The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1907-11-05
CHURCH NECLECTS POOR.
so DECLARES BISHOP HENRY c
POTTER OF NEW YORK.


Get Into Touch With Their Physical
Needs, He Urges-Abuse Of Wealth
Causes the Masses Unrest-Modern
Life Makes Average Workman a
Bondsman to Machinery.
Caustic criticism of the Church for
Indifference to the mental. physical
and social needs OF the masses was
made by Bishop Henry c. Potter. of
New York. in an address on the Re
lation Of the Church to Social Unrest"
at tho Cbautauqua IN. W assembly.
What is the relation of the Church
OF God to the social unrest OF the
country?' he asked. There is no
more righteous arraignment of the
Church of our time than its indiffer-
ence to the social conditions of the
classes made up of less favored men
and women down in the gutter.
The task of the church is to trans.
late the mind OF Christ. first by sym.
pathy. then by painstaking curiosity
This sympathetic curiosity would lead
men into the Church to know some.
thing OF those strata of life below that
In which we are wont to move. Such
sympathetic curiosity will sooner or
later lead to the only hope for tho
social unrest Of our time, and that is
personal service.
Mechanical Age to BE Feared.
Tho trend Of our generation to me-
chanical devices and the elimination
OF the personality of the workman,
however clever and valuable i'm its
material results. is n trend to be
afraid Of The modern tendency to
instltutionalism. is destroying the habit
and instinct of personal service. 1t
Is only by personal service that we
can lift the man in the gutter.
What Is the relation of the Church
Of God to these facts? First of all IL
should be profoundly sympathetic
relation. In our ecclesiastical rela-
ticns we have been inundated from
translating our relation to the world
into human sympathy. for fear of
dropping into what has been called
the institutional Church.
But If an institutional Church be
means Of bringing the Church into
profound sympathy with human life,
then the founder of our religion instl-
tuted the institutional Church.
when Christ found the hungry He
fed them; when He saw the diseased
He healed them; when He found the
blind He made them to see. Note
how invariably He did this Himself.
how often He illustrated the prln-
ciples Of the human hand
THE Church should take active
steps to cure the physical and mental
as we'll as the religious ills of the PEG.
pie. The Church's neglect of this
vital work cannot be remedied too
soon. II has neglected its most inn
portant functions.
As to Octcntatious Wealth.
"As a further and great cause OF
social unrest, there comes that mon.
strous profusion and extravaganza of
expenditure which | am at times IN
clined to consider the worst note of
our American civilization.
"a friend of mine, a lawyer OF New
York. went into the Mayors ofica
during Tweed's administration A
large diamond stud dropped on the
floor and rolled toward him. He
picked it up and turned to one Of the
gentlemen in the room-it would be
invidious to mention their names. they
are all dead-'Did one Of you drop
this? No was the reply. but one of
them, hitching up his vest, said Yes.
1t was one of my suspcnder buttons
This was twenty-five years ago. and
conditions are worse instead of bet
ter. In such conditions Of social life
you have come very close to the oTi.
gin of great deal of social unrest.
"As | grow older am more and
moro profoundly convinced that the
| Impotence Of the masses comes more
from the abuse of wealth than from
any other cause. Many Of us who
claim to be Christs disciples are
guilty i'm this particular We fail to
set the pace for tho community I'm
which we live by orr own habits.
The presence Of luxury I'm the
midst Of tenement life has become to
the average worker a source of irrita-
ton. He secs wealth open laylshly
around him. while he struggles In mis-
cry. Is II any wonder he becomes
wrought up at what he considers the
great injustice OF society?
Then again, as cause Of social
unrest. we are bound to recognize the
enormous revolution that has taken
place in our life because Of industrial
change. a physician friend Of mine
told me recently Of n mechanical
trained nurse. which Is soon to be OK.
pected. wound like n music box and
which will bathe the brow aud admin
lister the medicine according to the
will Of the physician The human Gle
mont is increasingly being eliminated
The conditions Of modern life arc
making the average workman a bonds
man TO machinery. When you have 70.
duccd a man to mere machine. n is
impossible for him 10 sustain life OK.
ccpt by artificial methods more dc.
structivc even than the industries in
which he Is employed
Every gain i'm the way OF strength
and cheapness is bought at the price
Of 'ho individuality of the workman.
/ The result is that the modern work.
man is most innammable material for
social unrest The wonder is not that
we have produced such results. but
that those results have not been I'm.
fnitely worse"