The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-08-14
THE CHRISTIAN
And THE TRUST
And the Distinction Between
Phases of Government.
MANS DUTY TO MANKIND.
Democratic Leader Discusses Some Prob
lens and Draws Some Deductions
known by Their
Frults.
MANS DUTY TO MANKIND.

known by Their
Fruits.
CIV. J. Bryan in New York Journal.)
In an article in the New York Journal
William J. Bryan says:
There is wide zone between the af-
firmarive benevolence which religion
commands and the rectitude which gov
ernment compels. The Christian can
not content himself with a life Of mega
tive harmlessness; the fruits of the
spirit must manifest themselves in pos
tive helpfulness.
The object of this article, however, Is
not to point out ways in which the
Christian may aid his brother but rath-
er to indicate few of the ways In
which he may be doing injustice to him.
The subject of taxation is an ever
present one. Other questions may come
and go, but this question, like Tenny-
sons brook, goes on forever. 1t is an
admitted proposition that each citizen
should contribute to the support of his
government in proportion to the pro-
lection enjoyed by him and the benefits
received. If because of bad system
Of taxation or because Of the faulty ad-
ministration Of a good system, taxes
are collected in such a way that some
pay more than their share and others
less, injustice is done to those over
burdened and partiality shown to those
too lightly taxed. An unjust system, in
effect, collects from those overtaxed
and gives to those undertaxed, or, in
other words, transfers money from one
mans pocket to another mans pocket.
in Ia q hot
IL it does not reach, the proportions of
grand larceny. If the unjust law is the
handiwork of those who profit by 1t, and
Is enacted because of the advantage 1t
brings to itsCauthors, how shall we de-
! scribe the moral character of the act?
The wrong consists in the fact that
| money is taken from one person with
out an equivalent being returned by
the government and given to another
without a consideration being demand
ed, the method being immaterial. The
, person who robs by force and by fraud
| Is no more guilty from a moral stand
point, than the man who purposely Sc
, cures legislation which transfers to the
shoulders Of others the public burden
which he himself ought to bear. The
advocates of an income tax believe that
political question, and, believing IN
, equality before the law, they favor an
amendment to the constitution speci-
p, fically authorizing an income tax. Can
the opponents of such an amendment
place their opposition upon moral
grounds? Can the Christian who loves
property rightfully subject to taxation
| n. 70 TO 70 10 fp i'm
self, unjust to others?
| What Is the attitude of the Chris
tian toward the trust? Can he be q
monopolist? Can he run a corner in
loaves and fishes without breaking the
golden rule?
If trust magnate can purchase re-
ligious respectability by liberal contri-
buttons to church expenditures, what
proportion Of his ill-gotten gains should
he surrender in order to atone for the
violation Of laws, human and divine?
| No church would extend the hand Of
fellowship to physical giant who oc-
cupied a mountain pass and enforced
tribute from all who fell in his hands.
A monopoly does not differ greatly from
the giant in method and may be inf
nitely more potent for evil. Monop-
oily is bondage; 1t unbridles greed and
furnishes to avarice adestructive weap-
on. Human nature has not changed
much since the days of Pharaoh; the in
dustrial monarch Is as tyrannical as
the political monarch. Give to strength
an opportunity and oppression will be
the result whenever selfish interest is
| to be subserved. Can the spirit of the
weak and lowly Nazarene be discerned
In those who water stocks, issue bonds
| In excess Of the value Of the plant,
drive rivals into bankruptcy by trust
methods and then prey upon society at
large?
The Christian religion is essentially a
| religion of the heart, and love Is its su-
preme manifestation. The Kingdom of
Heaven has been likened unto a grain
| of mustard seed. which by it's internal
vital force grows into great tree, and
| to little leaven which gradually leav-
ems the whole lump.
There are some who think that desti-
ny leads us away from the declaration
| of independence, away from the consti-
tuition and away from the traditions of
the past There are some who even
think that our nation Is commanded to
go forth with the bible in one hand and
the musket In the other, prepared to
read the former to those who escape the
latter.
We have been warned against false
prophets. and It will be our own fault II
we are led astray. A test has been CIV
en- us by which we can distinguish be-
tween the spurious and the true. 'Be-
ware of false prophets which come to
you III Sleeps clothing. but inwardly