The herald., 1896-02-23
"HOTEL DEL CORONADO"


insulting the religion of the Greeks and
Calling IL supers,iu,n. but by
praisiig them f'r their reverence
and piety. He mentions his find-
ng the altar of the unknown
God, the same God which is mentioned b.
Pausanias ald other Greek writer's And
poets. Paul was well acquainted with the
Elusinian mysteries and es eemed them
highly, thus evincing charitableness and
lrgeness OF soul quite unknown TO
his pretended followers. The Elusin-
ian mysteries We're the central fact
and kernel of Grecian ethics. All stu
d snts of Grecian culture agree that these
mysteries were the vital fount at which the
Greeks refreshed and invigorated their re-
ligious ideals. Poets and philosophers
found at its sacred shrine refuge for soul
communion. "Have you been initiated?"
was asked in dangerous situations. Those
initiated in these mysteries were said to be
calm and serene in view of death and
calamity. PLATO, Socrates and Epictetus
were initiates, and the echo of their in
spired teachings are still reverberating
through the mind of every true moral re-
former.
so far for secret societies In general. AS
to Free Masonry in particular, leave to
its own members to vindicate their old and
time-aonored order. However, it appears
so wholly and irredeemabiy bad, and in
inical to ALI good government-to judge
from Mr.. BIS critical OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
theless numEers within its ranks every
head of European royalty and most
of the leading clerical heads. In
America, George Washington, Thomas
jefferson, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin
and other illustrious men-the fathers of
American independence-did not find Free
Masonry unworthy of their membership.
Furthermore the statement made by MIR.
B. that Free Masonry is the parent to any
and all of the worlds secret societies is as
illogical and unjust as to confer upon or
thodox Christianity the fatherhoou and
protectorate of our secular unions and
churches of the New Era.
The struggle for existence holds it's sway
upon the mental, not less than upon the
physical plane. This fact in natural cvo-
luton explains, what otherwise would be
mystery in itself, the impiacable hatred to
secret orders which fills the souls of our
orthodox clergy. For the modern church,
living wholly for the kingdom of the earth.
and ambitious for worldly powers and
glory finds itself thwarted in its efforts of
controlling the activity of organic .tions
which are protected from interference by
an impenetrable secrecy.
If the church would exercise more char
ity, more compassion, more forebearance
for orders and organizations that have the
same moral right to their rituals and cere-
mo les as has the church, not little
wou, be added to the sumtotal of human
happiness. The mission of the church is
plainly outlined in the saying of the hum
BILE N ,rene: IL come not with a sword,
but with peace" "Blessed be the peace
MAKERS" he adds in another place. The
mission of the church should be TO heal,
not to wound; to build up, not to destroy.
The world today has more need of models
than of critics. A. E GIBSON.
Work and Workingmen
EDITOR HERALD: Reading in last Tues.
days issue of your paper a letter on the
Labor Exchange Idea," signed by w. G.
B. Randolph, 1 was painfully reminded of
the Latin proverb. Parva leves capiunt
animas (Little minds are caught with tri-
hes). have only one fault to find with
the gentleman's explanations of the labor
exchange idea, and that is they appear to
me to be bundle of absurdties. His as
are erroneous. and per conse-
quance his deductions are fallacious After
citing the number of branches of the labor
exchange established in California, he says:
- Mainly the labor exchange is new sys-
tenn of money, that by virtue OF its sim
plcity, utility and stability is intended TO
take the place of legal tender money, with
out giving the agreement in detail in short,
it is that any kind of money is good that
will procure goods, necessities and luxuries
of life; Wealth.
Now, whatever else the labor exchange
may be, 1t Is not new system OF money.
Its system of issuing labor certificates for
labor products is neither new nor unique.
1t is simply an old fiscal maneuver peram-
bulating in new habiliments. Instead of
being very new, it is very old, both in EGG
land and America, and instead of possess
ing the virtues of simplicity, utility and
stability, it contains the virus of unmeas-
ured cupdity, stupidity and mutabiIity.
The gentleman seems incapable of reason
ing priori, hence he gushes forth the fol.
lowing economic absurdities:
"Startng with this idea the labor ex-
change opens depository where every
thing of value may be sold and paid for
with labor certificates, said valuables to be
retailed to the public, being paid for by
propose to do business without waiting
until the money nlonger grants perrnis-
sion." This last sentence is the veriest
bosh is stupidity and viciously untrue. 1t
is a method of absurd reasoning that puts
the cart before the horse with vengeance.
Today there are several millions Of Amer
ican sovereigns who are guilty of the cap
ital crime of poverty. Why are they in
poverty? 1t is not because the money
will not grant them permission TO
work, but it is because the land mongers
have monopolized the opportunities to
labor, not for the purpose of putting them
to a >od Use or the best use. but for the
purpose of profit, because it is more |
prof liable to hold them out of use than to
put them to any use. and the very victims
of these untoward conditions are the very
ones to blame, for they nave aided and
abetted in establishing vicious system of
taxation tllat encourages men to hold op-
portunities to labor out of use, and then
thcy wonder why it is they have no work.
II would be just as reasonable for them to
fasten ball and chain to their own legs
and then wonder why they cannot run.
In the school of economy the gentle.
man trains in, he has got his mind so be-
logged by error or warped by prejudice
that he magnifles the creature above the
creator. By the money rnongers l pre-
sumo he means bankers or other capital
lists in possession of or controlling large
of labor certifcates-goid, sill
Yer and paper moneys, for these are
nothing else but labor certificates. No sane
man, rich or poor, would accept either it
they could not exchange them for labor
products. 1t is because they are readily
and conveniently exchanged for labor
products that the plowholder and the bond
holder alike accept them. Labor is the
creator of all wealth the certificates repre-
sent, hence the fallacy of the assumption
that the creature must grant the creator
changes / opne that workingrnen are
chasing a delusive phantom. l cannot
conceive how such an institution can create
AN extra opportunity 10 labor, or market
for an extra bushel of wheat. If working
men have hard work and poor pay the