Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-07-02
IN HIS STEPS.
'What Would Jesus Do?"
By CHARLES n. SHELDON.


the same way. The bishop sat there
with look so stern and sad that it was
not hard to tell how the question moved
him. DIR. Bruce had his head bowed
The human problem had never seemed
to him so tragic as since he had taken
the pledge and left his church to enter
the settlement. What would Jesus do?
1t was a terrible question, and still the
man stood there, tall and gaunt and al
most terrible, with his arm stretched
out in an appeal which grew every sec
ond in meaning.
At length Mr.. Maxwell spoke:
'sIs there any man in the room who
is a Christian disciple who has been in
this condition and has tried to do as
Jesus would do? If So such man can
answer his question better than can. -
There was a moments hush over the
room, and then a man near the front of
the hall slowly rose He was an old
man, and the hand he laid on the back
of the bench in front of him trembled
as he spoka:
ST think I can safely say that have
many times been in just such condi-
ton and have always tried to be
Christian under all conditions I don't
know that I have always asked this
question, What would Jesus do? when
have been out of work, but l do know
I have tried to be his disciple at all
times Yes the man went on, with a
sad smile that was more pathetic to the
bishop and Mr. Maxwell than the young
mans grim despair-''yes I have beg
ged, and l have been to the charity or
CARNATIONS, and 1 have done every
thing when out of a job, except steal
and lie, in order to get food and fuel.
don't know that Jesus would have done
some of the things I have been obliged
to do for a living hut l know I have
never knowingly done wrong when out
of work Sometimes think maybe he
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 a large, black haired, heavily
bearded man who sat three seats from
the bishop. The minute he spoke nearly
every man in the hall leaned forward
eagerly. The man who had asked the
question, ''What would Jesus do in my
case?' slowly sat down and asked the
man next to him, ''Who's that ?''
THAT'S Carlson, the socialistic lead
er. Now you Il hear something
''This is all bosh, to my mind, - be-
gan Carlson 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
bines and capitalistic greed that means
simply death TO thousands of innocent
men, women and children. l thank
God, if there is God, which I very
much doubt, that /, for one, have never
dared to marry and try to have home.
HomeI 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 its
thousands of professed Christians who
have all the luxuries and comforts and
who go to church Sundays and sing
their hymns about giving all to Jesus
and bearing the cross and following him
U
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 dozen arts
tocratic churches l 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 or fanatic.
Oh, mol That's not the remedy. That
can't ever amount to anything. We've
got to have a new start in the way of
government. The whole thing needs re-
constructing. I 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 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 all
about the three minute rule and was
launching himself into a 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
he subsidized, with several mutterings
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 man who made a bitter
attack ON the churches and ministers
and declared that the two great obsta-