The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-02-15
REFORM by CHRIST
A WORKINGMAN AND FRIEND OF
THE POOR, HE WAS ORUCIFIED.
Today the Oppressors of the Poor
Parade as Chr1stians-They W0r-
Earth, Would Jesus ''Move In the
Best Society,""

AS far as we have been able to gath
er from the Scriptures, Christ believed
| IN giving to every man an equal chance
to earn a livlihood. He put his foot
down on special privileges, denounced
| those who devoured widows houses
and especially those who lived on the
labor Of other people.
Christ was not plutocrat. He was
carpenter and worked at his trade for
| living until he became engaged in the
| work Of reformation.
| It is not recorded anywhere that
Christ was a ward heeler or that he
sold his vote to the highest bidder, and
! therefore we are impelled tobelieve
| that he was incorruptible and above
| reproach.
Christ was reformer in his day, and
he met the reformer's fate. He was
denounced by the monopolists and the
believers in special privileges who cru
| Gifted him in order to rid the world Of
labor agitator and pestiferous re-
| former.
| But strange things have happened
since the great Reformer of Palestine
sacrificed his life on the altar of free
dom for the poor and downtrodden of
the race.
| Today the oppressors Of the poor the
| advocates of special privileges and
| competitive wrong, are the principal
worshipers of the lowly Nazarene In
! fact, it may be said that, true to their
instincts they almost have monopoly
of the business.
The money charger and the monopo-
| list have tried to make it appear that
ri Ct IaFo ~
ial privileges and favored inequality
among men, promising to reward the
! humble and contented poor in king
| dom that he would establish beyond
the sunsets radiant glow" They often
| quote the Scriptures to prove that their
contention is right, and they are fond
| of saying 1.-THE poor We have always
with you."
| Did it ever occur to the bloated mo-
| nopolist and exploiter that, while
| Christ did make that remark on one
! occasion, he did not license them to rob
| the poor, but that on the contrary, he
! declared that the laborer is worthy of
his hire?'
We believe that the Savior was in
favor Of equal rights to all and spe-
- = u - :;
lsapproved of munif ficent lifts to col
Ileges, but he said most emphatically
=! to the rich man, ''Sell all that thou
| hast and give to the poor and come
and follow me.''
Would Christ have uttered such a
command if it had not been right? Did
! he not recognize the fact that the poor
| were entitled to the possession and en-
| joyment of all wealth because they
were the workers and had created all
! wealth?
! More than 1900 years have passed
| since the star Of Bethlehem looked
| down upon the manger in which lay
the infant form of that mighty and
serene carpenter of Palestine who had
| the courage to denounce the rich mo-
nopolist and exploiter of the poor, and
yet it is the same old world that it was
| then, and sometimes we think it is
| growing worse instead Of better.
! The world is indeed full of hypo-
! critics, for the very men whom Christ
denounced are now his chief Worship
| ers. They have perverted the doctrines
Of the Man God to suit their own dia-
| bolical purposes and internal machina-
! tfons.
If we would believe them, we would
| have to conclude that If Christ were
alive today he would be a bloated
bondholder or corporation magnate,
that he would be kid gloved pew
| holder in one of our fashionable
| churches, that he would hobnob with
the Vanderbilts, the Goulds and the