The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1900-03-02

would have starved sooner than beg
don't know
The old mans voice trembled, and he
looked around the room timidly A 81
lence followed, broken by fierce voice
from large. black haired. heavily
bearded man who sat three seats from
the bishop The minute he spoke nearly
every man in tho hall leaned forward
eagerly. The man who had asked the
question, "What would Jesus do in my
case2" slowly sat down and asked the
man next to him. Who's that2"
"That's Carlsen. the socialistic lead
er. Now you II hear something"
''This is all bosh. to my mind. be-
gan Carlsen. while his great. bristling
beard shook with the deep, inward
anger of the man. 1.-THE whole Of our
system is at fault. What we call civil
lization is rotten to the core. There is
no use trying to hide it or cover it up
We live in an age of trusts and COM
hines and capitaGstic greed that means
simply death to thousands of innocent
men. women and children. thank
God. if there is a God. which / very
much doubt, that |. for one. have never
Homel Talk of hell Is there any big
ger than the one this man with his
three children has On his hands right
this minute? And he's only ono ont of
thousands, and yet this city and every
other big city i'll this country has it's
thousands Of professed Christians who
have all the Injuries and comforts and
who go to church Sundays and sing
their hymns about giving all to Jesus
and bearing the cross and following him
all the way and being saved! don't
say that there aren't some good men
and women among them, but let the
minister who has spoken to Us here to-
night go into any one of a dozen aris-
tocratic churches could name and PRO
pose to the members to take any such
pledge as the one he's proposed here and
SEQ how quick tho people would laugh
at him for Il fool CT Il crank or a fanatic
Oh, mol That's Eot the remedy That
can't ever amount to anything We've
got to have new start in the way of
government. The whole thing needs re-
constructing don't look for any re-
form worth anything to come out of
the churches They are not with the
people. They ere with the aristocrats,
with the men Of money. The trusts and
monopolies have their greatest men in
the churches The ministers as class
are their slaves. What we need is a
system that shall start from the com
mon basis Of socialism founded on the
rights Of the common people,
Carlson had evidently forgotten a.!
about the three minute rule and was
launching himself into regular ora
ton that meant. in his usual surround
ings. before his usual audience an hour
at least when the man just behind him
pulled him down unceremoniously and
rose Carlson WAS angry at first and
threatened little disturbance. but the
bishop reminded him Of the rule. and
be subsided. with several mutteringa
in his beard while the next speaker be
gan with very strong eulogy on the
value Of the single tax as a genuine
remedy for all the social ills He was
followed by n man who made bitter
attack on the churches and ministers
and declared that the two great obsta.
cles in the way Of all true reform were
the courts and the ecclesiastical ma
chimes.
When he sat down, man who bore
every mark Of being street laborer
sprang to his feet and poured out per
feet torrent of abuse against the corpor.
ations. especially the railroads The
minute his time was up a big. brawny
fellow who said he was q metal worker
by trade claimed the floor and declared
that the remedy for the social wrongs