The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-06
PLEA FOR CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM.
Rev. D. P Bliss Church Lecturer and Sociogist, Tells OF His
Reform Mission in the Golden West

of labor in the home, the library and the
church. true democracy must be built OF
men, not of hands" Christian Socialism
would favor direct legislation, through the
initiative, the referendum and proper uonal
representation, purging our politics OF cor
ruption, breaking down the machine and
teaching the people self government. II
would emancipate woman as we'll as man. 1t
does not believe in a democracy OF half the
people. 1t would develop a true municipal
ism, as is being done in birmingham, Gias-
gov, London, Berlin and other cities
Glasgow, by spending 81 600 900 in tearing
down and rebuilding the worst tenements,
and by municipality clearing courts ana pas
sages, by providing municipal baths, wash
houses, etc, has reduced her death rate from
hfty-four TO twenty mine per thousand. This
Christian Socialism considers practical Chris
tianity. 1t would have the city employ the
unemployed, in ways not to compete with
present labor. Says Turgot, whom Matthew
Arnold calls "the wisest statesman France
ever had'': "God, when he made man with
wants and rendered labor an indispensable
resource made the right OF work the property
OF every individual; and this property IS the
first, the most sacred, and the most 1mpre-
scriptibe of all kinds of property" 1t would
have cities obtain the funds for doing this by
conducting gas works, surface railroads, ETC.,
for a profit for the city, instead OF having
them owned by rich capitalists favored by
city franchises.
Christian Socialists would have the nations
own and manage railroads, the telegraph, ex-
pressage, ETC., etc. In every way 1t would re-
and it would press toward reform in all these
ways. 1t is not one reform. 1t is many re-
forms on one principle. Perhaps most I'm por-
tant of all is land reform. Chris ian Socialism
would revert to the old Bible principle, that
God is the owner of all the earth, and men
only entitled to its use. 1t would, therefore,
favor the retaining of the land for the use OF
all the people by taxing land values on a grad
uated scale, and increasingly every lew years,
till finally the whole value OF the natural re-
sources of the earth be taken Tor the people
and not for the classes.
The travelling secretary is trying every
where to impress upon men the necessity
of recognizing Christ as a leader. He says:
We come now to ask definitely what men are
to do.
To recognize Christ's headship and kingship
over all life. This is the first thing !aan needs
to do. 1t brings society together. 1t gives a
head, an expressed unity, TO the otherwise I'M
realized and inchoate unity of mankind.
Without Christ men fail. Socialists are OF
social. They grow confusing and confused.
They strive to build a tower as high a heaven
and produce only a Babel-a confusion of
tongues. They have lost their leader; Christ
is the leader. he brings all into one body He
is the etonement, the at-one-ment OF man with
man, as truly as OF man with God. II his body
seems to-day divided, if the church is riven by
schism, it is not because mea have followed
Christ, but because they have refused TO fol-
low him. He is the way TO unity.
If this seems at first undemocratic 1t is soon
seen that it is the very perfection OF democ-
When al in freedom choose Christ, we all
realize our oneness with him, even he is
one with God. Our will is love, and love is
the will of all. 1t is the only way we can all
rule Christ is no tyrant; he is the elder
brother
A body must have head If it stand high in
the scale OF evolution; if universal society.
therefore, be body or should be a body, as
the scriptures and socialists both teach, it
must have a head. But that head must be
eternal. Science and religion are both teach
ing to-day that death does not end all. HUI
mainly shall become spirit, transformed into
spirit life, spiritual whole. It's head must
then be both spiritual and visible.
Christian Socialists hold Christ to be that
head. The TACT that all men are Today being
drawn together in Christ shows him to be the
uniter. IL is not strange that, as matter OF
fact, all men claim Christ. They all claim him
because he belongs to all. Christians of all
kinds claim him. The Jews say he was Jew.
The theosophists claim him for their thoughts,
the socialists for theirs, the individualists for
theirs the anarchists for theirs. He is the
Workman. SeetarIan Christianity may have
made h I'm q sectarian Christ but, truly under
STOOD he fulfiIls Brahminism Buddhism, Mo-
hemmedaniSm-al religious thoughts, because
he is not seetarian.
1t is to teach these views, among other
things, that the reverend gentleman is
making tour of the United States, carry
ing on meanwhile his rnultifarious duties
as editor of encycloI adias and books on
social topics.