The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-05-07

Rev. Geo. +. Dye. pastor OF tine East
Los Angeles Baptist church, preached
an interesting sermon Sunday night, on
The Labor Problem and Christianity.
He selected for his text the scripture
passage, "Whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you, do ye also unto
them. Matthew vii, IL.
He said that the LABOR question had
been the social conflict of the ages.
-Four hundred years before the Chris
tian era God had denounced as wicked
those who oppressed the hireiing or de-
prived him of wages. The time had
come in this land whom the church must
take an interest in the study OF the great
social and economic problems. The
labor leaders do not think that preach
ers take the interest in these problems
that they should. But the clergymen of
the day are studying and reading and
considering these questions as never be-
fore, and are anxious TO DO of service to
the laboring man.
The best books are being read by min
listers. and if the leading pillars Of the
church do not do their duty toward the
laboring men in the future they will be
read out of camp to the tune of the Dead
march. The laboring men have had
great reason for complaint and they will
be heard. Men can not belittle these
great labor movements by calling them
'anarchic" and ethiopian" The re-
form mas como to stay, and no man can
be Christian who Ia not reformsr.
The labor question could not be settled
by cynical or unsympathetic treatment
of the workingnen. There are people
in our churches who speak OF the work
ingmen as they speak of cattle. A re-
fined lady said to me that she "Could
smell workingman across the street."
replied that 1.-THE scent of labor was
sweeter than the perfumes of Arabia,
and had it not been for the sweat of
horny-handed toll the house she lived
in and the piano she thrummed and the
chair she sat 10 would not have been
possible" There are aristocratic ladies'
and Shylocks who never care for the
nerves, feelings, comforts, success or
failure of the laboring men, but such
know little OF the true spirit of Chris
tianity. Christ was friend to the poor.
No pacifcation could be reachrd by
striking against the rich men simply be-
cause they are rich. There is not mem
Der of q trade union on earth who would
rich as Rockefeller if he could be-
There is something very mean in human
nature when it gets on top. The worst
OF it is, all men are alike unless changed
by the religion of Jesus Christ. Church
ianity is not Christianity any more than
sel6shness is true Socialism. The work
iugman is mistaken if he thinks that
any permanent pscifcation or settle
ment of this great question can come
about by violence or lawlessness. If
there are unjust laws, the quickest way
to repeal is by enforcement. The ballot
and not the bullet must decide these
questions. The higher and better Social
ism Of the day and Christianity are
brothers. They both are striving for
the brotherhood Of man, only they come
at it by different methods-one is work
ing down and the other up. Let there be
70 conflict. Two men approached each
other in q London fog. They were
startled at what seemed to bs terrible
monsters bearing down upon one an
other. But when they drew nearer they
found that they were brothers. Social
lam of the purer and higher type and
Christianity, viewing each other at q
distance, distorted by the fogs OF preju-
dice, seem monsters to each other, but
face to face they are brothers. They
both have for their ideal the brother
hood OF man. The brotherhood OF man
implies the fstherhood of God. In the
divine compassion and wisdom of Christ
could be found the true and lasting
remedy, the duty to each other that
equally appealed to the head and to the
heart and united both. The divine wis
dom shons out radisntly in the senti-
ment of the text, "Whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye also
unto them"