Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1905-06-09
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP COLUMN

OWNERSHIP COLUMN
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Conducted by the New Era
Club Of the town. Of Gran
lite, Morrison County, MINI.
PREACHER JOLTs PLUTOCRACY.
In all ages there have appeared men
with the courage to stand boldly
against the shams of tho reigning
dynasty, whether that dynasty was
represented by q slave. master, al
feudal lord. king, or a captain of
industry. The present is not without
these characters. The Boston Post, on
May 8th, printed sermon delivered
by the Rev. William Van Allen in
one of the most fashionable churches
of that aristocratic city. The rever-
end gentleman startled his audience
and sent the cold shivers down the
backs Of the assembled militant pluto
Gratis by exclaiming, as he held aloft
a late edition of the New Testament
Il read here Christ's condemnation of
the wage system.''
He then handed his congregation
few hot ones as follows:
We must aspire towards its eventual
abolition In an order of society which
shall know not hirelinga and where
men shall work together for the COM
mon good as fellow.heirs of a common
Inheritance.
How can any system be devised
which will do away with the hiring
of other men and the taking from US Of
the larger share Of their earnings for
our profit
The man who can live on least and
do the work Gets the standard scale
of. wages In the work that he--.is
competent to do, and the economist
has adduoed from this what he calls
the iron law Of Wages-that they tend
always to the lowest point upon
which the workman can maintain bis
life and strength sufficient to do the
worG.
Think Of working women. Some Of
them support themselves by their Ia.
bors. Others go out to work to earn
pin money, and. not being dependent
on what they earn for q livelihood,
they can afford to- work for much less
than .those who are working for a
living. --Therefore, '--they are cheaper
for the employer, and they set the
standard of wages in their particular
line Of work. ....Do--you wonder that
every year sees, what every year does
see, IAN enormous sacrifice offered by
Mammon to Venus, a long procession
Of those who are unable to support
themselyee by THE wages they can
earn, and whoE therefore. turn to that
trade, the only one, I think, where
noVices are better paid than experts7
For every case of. poverty caused by
drunkenness there are ten cases of
drunkenness caured bv poverty. We
are. so. afraid:...of paterualism that we
have no old age insurance. Employers
today----dou't want..--men..--over ::4o..or
over IS. :...White hairs are barriers to .
man. getting::..employment as aEwage-
Garner in these days. ..::Whst has the
future in store for the young man who
is goins..to be an old!man if.-he lives.
President. Eliot talks::of the 10y of
work. 80: It Observation-Disclosures, and one
that lie Rloriously true Of some of ..us.
We do..enjoy ouf--work, but the reason
IL beca7se We are not hirelings, and
1t is unreasonable to expect a hire.
ling to joy in his work. because he
has no incentive. except fear of star.
walton, and no. reward. except "a
weeks reprieve from . starvation.
Factory methods have destroyed the
workman's Joy In his work. he has
become ''hand.'
The fruits of his labor-what part
has he In them9 They 70 to another.
Think Of thousands upon thousands
who sweat in the mines of Pennsvl-
vania that Mr.. Carnegie may build
libraries and eat his bread in thu
sweat of other men 3 faces. For my
own part. I'd rather not read books
that are bought In that way.
Amid an impressive silence. the pas
tor of this arietocratic church laid
down two principles, which he asked
those present to revolve in their minds
until they understood their sig-
nidcance:
First, that labor is divlnely ordained
for all men. Labor is the only test of
social worth. heard lady the other
day speak sneeringly about the work.
ing class. Each one of Us must be.
long to the working class, unless he
belongs to the drones.