Middletown transcript., 1900-03-03

dition as human I. Ing. II want to
know what Jesus would do in my case I
haven had stroke OF work for two
months. I've got wife and three chill
dren, and love them as much as if
was worth million dollars. I've been
living of little earnings I saved up
during the Worlds fair jobs got. I'm
carpenter by trade, and I've tried ev-
cry way I know to get job. You say
we ought TO take for our motto, What
i would Jesus dof' What would he do if
he was out of work like me can't be
somebody else and ask the question. i
want to work I'd give anything to
grow tired of working ten hours day
| the way / used to. Am to blame be-,
cause can't manufacture job for my
self7 I've got to live and my wife and
my children. But howf What would
Jesus dot You say that's the question
we all ought to ask.
Henry Maxwell sat there staring at
the great sea Of faces all intent on his.
and no answer to this mans question
seemed. for thetime being. to be posi-
BILE. 20 Godi' his heart prayed. This
is question that brings up the entire
social problem in all its perplexing en-
tanglement of human wrongs and its
present condition contrary to every de-
sire of God for a human beings vel
/ fare. Is there any condition more awful
than for a. man in good health. able and
eager to work, with no means of honest
livelihood unless he. does work, actually
unable to get anything to do and driven
TO one of. three things begging for
| charity at the hands of friends or
strangers or suicide or starvationI
What would Jesus dor It was a fair
1squestion for the man to ask. It was the
only question he could ask, supposing
him to be disciple of Christ. but what
i aquestion for any man to be obliged to
ask under such conditionsI''
All this and more did henry Maxwell
| ponder. AL the otht: !; were thinking In
the same way. The pishop rat there
with look SO stern ard sad that it was
not hard to tell how the question moved
| him. DR.. 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 dot
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:
''Is there any man in the room who
is Christian disciple who has been in
this condition and has tried to do as
Jesus would dot If so, such a man can
answer his question better than can"
There was moments hush over the
room, and then 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
az he spoke:
81 think / can safely say that have
many times been in just such condi-
tion and have always tried to be a
Christian under all conditions l don't
know that / have always asked this
question, What would Jesus dor when
have been out of work, but do know
| have tried to be his disciple at all |
times Yes, the man went on, with q |
sad smile that was more pathetic to the |
bishop and Mr. Maxwell than the young |
mans grim despair-"yes, have beg
ged, and have been to the charity or
ganizations, and / have done every |
thing when ont of a job, except steal |
and lie, in order to get food and fuel. l |
don't know that Jesus would have done |
some of the things have been obliged |
TO do for living, hut I 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 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
casef" slowly sat down and asked the
man next to him, who's that2"
''That's Carlsen, the socialistic lead
er. Now you'll 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
hzation 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. / thank
God, If there is God, which I very
much doubt, that I, 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 minutef 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 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 I 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 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
see how quick the people would laugh
at him for fool or crank or a fanatic. ,
Oh, Eoi 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 class
are their slaves What we need lie
system that shall start from the COM
mon basis Of socialism founded on the .
rights OF the common people r
Garrison had evidently forgotten all |
about the three minute rule and was |,
. u