The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-03-07
THE WA rUaMAN AND sOUTARON. MARCH Z. 1900.

system Is at fault. Wnat we call civil
liZation is rotten to the core. There is
no use trying to hide it or cover 1t up.
We live in an age Of trusts and COM
bines and capitalistic greed that means
simply death to thousands OF innocent
men, women and children. | thank
God. if there is a God, which l very
much doubt. that |. for one, have never
dared to marry and try to have home.
Home! 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 one out OF
thousands, and yet this city and every
other big city in this country has It's
thousands of professed Christians who
have all the luxuries and comforts and
who 90 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 arls-
tocratic churches could name and pro-
pose to the members to take any such
pledge as the one he's proposed here and
see how quick the people would laugh
at him for fool or crank OF fanatic.
Oh, no! That's not 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 are with the aristocrats
with the men of money The trusts and
monopolies have their greatest men In
the churches. The ministers as a 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
Carlsen had evidently forgotten all
about the three minute rule and was
launching himself into regular era
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 unceremcniously and
rose. Carlsen was angry at first and
threatened q little disturbance. but the
bishop reminded him Of the rule. and
he suDs;dad. with several mutterings
in his beard While the next speaker be-
gan with a very strong eulogy on the
value Of the single tax as a genuine
remedy for all the social ills. He was
followed by man who made bitter
attack on the churches and ministers
and declared that the two great obsta-
cles in the way of al true reform We're
the courts and the ecclesiastical ma
chimes
When he sat down, a man who bore
every mark of being a 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 big. brawny
fellow who said be was metal worker
bv trade claimed ne floor and declared
that tie remedy for the social wrongs
was trades unionisIn. This. be said.
would bring on the millennium for Ia
Dor more than anything else. The next
man endeavored to give some reasons
why so many persons We're out OF en-
ploynleDt and condemned inventions as
the works Of the devil He was loudly
applauded by the rest OF the company
Finally tie bishop called ti1ae on the
T., !. .l.,H