Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-12-14

Il dan know ahogt that. bet VIII
come. replied Henry Maxwell. n lie
tie sally How Wa H. ftts~l a. Ssani
before 600 or 339 rlxinymen ami give
them a messa-es Yet in the movements
of his weakness. as he asked the anes-
tion. he rebuked himself for it Whma
would Jesus dos That was nm end t0
the discussion
He went DOWN the NEXT aav ar1
found Alexander Powers In his nfsrs
IL lacked q few minutes of ~. ami sh@
superintendent said. Cone ~ stars.
and L II show ron what I've been try
inE o. do. ="
They went through the machine
shops. climbed n long flight of stairs
and entered very large empty ron
It had once been used by the company
for a storeroom
since making that promise n week
ago | have had a good many things s0
think a. said the superinter1en+
.'and among them il this Cur com
panv gives me the use ~ this from. and
| am going g. fft it M with tables and
a coffee plant in the c0rnpr there where
those steam pipes are Ny plan i %
provide a good place where the men
can come mp and eat their noon lunch
and give them. two or three times q
week the privilege ~ a rs Minutes
talk on some subject that win IT, IA real
help 10 them in their lives =
Maxwell looked surprised and asked
if the men would come for any such
purpose.
Yes. they II come. After all. know
the men pretty well They are among
the most Intelligent w0rkingmen Urn the
country today. but they are. mr. q whole.
entirely removed from all church infEu-
ence. asked What would Jesus dor
and. among other things. it seemed en-
me be would begin 20 net In some way
- add 20 the lives ~ these men more
physical and spiritual cumfort Tt isa
very little thing this room and what 10
represents. hut acted on the irSt TIM
pulse g. d. the first thing that appealed
to my good sense. and want c. work
0ut this idea I want you ca speak so
the men when they come up Af neon
have asked them to come up and se~
the place and Ill tell them @umethinx
about IL
how uneasy he felt nc icing asked O.
speak "a few words % company ~
workingmen- How could he speak with.
ont notes or to such a crowdF Hr war
honestly in n condition ~ genuine
fright over the prospect He actually
felt afraid of facing these men III
shrank from the ordeal of confrontinr
such a crowd. 50 different from thu
Sunday audiences he was familiar with
There were half q dozen hong rndf
tables and benches in the great r0om
and when the noon whistle sounded sh..
men poured mp stairs from the machins
shop below and. seating themselves af
the tables began O. eat their luneh
There were perhaps 800 ~ them Ths
had read the superintendent notice
which b. had posted mp In variou
places. and came largely ont of cur
osity
They were fav0rably impressed TT
room was large and airy. free fruf4
smoke and dust and well warmed from
the steam pipes
About 20 minutes of I AiexMnaltr
Powers told the men what he had in
mind He spoke very simply. like on
who understands thoroughly the char
acter Of his audience. and then intro
duced the Rev Henry Maxwell of th~
First church. his pastor. who had cen
sented to speak few minutes
Henry Maxwell viii never forget ere
feelings with which for the first time
he confronted that grimy faced andi-
ence Of workingmen. Like hundreds ~
other ministers. he had never spoken to
any gathering except those made mp II
people Of his own class in the sense that
they were familiar In their dress and
education and habits 90 him This was
a new world to him. and nothing but
hts new rule % conduct could have
made possible his message and ttS effect
He spoke ON tho subject of satisfmrtfon
with life. what caused Ia. what it# real
sources were He had che great good
sense ON this first appearance not to rec.
ognize the men me n class distinct from
himself He did not use the term
''workinamen" and did not say word
20 suggest any difference between their
lives and his own
The men were pleased A good many
OF them shook hands with him bwfur-
going down O. their work. and Henry
Maxwell. telling it all 10 his wife when
he reached home. said that never fn all
his life had he known the delight h~
then felt In having handshmke from u
man ~ physical labor. The day marked
an important one in hts Christian ex-
psrienee. more important than he knew
Ii was the beginning "a N fellowship -
a. mH -
was the first plank laid down tc hslp
bridge the cha-m between che church
and labor In Raymond
Alexander Powers went hack e. hss
desk that afternoon much plea~~d with
his plan and seeing much help TIN W fnr
the men lie knew where he eauid g~t
some good tables from am abandoned
eating house nc one af the stations down
the read. and he saw how the coffee or
rangement could he made q very at
trartive feature The men hal rv=ronsi
ed even better than he anticipated anil
the whole thing euuld mot help being o
great benefit t. them
He took mp the routins IL hir work
~ith glow ~ satisfaction After ALL
b. wantesl to do as Jesus would. h. sail
to himself
n was nearly . o'cinck when he
opened ons. - the conpany's bong env~f
opss which h. SUPPOSED contained eF-
dsrs for the purchasing "a stnrpa tie
ran over the first page ~ typ~wrtstrn
matter In hts usual quick. husine~~iix~
manner before he saw that he wa- r~sssi
ing what WAS mot intended fur his afsicr.
but for the superintsntlcnt ~ thu frutghs
department
He turned over u pasw chanfrallv.
not meaning g. read what wma nat aai-
dressed a. him. but h@fure h. knew IL
be- was In possession ~ rviirnee which
conclusivrly proved that tha company
was engaged in - systematic viniation
Of the interstate conmsrr~ law- 0f the
United States IL was M distinct anil
unequivccal breaking ~ Lave M if u pri-
vats citizen should enter a huu~~ and
rob tho inmates Tho di@rriminatiun
shown In rebates was I'm total epntrn1pf
of all the statutes Under the Laws ~
the state IL was ahHo distinct viulatinn
of certain provisions recently rasaed Nv
the legislature o. prevent ratiroad
trusts There was M question thmf he
held In his hand evidence sufficient 40
convict the company ~ willful IntsIli
gent violation - the Law - the cum
mission and the Law ~ the stafs al-a