Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-09-07


ed in'their mutual conference that they
walked on past Norman home and
came back together. Jasper Chase and
the president of the Endeavor society
stood talking earnestly in one corner of
~, room Alexander Powers and Henry
Maxwell remained even after all tho
others had gone.
~ want you to come down to the
shops tomorrow and see my plan and
talk to the men. Somehow | feel as if
you could get nearer to them than any
one else just now"
~ don't know about that but will
come, replied Henry Maxwell lit
tie sadly. How was he fitted to stand
before 900 or 800 worlingmen and give
them q message? Yet in the movement
of his weakness, as he asked the ques-
ton. he rebuked himself for it, What
would Jesus dor That was an end to
the discussion.
He went down the next day and
found Alexander Powers in his office.
1t lacked few minutes Of IL, and the
superintendent said, Come up stairs,
and III show you what I've been try
ing to do.
They went through the machine
shops, climbed a long fight of stairs
and entered a very large empty room.
It had once been used by the company
for a storeroom.
"Since making that promise week
ago have had q good many things to
think of, said the superintendent,
land among them is this: Our com
pany gives me the use of this room, and
am going to fit it up with tables and
a coffee plant in the corner there where
those steam pipes are. My plan is to
provide a good place where the men
can come up and eat their noon lunch
and give them, two or three times a
week, the privilege of a 10 minutes
talk on some subject that will be a real
help to them in their lives -
Maxwell Locked surprised and asked
if the men would come for any such
purpose.
Eyes. they'll come. After all, know
the men pretty we'll. They are among
the most intelligent worlSingmen in the
country today. but they are, az whole,
entirely removed from all church infiu-
ence. | asked. What would Jesus do 2
and. among other things it seemed to
me he would begin to act in some way
to add to the lives of these men more
physical and spiritual comfort. 1t is a
very little thing. this room and what it
represents. but l acted on the first i'm
pulse to do the first thing that appealed
to my good sense, and l want to work
out this idea. | want you to speak to
the men when they come up at noon.
have asked them to come up and see
the place and Ill tell them something
about it. 4"
Henry Maxwell was ashamed to say
how uneasy he felt at being asked to
speak few words to company Of
workingmen. How could he speak with
out notes or to such a crowd2 He was
honestly in a condition of genuine
fright over the prospect. He actually
felt afraid Of facing these men. He
shrank from the ordeal of confronting
such a crowd. so different from the
Sunday audiences he was familiar with
There were half a dozen long rude
tables and benches in the great room,
and when the noon whistle sounded the
men poured mp stairs from the machine
, shop below and. seating themselves at
, the tables, began to eat their lunch
There were perhaps 800 of them. They
, had read the perintendent' notice,
which he had posted mp in various
places and came largely out of curl
osity
They We're favorably impressed. The
, room was large and airy, free from
smoke and dust and well warmed from
the steam pipes.
, About 90 minutes of I Alexander
, Powers told the men what he had in
mind. He spoke very simply. like one
! who understands thoroughly the char
acter of his audience, and then intro
, duced the Rev. Henry Maxwell of the
First church, his pastor, who had con-
sented to speak few minutes.
, Henry Maxwell will never forget the
feelings with which for the first time
, he confronted that grimy faced audi
. ence Of workingmen. Like hundreds of
; other ministers, he had never spoken to
any gathering except those made up of
, people of his own class in the sense that
, they were familiar in their dress and
education and habits to him. This was
a new world to him, and nothing but
, his new rule of conduct could have
< made possible his message and its effect.
| He spoke on the subject Of satisfaction
: with life, what caused it, what its real
sources were. He had the great good
sense on this first appearance not to rec
, ognize the men as class distinct from
= himself He did not use the term
"workingmen" and did not say word
, to suggest any difference between their
lives and his own.
= The men were pleased A good many
. of them shook hands with him before
| going down to their work, and Henry
/ Maxwell. telling it all to his wife wheI
{ he reached home, said that never in al
| his life had he known the delight he
9 then felt in having handshake from {
1 man of physical labor. The day marked
' an important one in his Christian ex
t perience, more important than he knew
= 1t was the beginning of fellowship be
tween him and the working world L
a was the first plank laid down to hell
r bridge the chasm between the churol
and labor in Raymond.
I Alexander Powers went back to hi