The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-11-03
THE LA6oRiNG MAN..

"Ioe blDse the HtCh Mans Warnlng
SD the Poor Mans Comfort."
There Is an impression among the
Discontinued lahoring Glasses that the
Christian religion is in its teaching and
its tendency hostile to their interests;
~ consequence It Il quite q common
thing to find the laboring man an inf
'Aea. Doubtless this is in part occa-
STONED By, the fact that those whom he
looks upon q his oppressors are soms.
times, a. he himself may think often.
prcscssod Christians, while Christianity
itself h main part Of that settled or
der OF things which he has been led to
believe y in spirit and form wholly
against him. Il is . pity that no can
mot more often be made to see his mis-
take in this, and pity also that thore
should be 20 much seeming occasion
for him 10 look upon 1t us one part Of
his battle for his rights to sssail that
religion which. Of all things in this
world, IL In reality most the laboring
mans friend. w. ~
UProf. 3. T., Ely, of Johns Hopkins
niyerslH. Baltimore, has Just pub
lished book IN which what is termed
1.-THE labor question" Is discussed from
the point Of view Of one whose bust
ness is to teach, and OF course under
stand, political economy. In his pre-
face he has some words addressed ITO
Workmg-men.' in one part of which
the point ve here make is judiciously
touched All the several points Of ad-
viee arc 20 excellent that we feel con.
strained to copy at least the leading
sentence under each: Il " y
80, Let svery working.mau try to make
himself more Indispensable in his .plaoe. q
better workman and better nun. (2j There
u no atom OF help to you Or to any IN drink.
o. Beware OF demag0guery, especially pOlit.
ical .partyism, which will give illusofy trl-
nmphs. but leave to you only wretched fail.
Ing men are shot down In the streets. :.
can only come BY peace. g; There i Is muSch
thot is bad in existing social arrangements,
good has been procured BY the struggle OF
, centuries (6) Cast aside envy, one OF your
most treathercus foes. q II your demands
are right, e they are reasonable. then you will
'sChnsty people are with you for the right
Ia connection with this last point
Prot. Ely quotes the saying of Charles
Kingsley: "The Bible is the rich man $
warning and the poor mans comfort"
Where" he says, Twill you find a
more terrible Indictment Of the rich
Oppressor than in these verses from
ahe Epistie Of James: s,a
Go to now, We rich men. weep and howl
for your miseries that shall come upon YOU.
Your riches arc corrupted. and your gar
meuts are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver
is cankered; and the rust OF them shall be =
rs it wer, fire. .Ye have heaped treasure to
gcther tor the last days. Behold. the hire OF
your iahorers who have roaped down your
,crietb: und the CRIES OF them which have
reaped are entered into the ears OF the Lord
sesf Sahaoth,"
As far back as the time of the old
Hebrews ne shows that the utterances
OF Divine inspiration are on the side
nj the poor, and against the grasping,
the hald-hearted and the Unsuitable
He quotes this from tho plain-speak
ing prophet Isaiah: "Woe unto then
that join house to house, that lay fielC
TO field, till there be no room and W
may be made to dwell alone in the
midst Of the landv'--a denunciatior
of those who, in violation of tn,
salutary laws Of the old Hebrew econ
.omy which protected the birthright o
even the poorest of the people. b,
courses Of grasping injustice. plum
dcred the small proprietors in order Il
make their own possessions the NOR
princcly.' II Is, indeed, wonderful how
the Bible, from its first word to it
last maintains the cause OF the poor
and how, while intoxicating for then
all those virtues which promis,
ultimate good to the individual, ant
at the same time insure the peace o
society, it breathes not one word o
even cxtenuation of the wrong don,
when the poor are oppressed by tn
rich.
The irreligious and above all tn
athcistic element in socialistic teachin,
Is especially criminal misleading Q
those who confide in the teacher. An,
such teaching is as sophistical in tn
evidence it produces as 1t is false in II
reasoning. 1t may be said with trutl
that the instances Of Christian people
even nominafiy Christian people. VIII
are unkind 10 the poor, aud especlall
Of rich men who. while profcssin
Christianity, Ho hard Of heart, exact
ing, avaricious and crucl-such In
stances are wholly exceptional TIL
artful socislistic special-pleader treat
them as il they were the rule. Thos
of whom the laboring man has mo.
reason to complain are as q rul
not Christians at all; do not even PR
fess to be. Most Of them are as indi
ifercnt TO religion. perhaps as thorough
" intidCf.- as. the Socialist demagogu