The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-10

others were uneasy over the present con-
dition Of the churches, especially In the
larger cities. | knew that the decline or
the Christian religion in the New Eng
land states was. or appeared to be. so
great as to call for fast day proclama-
ton by the governor of New Hampshire.
but l did not realize that right here IN
Indiana we HooSiers had drifted so far
that the churches no longer represented
even the child life of the community.
Refusing to take an invoice for fear
Of the facts. would be criminal business
policy. What would an invoice of the
Indiana churches show?
Realizing that we preachers are like
ly to be long on wind and short on facts.
and remembering the maxim of Emerson
Hug your facts. [ am on still hunt
for facts, especially for the exact atti-
tude of the churches towards the labor
ing classes, and of the laboring classes
toward the churches.
To go after such facts in a clerical
garb would be like trying to surprise an
Indian camp with a torchlight process
sion and brass band.
"Attired as an Irishman out Of a job
I applied for work at the tin plate mills
in Atlanta, Ind. I sat down outside the
gate and awaited my turn, and. having
no particular trade, was assigned to the
labor gang. A fortunate assignment in
helping the machinist and master me
chanic set up a picker and big hoist
ing crane gave chance for occasional
breathing spells, but after that was done
I took my place with the rest unloading
steel billets for ten hours, day after day
eff there was anything monotonous,
meaningless, stupefying, it is the steady
lift, lift, lift of fifty pounds of steel to
a man, averaging about seven or eight
tons a day. Just when ones back be-
gins to crack along comes the boss.
Bosses, like some other people, seem to
have spells and it often happens that
when the men are working the hardest
the boss has a spell, and the noodgateS
Of profanity are opened.
81 remember it occurred to me-and q
man is not etymologically responsible
for what occurs to him-that If by chance
l should like to get the job of chief stok-
er and have charge Of the bosses. Once,
when mason came to me to haul bricks
and sand, L went for them with the alac-
rity with which a hungry dog goes for
a bone. The bricks seemed like feathers
and the sand like snowflakes.
"Am I an advocate of eight hours a
day? An advocate! 1 am an anarchist
1.-THE blast from that great whistle
after ten hours handling of cold steel
was as sweet music as will break on the
ears of the redeemed. Curiously, that
same whistle in the morning sounded like
a wall from the depths.
HAS LEARNED MUCH.
'I listened and learned the meaning Of
many things never before understood
can see. more clearly. when look at the
dome Of some great factory, the man be-
hind the machine, and the little home,
however humble. behind the man. Be
tween the lines of the daily Geographic
dispatch Workman killed, leaving wife
and children 1 can see the tragedy Of
human life and comprehend more clearly,
l believe the meaning of him in whose
sight the laboring man stands as high as
the organizer Of trust, who says, Come
unto me, all We that labor and are heavy
laden, and | will give you rest
'It is written Of him, The common peo-
pie heard him gladly The serious Ques-