The times., 1901-05-10
sheldon Methods in Connecticut.

| sheldon Methods in Connecticut.
| a business man somewhere in the
State of Connecticut has announced his
| intention to employ in his store no enc
who is not a Christian, and begins by
| turning off two women on the ground
that they We're not Christians This is
| rather an interesting experiment. and
| there is no reason why it should not
| succeed, especially if the merchant in
| question follows the example of the
| Rev. Mr.. Sheldon. and labels his store
Christian" There are a good many
| business schemes of one sort or another
in this land which would not live a
minute if they were called by any other
| name. They are, in a way, witnessing
to the power of the Christian religion
since it is only the power which that
faith eXerts over the minds and motives
of its adherents which enables these
enterprises to be even moderately
profitable. But there are a good many
people who would buy an inferior brand
of canned pork in preference to any
other if the can only had a label on it
stating that it was put up in a religious
way.
Even if the merchant does not adver-
tse the fact that he is going to run a
religious store from this time on-al-
though he appears to have begun to
make the matter public-there is no
particular reason why his business
should not be as successful as it was
before. There are just as many good,
honest people and efficient clerks who
are Christians as there are among those
who do not belong to any church; and
it ought not to be very difficult to find
enough of them to furnish this mer-
chant with all the clerks he needs On
a pinch, he may induce somebody who
is in great need of work to join the
church in the hope of getting a situa-
ton. in which case he will be following
much the same plan as that said to be
adopted in many mission stations where
they manufacture what are known as
rice Christians
To be truly consistent. however. he
who is not a Christian. and buy of no
wholesale dealer who does not answer
to the same description. If he is afraid
that his clerks will somehow get him
into trouble if they do not profess re-
ligion, he might consistently fear that
irreligious business men might palm off
on him quantity of defective goods
spoiled timed food, badly woven cali
co, shoddy ribbons, or what not He
would then be in difficult position
Whether he would throw the goods
away, on the principle that they could |
only be sold by a species of deception, |
or advertise them frankly for what they |
were, or require his clerks to get rid of |
them in some way, is question. This, |
and not the mere problem of employing |
Christian or non-Christian clerks, is the |
matter which needs TO be settled by this |
merchant.
The Methodist Church, in its earlier |
and stricter days, attempted something |
like this on a large scale. The disci- |
pline required that all communicates |
should, so far as possible, encourage |
and help others processing the same |
faith by dealing with them in business.
cable, buy of Methodist grocers and dry
goods men, employ Methodist physi-
clans, and hire Methodist servants. in
preference to any others. The plan was
more or less successful because natural.
II is easy for people to fall into the
habit Of employing and patronizing
those with whom they are associated in
social or religious life But it occa-
sionally happened that the grocer who
was also a deacon took advantage of |
the requirements Of the discipline to
put up his prices. He had monopoly
and knew it; and where there is monOp-
oily there are apt TO be abuses. On the
whole, it looks as if il might be best
TO render unto Caesar the things that
are Caesars and let business take its
natural course without any artificial re-
igious or irreligious boundaries and
barriers.