The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-06-16
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Third Discourse Of the Series On
"The Labor Question"
The Trials and TribulutiOns of the Work
Ing Classes-Things Which Should
Encourage the Patient Bear.
ing Of Present Ills.


ing Of Present Ills.
Rev. 7. 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. KILL
He said: You have seen in factories q
piece of mechanism passing from hand to
hand and from room to room, and one me.
chanic will smite 1t, and another will
hatten 1t, and another will chisel It,
and another will polish it until the work
be done. And 20 the prophet describes
the idols Of olden times as being made,
part of them by one hand, part Of them by
another hand Carpentry comes 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 it. 1t was very bad kind Of bust
ness; It was making idols which were an
insult to the Lord of Heaven. I 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 cheer!
Twin 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 60 of on that tangent. You would
not, neither would l, 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 be understood by all the world that
the knights OF Labor have no affiliation, as
ISOLATION sympathy or respect for the band
of cowardly murderers, cut.throats and
robbers known as Anarchists, who snea ak
through the country like midnight assas
sins. stirring up the passions OF ignorant
foreigners, unfurling the red flag Of anarchy
and causing riot and bloodshed Parsons,
Spies, Fielding, Most and all their followers,
sympathizers, aiders and abettors should be
no more consideration than wild beasts.
The leaders are towards and their followers
are fools.
You may do your duty toward your EN-.
ploves, but many do not, and the biggest
business firm in America to-day is Grip,
Gouge, Grind & Co.
Look. for instance, at the woes of the
womanlv toilers, who have not made any
strike and who are dying by the thousands
and dying by inches.
read a few lines from the last labor re-
port, just out, as specimens Of what f.
male employees endure:
sue the man for fifty cents.
Another:
About four months of the year can, BY
hard work, earn little more than three dol
lars per week.
Another:
She now makes wrappers at one dollar pei
dozen; can make eight wrappers per day.
Another:
We girls In our establishment have tn,
following fines imposed: For washing you
hands, twenty five cents: eating a piece o
bread at your loom. lone dollar; also for sit
many trifiing things too numerous to men
tion.
Some Of the worst villains of our cities
are the employers of these women. The!
beat them down to the last penny and tr.
to cheat them out Of that. The woman
must deposit Q dollar or two before sh
gets the garments to work on. When tn
work is done it is sharply inspected, tn
most insignificant flaw is picked out, ant
the wages refused, and sometimes tn
dollar deposited not given back. Tn
Women's Protective Union reports cas-
where one Of the poor souls, finding
place where she could get more wages, re
solved to change employer, and went L
get her pay for work done. The employee
says:
~ hear you are going to leave me~
"Yes," she said, land have come to gel
what you owe me-"
He made no answer. She said: Gar
you not going to pay me"
EYES," he said, ~ will pay you," and HI
kicked her down stairs.
Inever swore word in all my life, bu
confess that when read that ] felt
stirring within me that was not all devo
tional.
BY what principle of justice is it tina
women in many of our cities get only two
thirds as much as men. and in many case
only half? Here is the gigantic injustic
that for work equally we'll, if not bette
done, woman receives far less compensa
ton than man. Start with the Nations
Government. Women clerks in Washing
ton get 500 for doing that for which me
receive 81 800. The wheel Of oppression
rolling over the necks of thousands @
women who are at this moment in despai
about what they are to do. Many of tn
largest mercantile establishments Of GU
cities are accessory to these abomination'
and from their large establishments ther
are scores of souls being pitched of int
death, and their employers know it.
there God? Will there be q judgment
tell you, if God rises up to redress won
ans wrongs, many Of our large establish
ments will be swallowed up quicker tha
South American earthquake ever too
down city. God will catch these op
nressors between the two mill. stones 0