The Penn's Grove record., 1904-08-12
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED,
1.-THE INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT"
The Rev. John d. Long Gives Some
Wholesome Advice About Present.
Day Problems-The Causes of Dis
content and the Remedies.

Day Problems-The Causes of Dis
content and the Remedies.
BABYLON, L. LIN the old First Pres
the Rev. John D. Long, pastor, preached
on "The Industrial Conflict" The text
was from Ecclesiastes ii:22: "What hath
a man for all his labor? Mr.. Long said:
The writer of this text was asking as to
the rewards of life. Let us accommodate
IT to the conflict now waging between cap
ital and labor. It is the old question of
the laborer and his hire. What are the
teachings of Holy Writ on the question?
Here, as elsewhere, we believe that the
Gospel applies, for as Ruskin suggests; the
Gospel bears Upon life at every point, and
IS either good for everything or good for
nothing.
Civilization is based upon ~iabor-human;
animal, mechanical. What we call capital
Is at bottom only accumulated labor. The
gay laDorer lays brick in a wall; that is
labor, lie saves up a part of his wage,
and that becomes capital. Mechanical la
Dor, by which most of the worlds work is
now done, is human labor invested in ma
chn1n.ery, and working through the same.
" course; money or capital is secured
not only through saving and invention,
put IN many other ways; yet human effort
is back of it all, and it becomes a sort of
call loan upon the bank of labor. Was it
not Emerson who said, HE that hath a
dollar is master of all to the extent Of that
dollar?"
Vast fortunes have been piled up by
those who. have invented machines by
Which mechanism may take the Mace Of
human hands. Thus the inventor il en-
abied to draw tho wages OF thousands. We
all know how largely the machine has s1.
perseded the naked hand in the manufac.
ture Of a thousand and one articles Of
daily, use. Take, for example, pins and
needles and nails.
10 be sure, many great fortunes have
been made by other means than by ma.
chinery, but in the main the wealth Of
modern times is founded upon mechanical
labor.
Before asking what the letter or spirit Of
the Bible teaches on the labor question. let
US face the situation of to-day. Organized
labor and capital are in conflict. There
are strikes and rumors of strikes. Each
strike is a battle in the war.
1t may be well to observe that Organized
labor has as yet only a fraction of the total
labor, army, but it Is a fraction that is in
creasing.
Why this warfare? Because labor on the
one hand is dissatisfied with its share Of
the rewards of industry, and because, on
the other, capital constantly seeks to re-
duce. the cost of production by opposing
the demands Of labor.
Other factors, however, enter into the
SITUATION. One arises from the develop
ment OF the modern corporation. Wheth-
er corporations have souls or not, they lack
IN large measure the element of personality
and the personal touch. Men who work
Tor a corporation are working in the main
Tor an unknown entity. Now, we remem-
Der that among the old-time Romans the
word Tor stranger was also the word for
enemy.
Further, there has been much dishonesty
in corporate dealings. Take such things as
the corrupt purchase of public franchises
below value, the increase in cost of certain
necessities OF life by reason of unjust com
blnatlons to keep up prices. These and
nlty have done much to infame not onlv
tai.
Also, the rising standard of life, by which
the living wage gets further and further
from the meagre pittance that would suf-
nee to support the frugal C~hinaman, leads
the laborer to constantly demand a more |
ana more generous wage.
stll other grounds Of hostility might be
referred to, such as the natural, though
sinful, envy of the rich by the poor: the |
ostentatlous luxury of the rich, the growth
OF class distinctions between the poor and
the rich and the inequality of pecuniarv
rewards. The men who discovered the
priceless boon of anesthesia-who found
That surgery might be rendered painless by
tne use OF such agents as chloroform and
ether-galned but little money from their
discoveries. They doubtless might have
traded on the worlds fear of pain, and by
using the patent laws and secrecy secured
wealth beyond the dreams Of avarice. but |
to their honor they did not. On the other
hand, the men who introduced such i'm
proved and cheapened methods as the Bes-
semer process of producing steel gained
money by the hundred millions. So peo-
pie are tempted to ask, "Have not some
men been rather selfish, to say the least.
IN the acquisition Of their wealth? And
may they not have obtained a little more
than their share?"
Before we go further let us ask what is
90 De the probable outcome of the war be-
tween labor and capital? Is it an i~rrepres-
nble conflict, or can the opposing interests
pc reconclled? The answer is already be-
ing given. Take such a situation as NAV
now be seen IN the coal trade OF Chicago.
Alter bitter fighting the dealers and the
5Ieamsters have como together to monopo-
llze the coal trade Of the city and keep out
III competition. Wages and profits have
been put up at the expense of the outside
public. This is likely to go on more and
more.
The ultimate outcome, unless the tend
snIcy is checked, will be organization all
along the line until we have collectivism-a
vast organized machine, in which men will
be cogs and individual initiative and per-
Sonalty will be restricted to an extent that
VII largely arrest the progress of c~iviliza-
ton.
But let us take a breath and turn TO The
bible. What are the teachings of the Bible
n regard to labor and wealth? The Old
Testament Is plainly anti-capitalistic. In
proof OF this you have but to read the laws
regarding capital in the Book of Leviticus
laws that, if enforced, would compel
PLAIN living as surely as the iron coin of
sparta. Hear what was laid down. there.
Lang was allotted in small parcels to the
alienated except for the term of fifty years.
"And We, shall hallow this fftieth year,
and proclaim liberty throughout all the
land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it
shall be a jubilee unto you; and We shall
return every man unto his possession, and
ye shall return every man unto his family"
lLevlticus xxv:l0).
.And if thy brother be waxen poor, and
fallen IN decay with thee; then thou shalt
relieve him; yea, though he be a stranger
or a solourner; that he may live with
thee. Thou shalt not lend him thy money
usury, nor lend him thy v~ictuals for
AHG1SdSe. NLeVlGlcuS XXV.00-0J.
Finally, there was the statute of limita-
lions with reference to loans. ''At the end
OF every seven years thou shalt make a re-
lease. And this is the manner of the re-
lease; every creditor that lendeth aught
unto his neighbor shall release it." Deu-
teronomy xv:1-2).
The attitude of the Old Testament to-
ward wealth is perhaps best reflected in
the prayer of Agur-"Give me neither
poverty nor riches = = = lest [ be full,
and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord!
or lest | be poor, and steal, and take the
name Of my God in vain" proverbs
xxx:8-9).
need hardly remind you that the great
character dominating every page of the
New Testament was a poor man, without
house or home. His attitude toward labor
on the one hand and capital on the other
may be imagined. 1t is well put by DR..
Henry j. Van Dyke:
Viewer in a costly palace did I rest on
golden bed,
Never in a hermit's cavern nave 1 eaten
idle bread.
Born within a lowly stable, where the cat
tie round Me stood, {
a carpenter in Nazareth. I have
toiled and found it good.