The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-02-20


that elevate the dignity sof all hon
est and legitimate. TOLL: and to see IL
enjoying a fair remuneratio L. is the
.desire of ALL members affiliated with
labor unionism. Cheap labor is no:
recommend to this country OF ours.
Let it be our pride that labor received
a juster remuneration here than any
where else. eW do not want cheap
labor, but labor honestly and fairly
paid, and that labor steadily employed,
and not shut down when an or6anlza.:
ton so wishes it. We do not wish to
see our own American workmen I'M
dersold and placed by some capitalists
who scour* the other countries of the
globe and bring to our shores cheaper
laborers, many. times an ignorant and
an illiterate shipload, who not only en-
danger the field Of honest toll but en-
danger the Republic at the same tim..
THE CHURCH AND LABOR. j.
1t would be a. waste of time for me
to relate to you the influence of the
Church Of God upon all problems per-
tanning to civilization. From the time
that Moses found millions of slaves
under the rude hand of tyranny in
Egypt, We're they were suffering from
a servitude the like Of which the world
has never seen since, until now, pure
religion has always bettered and
cleansed human conditions. The facts
of unprecedented pages of history reacA
us emphatically, that from the time of,
the advent Of The Galilean, The Car
penter Of Nazareth, labor received an
impetous, a dignity, benediction, be-
fore unknown to human experience
Christ dignified and consecrated the
dignity of honest toll with his own
hands.
The state of human conditions when
the Christ came is one of the saddest
reflections upon Greek and Roman
civilizations. Aristotle and Plato, too,
were the philosophers who stood above
the rest Of them, and yet Aristotle de-
Tended slavery on the ground the slave
Is an animated tool, and Plato dis
countenanced an interest nthe poor
when they were sick. Some Of those
Roman masters held from 20 to 30
thousand slaves who were bought and
sold as cattle. But it was the Galilean
carpenter who said ITO the poor is
the Gospel Preached' The oppressed
took new hope and heart when he be-
gan to preach his doctrines. He be-
came the great emancipation Of OPP
pressed conditions. Christ, in more
ways than one, placed a great premium
upon honest toll. He did not despise
the rich as such. But he uttered his
severest denunciations against those
who oppressed honest toll. The noted
philosopher of the day had looked up
on the common herd as the burden
bearers, but not SO Christ. With his
own hands and heart he consecrated
and blassed honest toll and the toiler.
The Scribes, the Pharisees the
schoolmen generally despised the la
borers, and unless a man knew some
thing, medicine Or architecture or COM
MERGE the laborer had to work side by
side with. the slave. But Christ taught
a new doctrine-The Dignity of Toll.
The great principle of brotherhood
came from Him. The fictitious differ
ences Of lineage, environment, wealth,
poverty, he swept aside, and preached
that the image of God was to be found
in all men. His anathemas were hurled
at the rich when they oppressed hon.
est toll. How different His teachings
to those of Cicero who said, mo noble
sentiment can come from workshop
or Seneca who uttered, "Wisdom soils
not her hands with TOLL"
Christ taught that Labor wide as
the earth, has its summit in Heaven
Said Mark Hanna, to a convention
wherein employers and employees had
met to discuss the problems of Capital
and Labor in a peaceful way, II would
sooner bring Labor and Capital to-
gether than be President of the United
States. T am willing, while life shall
last to give the best that is within me
to bring the laborer and the employer
together. It will do more to bring
good government, good morals, than
anything else we can take hold off,
While we wisely leave out the question
of Professionalism or Catholicism in our
discussions and controversies and work
for the betterment Of the laboring
classes, yet Protestant and Catholic
alike have paid homange to the en-
cylicals OF late Pope Leo XIII wherein
his interest was spoken for the work.
ing classes.
Christ openly condemned the cruelty
and oppression of his times, and NEIL
toned definite. concrete forms of sin.
Listen to a few Of His utterances:
"Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees!
For ye devour widows houses, and for
a prettense make long prayers: there
fore We shall receive the greater dam
nation; For they that bind heavy
burdens and grievous to be born, and
lay them upon mems shoulders; but
they themselves will not move them
with one of their fingers'; "Whoso-
ever offendeth one of these little ones,
it were better for him that a. milestone
were tied about his neck and that he
were cast into the depths Of the sea-
Christ and his diciples never spared
the evils Of their days. The great sin
in st. James time, was the keeping
back Of the hire Of the 1aborers, and
how ST. James lifted up his voice
against it. I think that it is consistent
with the Gospel of Christ for any
clergyman, care not who he is, of any
color of religious belief to handle con-
crete social topics.
Christ prayed that His Kingdom
might come on earth.
Said Mrs. George Powell of Phila-
delphia, Chairman of the American
Arbitration Council "Tn advaroinp so+