National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-04-05
TIE FELLOWSHIP OF LIFE.
Chances of Revolt Decrease In Proper
ton as the Employed Come to Know
Their EmpIoyer

chances OF Revolt Decrease In Proper
ton as the Employed Come to Know
Their Employer.
At the Congregational Church, Tenth aud
g streets, Row. s. M. Newman preached yoster-
day upon 1.-THE Fellowship Of Life" It bsing
the last sermon in his series upon american
Christianity" He took for his text Hebrews
vii: 2-"And they shall not teach every man
his neghbor, and every man his brother, say
ing, know the Lord, for all shall know me
from the least to the greatest" He said that
the text contained two implications; first, that
the condition that was to .precede universal
knowledge of and trust In God was neigh
borly and brotherly preaching of the Gospel,
and second, that this preaching of the Gospel
was to peryade all society from the least to the
greatest. Fellowship of life consisted Of a
recognition between people of a likeness Of In.
terests, of q community OF views with regard
TO many subjects connected with common wei.
fare, 50 that their purposes interooked and
their lives camo to one another's aid in carry
ing out similar enterprises Christ aimed to
establish this fellowship Of life I'm regard to
Him and His purposes, so that the principle
contained in II should not only be useful In
the furtherance OF earthly interests, but should
be so universalized rs TO embrace His great
purpose in the world. The work of Christ, in
%ht Ts meant Ry the
acquainted with q man was not simply to
have met him on the street, although that
might be the beginning Of Il; acquaintance
I..SNNNANO
likencsses and unlikenesses were disclosed.
American Christianity was under peculiar OBJ
legations todevelop this fellowship of life, be-
cause II existed In society which was very
much intermlngled in its elements. You
could not, as in India underline old caste laws,
keep these elements from coming into contact
with one another and the question rs TO their
future depended upon whether or not they In
| this common contact, should become nc.
quainted with one, another; Acquaintance
| shows, as nothing else can, the magnitude OF
| the original .endowments and capabilities Of
| the human soul. Men become too much &C.
customed to classifying their fellows as edu-
much so that they lose sight of the importance
| of the native endowments and capabilities of
| the human soul, which are vaster In their sig
| nncnnco than any education or want Of II.
| The millionaire becomes attached to his poor,
| illterate coachman, not because he has any
| great talent, or can make mark In society,
| but because he is honest aud true; and the
coachman comes to love the man who EN-.
| ploys him, not because he Is man of mil.
| lions, but because, underneath all the pomp of
| wealth, HIS employer has kind heart, and
takes personal interest in those Under him.
| Yet If these men had never come into such
| direct relations with each other, the mlllion-
| aire might have thought of tho coachman rs
simply an illiterate man, and have regarded
| that as his whole measure; and the coachmau
| on the other hand have summed his en-.
ployer pas proud and heartless. -
| The fellowship of life which Christianity
undertook to put into the world, to organize,
| develop, and perpetuate, was not n society
founded on education or training, but upon
the development of the original endowments
| of the human spirit Christ had set the ex-
| ample: to the woman of Samaria ut the well
| he said, "Give mo TO drink" and the preacher
took great pleasure in believing that between
that Injunction and the womans answer,
How Is II that thou, being II Jew, askost
drink OF me, which am woman OF Samaria,"
there interviewed the passing of the cup TO
Christ, and the quenching of His thirst She
thus had ministored to his need; He had put
His relations with her upon the fundamental
condition of the. race, the necessity OF asking
and of giving aid, and by this He made her
acquaintance, and then proceeded to lay bare
her life.
This fellowship of life was the only condition
upon which men could understand ono
10 misunderstood one anotheri The
between between employer and employed resulted
from the fact they did not know each other.
Il had been found that chances of revolt OF
the employed were decreased In proportion as
the employed became acquainted with the
| employer. The employers who were known
most widely in their establishments by con-
slant daily contact with the employed persons
were least likely to have any strikes to deal
were establishments in the country where
this fellowship of life was proving the safety OF
the labor employed by them; where the en-
ployed and ceased to think of the employer as
latorer, and where, when hard times came
on and wages were necessarily reduced, the
workmen realized that II was not an oppres
sion, but kindness to them, because 1t was SC
managing affairs during the crisis that In the
future the business might again employ the
IL was simply recognition of the interde
pendence which exists between labor aud cap
ital, and the fact that at times each must hell
to bear the burdens OF the other.