Workmen's advocate., 1890-05-24
SOCIAL CONTRADICTIONS.
THE RELIGIOUS DOGMA AND THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM.
Ancient Theology at the Boston Sec. ti0n of the $. l.. P.-False Prem
 ises and Wrong Conclusions.

 May II, Mir Charles II, Brown, a stu dent of the Newton Theological Sem. mary, was the lecturer. The title of his address was. "The Social Contra diction." lie is a fluent speaker and a large. hearted man, who feels deeply the inequalities and injustice of the present system, but who is evidently | still too much under the influence of hls | recent theological training and not suf- | ticiently acquainted as yet with the master. works of Socialist writers or with the history of the labor movement, to realize that change of industrial conditions is evolving from the very nature of things and of men, regardless of religious tenets.
 The following is a synopsis of his ad- dress, which we criticize in our editorial columns:
 "Our fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence: We hold it a self evident truth that all men are created equal" In the early years of the Re public these words were little questioned because they only asserted an equality which could be practically realized. If man had but a stout heart and strong arm he could carve out for him. self from the yet unclaimed forests domain, which should make him eco- nomically and socially, as well as politi- cally, the equal oi any other He might not, it is true, be able to acquire those conveniences which our modern life supplies; but he could have that self respect which is created by ownership of the soil. He could feel that he would be lord over all that he might produce, and that the extent of his empire would depend only on his own strength and
 industry. His palace might be only a
 log cabin; but his neighbors were not
 much better housed than he. Even
 when he had nothing but himself he was
 treated by them as in very respect their
 equal. He could sit at the same table
 with his employers family and meet its
 members on plane of perfect fam
 iliarity; for wealth was not then so i'm
 portant factor in mans life as to over
 shadow the individual. There was nc
 condition so remote from the man wht started with nothing but his own cour
 age and perseverance to sustain him
 that he might hope to attain it. Onl, for the slaves in the South did ther . seem to be any positive denial of tn Declaration of Independence.
 "Chattel slavery, however. was d con
 tradiction to those words so glaring tha F it could not but force itself npon tn
 national mind. Conscientious men be
 gan to feel that if it really was sell f evident truth that all men are create :, equal, slavery was an egregious wrong l The nation was resting upon falseho l or it was upholdlng d system fundamen
 ally opposed to the principle of its exis 0 ence. Sooner or later, therefore, tn e struggle had to come between shaver
 and the Republic. The Civil War d, y cided. as far as it could decide the que l. ton, that the fathers were not wron when they wrote that all men are crea r ed equal but that they were assertin ', universal truth.
 u "To-day the same question, like Pr, a teus conquered in one form only to l r encountered in another, is again pres "A ing itself on us for solution.
 if "Circumstances are compelling men
 ask as never before. if those words
 the Declaration of Independence do a
 sert reality. Men are. indeed, polit
 cally equal but socially and econom , cally the old equality is thing of |
 past. We have no more boundless acr 0- where one had only 10 assert his maste to ship in order to make for himself z lg independent possession. Every year ol If farmers are sinking more and mo =. hopelessly into the conditions of u III tenantry of Europe. Wealth is Decor d, ing concentrated in the hands of fe, lg Differences in social conditions are b 10 coming thus more and more emphasize IL An extremity of poverty unrelieved 'h that which gave meaning and digni le to the life of our fathers even when tn, h. were reduced to physical straits as pres tn ing is found in our great cities in co I trast with private fortunes such as t IL world has never before witnessed, Wh
 makes this especially trying is the co
 viction that is beginning to force its,
 upon the minds of many, that the if out ard differences are often, perha = most often, the result of differences V endowment. Men are not equal phy ID cally or intellectually, Some are strong ns than others, and in the struggle of col h. petition the stronger are bound to pi .f vail. Some men will rise to positi VI of pre-, emlnence over their fellows, hp lu .l- .,.- La;, .h,