The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-02-04

zine" September. 1914: "A wei look
ing woman, wife of John Hall, to
whom she had been married only one
and sold by auction in the market for
two and sixpence, with the additional
sixpen ace for !.r the rope with which she
Strong. with which such a statement
is received to-day shows how far we
have advanced"
When Human Life was Cheap.
One hundred years ago nothing was
cheaper than human life. Quoting
again from Mr.. Strong: In the eye of
than a man. 1t was capital offense
to kill one. man was hanged if he
injured London bridge. If he appeared
IN II . disguise on the public road, he Twas was
letter to extort money, he was hanged.
More than one hundred offenses were
Rs aIa t1 by capital punishment mt
days of Cotton Mather and the Salem
witchcraft in our own country. To-
day we hang for one offense only. TO
the convict, in life-imprisonment, the
church sends him Christ and the Bible.
In not a few instances they convert
him him: Then they parole him for good
And what shall I say more? Time
would fail me to tell Of our public
schools. our st. Louis parks, our fresh
air funds, our public baths, our Hull
our childrens homes, our old folks
homes, our insane asylums, our homes
for the feeble minded, our schools for
the blind and deaf and dumb, and our
and thousand other things are fin
gers pointing in the right direction.
The altruistic spirit is gaining ground:
say there is an accelerating movement
from egoism toward altruism. Selfish
ness has combined her forces and is
making tSe bloody sGr
victory for the right
Principle of Altruism at Work.
The movement from individualism to
socialism is only the altruistic princi-
pie at work. I am not using the word
socialism" in its political and secta-
+. Ely, Mr.. Kidd, Newman smyth, Ly-
man Abbott, Prof. King, Mr.. Peabody,
Mr.. Root and others. BY socialism l
which binds and knits us together, SO
complicating your interests with mine
and mine with yours that neither Of
Gus damage to the other and still more
serious damage to himself.
Present day political socialism is not
a 3t {s The Socialists Plea is is
violent demand for rights Altruism
only talks of rights when speaking of
our fellows interests, but of duties
But again we must get a longer base
than the present decade from which
to compute our angles
In Abraham's day individualism
stood alone. Abraham neither COM
peted nor co-operated There was no
necessity for either. He was neither
selfish nor altruistic, socially, speak
ing. He simply grew to his fullness in
HI II
because his flocks multiplied faster
than he could eat them. He could not
sell them: there was no Chicago mar
ket. He could not turn them into
not trade them for the products of
loom or brush or chisel there were
sHeh thn s The out only a b May cf 6eg
was to increase his capacity for the
| material This he deemed dangerous
He took to the hills. Lot chose the
the material, and "sodomy" and sod
omite" are twentieth century words
that remind US of the awful result.
Individualism Bred Competition.
Individualism coupled with egoism
bred competition. The history of the
world to date HI has been the history sto Of
hunter" but his game was men. He
wanted men to enlarge his own indi-
viduality. David became mighty at
Babylon grew great at israers ex-
pense. Darius enlarged his kingdom
at the expense of Belshazzar. Alexan-
der became great at the expense OF
came emperor at the expense of the
Kingdoms of Alexander's survivors and
the subjugated chiefs of the North.
highest, When mans ioftiest ambition
was to be adulated while living. and
(deifed when dead, Jesus was born
When he said,. "One is, your master;
marching ma him. a sentiment that is slowly
yet surely changing the philosophy OF
life and Is putting society on new
basis.
to the life Of his day He set before
society the goal, not of communism
nor Of socialism as they are defined by
the politicians Of to-day, but Of CO. 60;
lines of life-moral. spiritual, CONNER
when he said: mo man liveth unto
upon his own things, but upon the
The New Testament vision is only
complete when it has thrown upon the
lcanyaS the picture of the New Jeru-
salem-a scene in which all competi-
ton has ceased, society is a unit and
in harmony with God, therefore with
itself. At first this s. may seem the Wis.
as to be wholly impracticable. But a
few moments careful, continuous
thought will lead any one to see that
it is the logical end, the sequence, OF
the evolution.
If this be the goal, and the New
Testament vision is worthy of being
trusted, are we nearer the goal to-day
than century ago or a millennium
ago?
How Christianity Undermined Pagan
| ism.
One more cursive glance at history.
Jesus cast his manner of life as leav-
en- into the lump of society," and said
was there to stay till all was ;leavened.
In three centuries it had undermined