St. Paul daily globe., 1889-06-17


a limited number of knights and sena-
tors. They mOnOpolized all the wealth
and culture and lived in such luxury as
we can scarcely comprehend. AT the
bottom were the slaves, sixty millions
of them; dwelling in ergastula. that is,
stables with stalls. They were scarcely
regarded as human beings at all. In
between were the plebeians, or middle
class. They could scarcely be called
the working class, because at that period
labor of every sort had been turned over
to slaves. The plebeians were merely
a respectable sort of tramps, who, de-
clining to demean themselves by man.
ual toll, were supported at the public
expense. Their constant cry was,
BREAD and gamesw The bread they
received from the public commissary
in stated ratiOnS called cOngiaria, and
the games were abundantly provided
for them by their aristOcratic superiors,
who found this cheap and easy
method of keeping them quiet. just
child was born unto labOrer'S house,
hold at Nazareth, who, becoming Him
self handicraftSman. was destined to
be by eminence the friend of working
men. 1t is our purpose to trace briefly
the influence Of this Jesus on the in
dustrial question along the ages.
FirSt-He has leveled up the race. He
taught the Divine FatherhOOd and the
Importance of the soul, thus giving a
new value to man as man. He laid de-
structive hand on the Roman aristOcracy
of birth, the Greek aristOcracy OF cult
ure. and the Jewish aristocracy of re-
ligion, and organized church i'll which
poor and rich might meet together in
the bonds of a common birth, a common
experience and common destiny as
the children of God. If Jesus Christ
had not brought His gospel OF equity
into this world Burns could never have
sang:
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The mans the gOwd.
Second-The religion of Jesus Christ
has dignifed labor. Plato rebuked his
friend Eudoxus for performing his as
Economical calculations with instru-
ments, saying that it was a shame to be
found handling tools. The carpenter of
Nazareth set the pattern for new esti-
mate of the dignity of labor. He gath
cred about Him following of labOring
men. The early church was most
largely recruited from the plebeian class.
mot many mighty, not many noble
were called" 1t was esteemed a dis
grace for man to be indolent among
them: "If any will not work. neither
let him eat" This sentiment, working
cumulatively. could not but reverse the
industrial fashion in the course of time.
The rail-splitter Lincoln would never
have been made president of the United
States but for the influence of the Car
penter of Nazareth.
Third-The Gospel has bettered the
condition of the laboring classes. The
Roman plebs did not work for wages,
but for congiaria; there were no wages
then. At the time of the Norman con-
quest all labOrers were Serfs. In A. ID.
1850 a good workman could make three
pence day. That was great advance,
and it took thousand years to accom-
plish it. The mills of God grind slowly.
In 1915 Magma Charta exempted la
borer's plow from seizure In 1850 we
mark the beginning of industrial legis-
lation under Edward III. A hundred
years later workman was allowed to
change masters by giving six months
wear sword or buckler, or to engage
in idle games." In 1900 the hours of
labor were set for all England from S
a. m. to 7:3O p. IN. In 100 the average
wages OF skilled labor had risen to five
shillings day: but the working classes
were Still ''Without wheaton bread or
education" AS late as 1887 it was
estimated that 13 per cent of the
working people of Liverpool lived
underground. To-day workman is
measurably his own master. John
Stuart Mill says the average earnings of
skilled handicraftsmen are more than
those of professional men. II any one
thinks this betterment of condition is not
due to the gospel let him take down map
of the world and compare Christian
with non-Christlan lands. In China,
Egypt, Turkey, in every land where the
Christian religion does not prevail the
workingman is still no better than a
serf.
Fourth-The gospel has made promo
ton possible. Any system of caste is
anti-Christian. The ''self-made man" is
a product of Christianity. 1t puts
ladder at our feet and bids US rise.
Every man under the gospel is the
architect of his own fortune. But, help
ing him On to certain point, it pre-
vents his rising too far beyond his fell
lows. There was never time in the
history Of the world when wealth was
so equally distributed as it is in Chris
tian lands to-day.
Fifth-We infer from the past infu-
ence OF Christianity that it alone can
furnish an ultimate solution of the labor
problem. The laboring classes look in
vain TO communism; France has tried
that method, and her toilers are among
the poorest on earth to-day. The noisy
advocates of forcible adjustment of
the difficulty are only making matters
worse. Strikes and boycotts are near
sighted blunders. A hasty blow on the
part of Moses delayed the deliverance
of an ancient "brickmakers' union"
forty years; then there came peaceful
s'march-out' under divine guidance,
God himself champions the cause of in.
dustry, and in course of time industry
will find proper place at the tip top of
the social and political fabric. Mean
while, it behooves the working classes
to hold their own, by organization, CO.
operation and otherwise. There are
multitudes OF them who have discovered
that the Christian church is a great CO
operative society. The motto of the
labor guilds, IAN injury to one is the
concern of ALL" is also the motto of the
church: only we have it in its original
form, "Do unto others as you would be
done by"
HE THAT BELIEVETH.