The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-09-03
.AhAC0G|ES between I.
CHURCH AND UNIONS.
Episcopal Clergyman Holds
That Both Agree on
Some Points.
" Because They are: Equally
The Errors Of the Church
He Declares.

In the race OF pronounced tendency
to misunderstanding between the
churches and the labor-unions, the
Rev. George Hodges, dean Of the
Episcopal Theological School Of Cam
bridge, comes forward to remind us
that there are nevertheless certain
fundamental points Of agreement be-
| tween the two. The history OF the
| unions, he says, is singularly near to
the history Of the churches. The only
errors Of the union concerning which
he feels himself qualified to- speak are
those which he is able to understand
because they are equally the errors
of the church. For better and Off
WORSE" he concludes, "the church and
the union stand together
| Mr.. Hodges finds his first agreement
| in the facts of variety" Hhe writes
| Gin The Outlook)
"People sometimes speak Of the union
? as If that name stood for single type
! OF the organization Of labor; but the
truth Is that the unions are as differ
! ent as the churches. There
are unions which are disposed to go
| into politics; while there are others
which oppose such an association with
all their might. So it is in regard to
Socialism: SO in regard to industrial
| peace and war. There are unions
which have a strike every few weeks:
there are other unions which have not
had a strike for forty years. Anybody
who begins to talw about the church
may properly be interrupted after the
| first sentence and asked, What church
do you meant Are you discussing the
| T1% ali 0{~%<o
Do you refer to the Presbyterians or
to the Unitarians: Are you criticising
the Methodists or the Mennonites?'
Plainly there are differences. So there
are among the unions"
! AS 8. result Of this fact Of variety,
church and union are alike in "the
reasonable demand to be judged by
their best rather than by their worst
by their saints rather than by their
sinners, by their ideals rather than
by their blunders."
| A second agreement he finds in a.
unity Of purpose underlying this var
iety-the purpose to benefit the COM
munity. But the most interesting par
al]el that the writer draws is between
the attitude of the union toward non
union men and the attitude of the
church toward the hereto and the
schtsmatic. On this point he writes
1.-The church, like the union, is GER
tain Of the Righteousness Of its own
cause. 1t believes that the welfare Of
the whole community is involved in
the Christian organization. And here
1t greatly exceeds the union, for while
the union man claims that his society
is necessary to the salvation OF the
| laborins; class in this present life, and
! the churchn7an asserts that his so.
ciety Is essential to the salvation Of
all people, of all classes. both in this
world ard In the next. :.
But the hereto and the schrisn1atic
weaken the church. They attack and
endanger the glorious cause. They
bring into peril the immortal soul Of
man. They keep back the fulifllment
Of the will of God. am trying to
show the union man that the church
man is able to understand how he feels
because he occupies the same position.
The union has never in its moments
of deepest anger spoken Of the scab
as the church as spoken OF the hereto.
Did you ever read the major excom-
munication? The union has never
stealing hts neighbours job as the
church has punished the man who is
accused of destroying hts neighbours
soul. Our custom was to burn such
persons over a slow fire.
1--WE have been through 1t all, from
the least to the greatest and the worst.
We have made use of the strike and
the boycott to an extent which fills
whole chapters of history. We have
not resitated. when we had "a. point to
gain or an enemy to hurt. to lay a
whole nation under an interdict, where
by the people were deprived of the
necessities Of the spiritual life. When
Mary was the queen of England, yo''
remember what we did; We got a law
passed that nobody except an official
Of OUR union should baptize or con
firm, or administer the sacrament OF
the altar, orm airy, or even bury, In
all the realm, under pain first Of fine,