that Of others.
There Is q moral weakness In idleness, and
certain moral strength in being engaged In
some legitimate business. What In the
reason OF this9 Labor is q benefit to man,
not only because it ia the ordinary and legiti-
mate means OF securing physical subsistence,
nor yet because 1t saves him from the temp
tations and evils Of idleness, but because II
develops his moral nature. How In this, you
ask Is there any virtue in labor apart
from the wages Il secures? We answer, yes.
The wages earned is the smallest part OF the
benefit resulting from labor.
The chief benefit consists in the enlarge
ment of the moral nature, caused by The
good that tabor confers on others. To do
something for the good OF our fellowmen, TOR
the community, for mankind, elevates and
eDnobles man. Selfishness Is the bane OF
our moral nature. To be engaged In doing
something for the good OF others counteracts
the principle OF selfishness and promotes the
growth of charity, which ennobles all who
exercise It All legitimate labor does this. A
mechanic Is daily engaged in producing
something that Is Of use for the public. 1t
may be articles of furniture, or clothing, or
implements of agriculture, or any OF the
society. lie feels day by day that he is con-
tributing something that aids In keeping So
ciety going, that aids In promoting its vel.
fare, and there is something noble, manly In
this.
Tho professional man is engaged in the
same way in laborng for the welfare of
others. The physician Is public benefactor,
who labors day by day, and often by night,
too, to lessen the sufferings Of his fellowmeD,
to save and prolong life, and thus to promote
llciatv.
the other professions From the highest
calling in life To the humblest pursuit OF the
artisan or the day laborer, every man who
engages in honest toll may feel that he is a
public benefactor.
1t may he said that every man labors for
hire. and therefore labors Tor himself and not
for others, or IL he labors for others 1t Is only
that he may pepett himself Labor may, 1t
Is true, be turned irftS this purely selfish
character, but this Is not necessarily the case.
Even beyond what the ordinary ,ehprer Is
conscious of, he has a feeling Of a. - in
his toll that results whether he clearl Sss> -
1t or not, from the good he Is doing for s0.'
ciety. IL he labors merely for wages, in a
servile spirit, he is, indeed, slave, and he
feels degraded by his labor. He chaies under
1t and daily bewails or curses the necessity
for his laboring; but as rule labOring men
have different spirit from this; they feel
that they are men, and that they are contrib
uting to the welfare of their fellowmen.
This IL the feeling ali laborers should have,
and this feeling sweetens toll. The man
who makes brooms gloriiies his Maker Just
as really as he who tolls In the learned pro-
LESSONS or in the highest positions In the
state. The old Scotch clergyman was right
when he said 10 the young man who came TO
ask his opinion as to his studying for the
ministry. After examining him rs to his
talents and ascertaining that his occupation
was that of making brooms, he said "Ioung
man, you can gloriiy your Maker better by
making brooms than by preaching the gos-
pei"
Where this view is taken of labor it tends
to elevate our manhood, enlarges our spirit
of charity, and often rises to true heroism.
What Is it that leads the physician to expose
his own life in the midst OF prevailing pesti.
What is it that leads the captain to stand al
his post and sacrifice his own life to save the
lives OF those in his vessel =? Numerous in
stances are occurring every day that reveal
this noble spirit of selfsacritice, and thus
bring out the better side OF our humanity.
We in America should cultivate this
moral element that belongs to labor. In no
country on the globe is the labOrer held in
such honor as In America. Let him see to II
that he maintains his noble character. II he
hshness and seeks merely personal advan
| tage from it, without regard TO his employer
| then indeed it loses its nobility. Then sci
hshness on one side begets selfshness on the
| other, and II becomes a contest which car
| gain the advantage. The same may be sale
| of the employer in relation to his employees
The only cure Tor this Is for each to realiZ,
| that the moral benefit that results from labo
| is worth more than that which Is merely
| physical. Then the employer ana the en-
| ploye will feel that they stand upon leve
| so far as manhood is concerned, and tha
| both are laboring, though in differen
spheres, for the advancement of the welfar
| OF society,